Day 6 - Lightning Strikes

No more backache!  I think I’ve readjusted to camping.  With another hot day in prospect we set out for Buffalo and a long trip westward along the shores of Lake Erie.  I’d expected to see the lake but the only glimpse we got was as we drove past Cleveland.  The tree cover soon thinned out and as we made our way into Ohio arable farming took over, the land became flatter and ‘big skies’ were far more prominent.  Earlier I was amazed by how far ‘behind’ the golden rod was compared to at home but here the two dominant crops of soya and sweetcorn seemed well away from harvest.  Perhaps its because the season starts so late.  It may be hot now but there is a lot of snow in winter and plants don’t really get going until well into April.  A lot of the farm buildings seemed a shade dilapidated which, according to Rick, reflects how hard it is for American farmers to make money at the moment.  The towns of Buffalo, Cleveland and Toledo, typically American in many respects all showed the tell-tale signs of deindustrialisation with derelict buildings and vacant plots in abundance.  The plan was to set up at our second KOA site, Stoney Ridge and those who wanted to would go to a huge Amusement Park at Centre Point which has some of the biggest roller coasters in the World.

Three of us, me included, opted to stay at the campsite to “catch up”.  My first serious problem now occurred as my bag containing laptop and other essentials as well as my boots had vanished.  After a fruitless search I assumed that it had been put back on the van and resigned myself to a wasted afternoon.  At least I got my laundry done, found out that my Kindle did do e-mail and browse the web, albeit very slowly.  I spent most of the time reading “Grapes of Wrath” on the Kindle and am enjoying it perhaps even more than I did at 18.  As afternoon wore on the temperature rose well into the thirties and dark cloud began to build up.  Yesterday’s left-overs were re-heated for our meal.  They tasted even better!  By 10 pm we were treated a full scale electric storm and at one point flash and bang were simultaneous.  As the campsite was completely surrounded by trees the view was obscured, but those returning from the Amusement Park had a fine view.  I felt sure that rain would come and stacked all the equipment back in the van before turning in.  At 4am the heavens opened.  The tent coped with this and we all awoke to a soggy campsite but all was dry inside the tents.