As we headed further east towards West Virginia the terrain began to change from the flat or, at best, rolling hills of the midwest region to the hillier country that approaches the Appalachian country of West Virginia. All of a sudden our little car was climbing much steeper hills and the countryside became greener and more forested.
Our first stop along the way was in New Concord where we stopped by the childhood home of John Glenn, the first 
American astronaut to orbit the earth. He and his wife Annie had both grown up here in this small town in eastern Ohio and gone to college here as well at tiny Muskingum College. Unfortunately it was Sunday and so not much was open on our ride out to West Virginia so we had to settle for a snapshot of the home. Then back in the car and on to our next stop only a few miles down the road.
American astronaut to orbit the earth. He and his wife Annie had both grown up here in this small town in eastern Ohio and gone to college here as well at tiny Muskingum College. Unfortunately it was Sunday and so not much was open on our ride out to West Virginia so we had to settle for a snapshot of the home. Then back in the car and on to our next stop only a few miles down the road.We had the opportunity to travel a lot on this trip along what is know as th
e National Road. When automobiles were first invented there were no real roads to drive on, only the same rutty roads wagons and horses had traveled for centuries. As our country grew it became apparent that we needed a good road to be able to get from the east coast to the west coast. So the first road was planned and built. Eventually the highway, known as Highway 40, was completed all the way to San Francisco. The map shows the route from Baltimore to St. Louis. We drove along a part of that old highway now as we went from New Concord to Cambridge, Ohio.
e National Road. When automobiles were first invented there were no real roads to drive on, only the same rutty roads wagons and horses had traveled for centuries. As our country grew it became apparent that we needed a good road to be able to get from the east coast to the west coast. So the first road was planned and built. Eventually the highway, known as Highway 40, was completed all the way to San Francisco. The map shows the route from Baltimore to St. Louis. We drove along a part of that old highway now as we went from New Concord to Cambridge, Ohio. We stopped here because it is the birthplace of one of my childhood heros, Hopalong Cassidy. His real name 
was William Boyd but as a kid I only ever knew him as Hoppy. He had his own television western show on every week and we watched Hoppy go after the bad guys. He never used his gun to kill anybody. He would always shoot only to wound them or knock the gun out of their hand and he always had a lesson to teach his young fans at the end of each show. Growing up in central California we also saw him on the carton of our favorite milk--Producers Milk, Hoppy's favorite! I can still sing the Producers milk jingle sung at the end of every Producers television commercial. Here in Cambridge we found a small 
museum (closed because it was Sunday) and sitting in the parking lot was an old milk delivery truck exactly as I had seen then growing up in the 1960's. It was the funniest thing, right there on the side of that truck were the words, Fresno, California, which is where Producers milk is made. How in the world did it get all the way out here in eastern Ohio? What memories. Oh, I also found out that Hoppy went to Lincoln Elementary School, only the one in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I got to see Hopalong once when he came to my hometown and rode his horse, Topper down our Main Street in the 4th of July parade. My father also told me the story once of getting to play golf with Hoppy when Hoppy was needing an extra person in his foursome. He asked my dad if he wanted to join his group. Wow!
was William Boyd but as a kid I only ever knew him as Hoppy. He had his own television western show on every week and we watched Hoppy go after the bad guys. He never used his gun to kill anybody. He would always shoot only to wound them or knock the gun out of their hand and he always had a lesson to teach his young fans at the end of each show. Growing up in central California we also saw him on the carton of our favorite milk--Producers Milk, Hoppy's favorite! I can still sing the Producers milk jingle sung at the end of every Producers television commercial. Here in Cambridge we found a small 
museum (closed because it was Sunday) and sitting in the parking lot was an old milk delivery truck exactly as I had seen then growing up in the 1960's. It was the funniest thing, right there on the side of that truck were the words, Fresno, California, which is where Producers milk is made. How in the world did it get all the way out here in eastern Ohio? What memories. Oh, I also found out that Hoppy went to Lincoln Elementary School, only the one in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I got to see Hopalong once when he came to my hometown and rode his horse, Topper down our Main Street in the 4th of July parade. My father also told me the story once of getting to play golf with Hoppy when Hoppy was needing an extra person in his foursome. He asked my dad if he wanted to join his group. Wow!We drove on to our next stop, which was the Mehlman Cafteria, for lunch. This place in St. Clairesville, Ohio, was absolutely amazing! The parking lot was packed, the line went out the door. We got in line and it moved right along. First, we saw a sign board with prices and what was available to buy. Only the prices just didn't look right. They were so cheap. I figured this was an old sign showing what the prices were like back when the restaurant first opened. Nope! The prices, though they looked like something out of the 60's, were the real prices. And the food was outstanding. Just like mom made or grandma. We loved it so much we came back later in the day for dinner. The best thing we had--the apple dumpling are to die for! But it was all great! You gotta stop here if you are ever in eastern Ohio.
We drove on to our destination which was Wheeling, West Virginia where
we stayed the night before returning to Columbus. While in Wheeling we drove around town, a pretty town nestled down in a vall
ey with the Ohio River flowing right through. A lovely place. We also visited Cabela's Outfitters which is the biggest sporting goods store I have ever seen. Mostly hunting and fishing stuff but the exhibits inside were worth the trip. There is a mountain inside the store with an airplane flying over it. There are all kinds of wild animals which had been stuffed, that were on display. There was even an aquarium. Just look at some of these photos. That's a real elephant! 
we stayed the night before returning to Columbus. While in Wheeling we drove around town, a pretty town nestled down in a vall
ey with the Ohio River flowing right through. A lovely place. We also visited Cabela's Outfitters which is the biggest sporting goods store I have ever seen. Mostly hunting and fishing stuff but the exhibits inside were worth the trip. There is a mountain inside the store with an airplane flying over it. There are all kinds of wild animals which had been stuffed, that were on display. There was even an aquarium. Just look at some of these photos. That's a real elephant! We also discovered that the part of West Virginia we were in was a narrow panhandle sticking up between Ohio and Pennsylvania that is only about 15 miles across. So we decided to drive the couple of miles further passed our hotel to enter the state of Pennsylvania. As soon as we did, we turned around and drove back to the hotel. That's 9 states in 11 days. Wow! We have already been to Pennsylvania before but it was fun to be able to say we actually visited 9 states! A good night's sleep awaited us before our final drive back to Columbus and our last day of the trip. We still had a few things we wanted to see in Columbus.
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