"Opening to the camper a new land"

For the maiden voyage of our new camper, we decided to stick to familiar (and nearby) ground so we could focus on any issues that arose -- and even bail out to a good night's sleep at home if necessary. It was a good thing, too, because when we arrived at Burr Oak State Park and attempted to plug in, the electricity did not work, even though it had been fine at our house. With some troubleshooting, we figured out that a fuse had come loose during transit, so we were able to get the refrigerator humming and the lights blazing, which was enough to convince us to stay overnight. 

To reward our (read: Scott's) problem-solving skills, we had dinner at the park's lodge then relaxed by the fire (left). In the morning, we had planned to cook a quick breakfast before setting out on a bike ride, and that's when we discovered that the camper stove wasn't working properly: the gas flow was so low that a burner would only stay lit for a few seconds. Not willing to waste our day with more tinkering, we picked up McDonald's on our way to the trailhead instead. A few miles into the ride, we met a friendly donkey (right), not to be confused with the ass I was for not packing our travel propane stove. Although we later resolved the gas stove problem by replacing the regulator, that Coleman is now permanently stashed in the camper as a back-up. 

 

Our next camping trip was farther afield but less pressure because it was a stay through Harvest Hosts, a subscription service that gives you access to non-hookup sites at businesses such as farms, wineries, and breweries. We didn't have to worry about any electricity or gas woes in the parking lot of Wiedemann's Fine Beer because all we intended to do there was sleep (top left). You pay to be a member of Harvest Hosts, but you don't pay anything directly to the host, with the expectation that you will patronize the establishment instead. We happily hit the suggested minimum bill amount with lunch and beer in the taproom (top right), whose vintage bathrooms seemed more of a fitting match for our camper than for a former funeral home (bottom).

 

Our main destination, however, was downtown Cincinnati. A bus that stopped right outside the brewery took us south into the heart of the city, where we wandered around a while before hopping on the Connector Streetcar to get to the Over-the-Rhine district (top left). The tram was full of murals by an artist whose name I recognized from high school: Brent Billingsley (top right). I enjoyed examining his work and the Queen Cityscape on our way to Findlay Market, where we picked up a snack from one of the many stalls (bottom left). I had visited Rhinegeist Brewery by myself on a self-guided brew-by-bike tour, and I was eager to check out the rooftop patio on a less rainy day (bottom middle). I was also excited to see that another taproom, Northern Row Brewery, had opened around the corner (bottom right). 

  

  

Northern Row was packed because it was hosting the pre-game radio show for the competition we had come to Cincinnati for. No, not the Bengals or the Reds, although we did mingle with some Jungle members in the bars on the strip between Paycor Stadium and the Great American Ball Park (top) before we headed to TQL Stadium for the Hell Is Real Derby (middle left). The name of the annual rivalry match between the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati comes from a sign on I-71 between the two Ohio cities (middle right). The final was a 2-2 tie, resulting from a bad non-call for an offsides goal by the Crew (bottom). 

   

By our third trip in the camper, to East Harbor State Park, we felt prepared. We had addressed all the glitches and had even procured some site amenities, including a space heater, a picnic tablecloth, and an outdoor rug (top). However, we did not acquire enough spooky accoutrements because we had no idea that the park was going to be packed for one of its two weekend Halloween campouts. While other sites had full-on scary spectacles, we simply hung a couple skeletons on a tree (bottom left). Still, we got into the spirit by walking on a haunted trail after we rode our bikes to watch the sun set over Lake Erie (bottom right).

 

The next day, while trick-or-treaters took over the campground, we struck out for Put-in-Bay. We took the ferry to South Bass Island then rode our bikes around the perimeter of the island, stopping for a couple of hikes at Massie Cliffside Preserve and Scheeff East Point Nature Preserve (top left), where we saw a fellow ferry commuter hiking with some friends (top right). Then we hit a few drinking establishments, including Joe's Bar, a dive I can't believe I didn't know about sooner. Put-in-Bay was still pretty packed, despite being late in the season, much like our campground. We managed to escape the crowds with a morning stroll on the state park's trails, where the only life we saw were fishermen (top middle), butterflies (bottom middle left), woodpeckers (bottom middle right), and deer (bottom).

 

 

Although we cooked breakfast on our now-functioning gas stove, we ate dinner at nearby restaurants. When we headed into Port Clinton after our hike, we hit up the Clinton House (top left) before heading to a local haunt dear to our hearts. Bell Mell Tavern was just as laid-back and welcoming as we remembered from GOBA 2019, even though it seemed like some of its customers had been wasting away there since our last visit (top right). We watched the Browns and played a game of pool while we waited for our takeout pizza. We ate our pie by the fire back at the campground, which had cleared out upon the conclusion of the All Hallow's Eve festivities (bottom). Having the place basically to ourselves for one night was a nice final touch to our first fully problem-free camper outing.

 

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HUBBARD, HENRY V. “LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT BASED ON CONSERVATION: AS PRACTICED IN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.” Landscape Architecture, vol. 29, no. 3, 1939, pp. 104–21. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44670859. Accessed 23 Jan. 2023.