Day Twelve

Day Twelve is over, and I'm starting to think that by the time this trip is through, it's going to feel like no time has passed at all. I can't believe 12 days have gone by! Feels like I just started 3 or 4 days ago. Time flies, eh? I had a very interesting day today. First off, I had a close encounter of the deer kind. I saw a doe and a fawn running towards the road at breakneck speed, and if both I and the two animals had continued on our then-current paths, we would have intersected in the worst way possible. But momma deer must be very experienced in the area of crossing highways, because as soon as I slammed on the brakes, she slammed her brakes as well, halting near the road's shoulder, the fawn following her every move. As I passed the doe, she was very clearly looking at me, watching me pass. When I looked in the rearview, I saw her glance the other direction, see no trouble, and bolt across the road, fawn in tow. Some animals are smarter than we give them credit for! (Natasha's deer notwithstanding...) Not more than 10 minutes after that, I was in the presence of something else that should not have been on the roadway- a driver who could not keep his car on the road. The obvious first thought was, drunk driver. Now this is around 10:30 in the morning, but who knows how people in Ohio party, 10:30am might be just the right time to get a drink on! Other considerations were sleepy person and older person, but the real reason will be left a mystery to me. We are on a two lane highway, one lane for each direction. The car kept drifting into the other lane, and then it would slowly work its way back into the right lane. Thankfully no one was driving towards us. There was one occasion where we came up on a camper driving about 10 miles under the speed limit. The drunk person started to pass the camper, and I let out an "Ohhh no..." as I saw another car coming the other direction. The drunky got into the other lane, saw the car coming, and jerkily moved back behind the camper. Whew. As we approached a small town, still following the camper, he started to drift onto the right shoulder, almost hitting a tree before jerking back into the lane. By this time (and maybe it should have been earlier), I say enough is enough and call in the license plate and car description to 911. At the end of town, the car pulled into a gas station, I told the dispatcher where he was, and then proceeded on my way. She assured me someone would go investigate the driver. So with the deer and the drunk, it was an action packed morning!

Around noon, I stopped in Toledo, OH to visit the Toledo Zoo. In retrospect, I wish I had had two things: more time, and a day that was 20 degrees cooler! But overall it was a quality zoo. I would have liked to have seen more exhibits with clear photo angles (and by that I mean being able to shoot over the cage or glass rather than through them), but the exhibits by themselves were great, like the polar bear exhibit where you can see them swimming underwater through glass in an airconditioned building. Good times, and I got a couple of good photos! The afternoon drive was a bit tough, as the heat at the zoo had taken a lot of energy out of me, but I arrived at the hotel in North Olmstead, OH (just west of Cleveland) with no troubles. As always, photos will be up in a few. See you tomorrow, when I make my way up to Niagara Falls!