Day 12: October 5, 2015 Cityside Sunset Comment via blog

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Good fortune hit me once again as I looked for lodging last night. The Kane Motel was right where I needed a motel and it was exactly the motel I wanted. It's a true mom & pop with four rooms actually in the house and six in a more typical motel structure out back. I stayed in the house. Super clean and comfortable and run by friendly people. Several old Kane area photos and articles are among the office decorations.

The motel was quite convenient, too. I walked to dinner last night and breakfast this morning. This isn't the original building but Texas Hot Lunch got its start back in 1914.

A little west of Warren, Pennsylvania, I switched from one scenic highway to another. I've long sung the praises of US-62 and one of the reasons is this spot, near West Hickory, where the Allegheny River pops out from behind the trees and runs right next to the road. It looks pretty good to me even when the view is sliced in two by a dark shadow from the low sun. That's the Allegheny National Forest on the left. The road doesn't stay that close to the river for long but it remains a mighty pretty drive.

This cemetery in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, first came to my attention because of the flags that started flying here to mark the days that American hostages were held in Iran. Actually, it came to my attention only after the days and flags had reached 444 and the hostages had been released. The release occurred on January 21, 1981. The flags remain and there is a whole lot more. Until recently, I misunderstood the "whole lot more" and I apologize. I thought that things had started here with those Iranian hostage flags and that everything else was just the dragging on of an very effective but long concluded effort to focus attention on a specific issue. Not at all. When Tom Flynn, who bought the cemetery in 1977, organized the raising of the first 100 flags on February 11, 1980, his cemetery had already been honoring our veterans in various ways for more than a year. The 100 flags that grew to 444 were really just one part of his vision for making Hillcrest Memorial Park, now renamed America's Cemetery, a special place.

In Sharon, Pennsylvania, I slipped in the back door of the original Quaker Steak & Lube for some wings.

This was taken just beyond Wilmot, Ohio, in the heart of Amish country. A little further on, I saw a buggy sitting in the line at a construction zone. I think I passed through about a hundred construction zones on this trip but this is the first time I can recall seeing a buggy held up by one -- ever.

The first day of this trip ended with a sunset and so, too, shall the last. Unfortunately, the peak of this sunset was almost in synch with my passage through Columbus which decreased the degree of appreciation somewhat. In fact, rounding a curve to face the sun and being unable to see anything but glimpses of flashing brake lights was down right terrifying and trying to read exit signs required all sorts of head bobbing and weaving. But it did get better and, once I turned a bit more to the south and the sun wasn't directly in my eyes, some of the roadside was kind of nice looking.

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