Lakewood to Grant Park

We left my sister's house in Lakewood, Ohio at 9 AM and rode west on I-90 for 15 miles before we exited at Highway 57 South. Before we reached Elyria we turned  west on State Road 113, a small two lane that went through a small town every three miles for awhile before it settled down into a pleasantly deserted country road. There was little traffic and the weather was dry, but the dark sky to the south looked very ominous. The road became wet in places, then wet all over, and there was even a sprinkle or two, but eventually the sky turned a lighter gray and the road dried.

Pleasant riding on SR 113 in Ohio

 The flooded fields alongside the roads in Indiana and Ohio were evidence of heavy, recent  rains.

SR 113 ended at  US 20 in Bellevue and we followed that to Bowling Green where we split off onto US 6, AKA The Grand Army of the Republic Highway. We stayed on US 6 West through the rest of Ohio and most of Indiana. Fortunately, compared  to the last time I was on this route, there was less traffic, fewer large trucks, and almost no cops, although we did encounter a detour near Edgerton, Ohio. We stopped in Butler, Indiana  for a bowl of chicken pot pie soup and then continued past Walkerton, where we turned south on US 35 to SR 8 West.

Lots of vegetation lines this back road in Indiana.

Unfortunately, there was a long detour on SR 8 and I just followed the GPS to find the best route to our destination . Eventually, we got  on SR 2, which took us into Illinois, and we were soon at Paul and Dee's farm and the site  of the Pig.

We arrived at the farm just behind our good friends Rich (who drove from Raleigh, NC, leaving at 4 AM) and Anne (who flew from Florida), and soon others arrived. Carol and  I are staying in nearby Manteno, Illinois and tomorrow is  the Pig.

Checking out the guest of honor.