Day 3 - Buzzards with Syrup at DennyGibson.com

Day 3: March 17, 2011
Lovely Lasses & Beautiful Cars

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By the time I left the motel, it was definitely time to eat good food so I headed directly the Steel Trolley Diner in Lisbon. The time on the clock is misleading as the picture was taken after I had eaten. I actually arrived at just about 11:00. Some St Pat's specials were available but I was here for breakfast. The lovely colleen Kerry took my order and delivered a large and tasty ham & cheese omelet. As she explained it, "I'm Irish all the time just a little more on St Patrick's Day"

The Trolley's menu includes a lot of award winners and the sauces made by the Trolley's owner, Jacki, have a lot to do with that. Those sauces are now available by the jar in a shop just a couple doors away. The shop also carries some nostalgia fueling items like giant sock monkeys and old fashioned candy, like Necco Wafers & Slo Pokes, in bulk. I left with a pound of my own assortment. Want a Walnetto?

Back in January, when I visited the Official Center of the World in California, someone told me about a Center of the World in Ohio. When I saw how close it was to one of this trip's targets, it became a target, too. I routed myself through on the way to the Packard Museum about five miles away. Both signs I've pictured are on OH-5. There used to be a motel at the east edge of Center of the World but it's pretty much abandoned now. Even the sign itself has seen better days. Maybe it was dented when that EPR sticker was applied with extreme prejudice. The eastern sign is in good shape and the nearby bar is still operating. I couldn't pass up a beer in Center of the World especially when it's St Patrick's Day and there's a shamrock on the sign.

You probably have some preconceptions about the Lucky Inn but one of them would be wrong. There is no hole punched in the wall above the urinal. The urinal is out of order. The hole is punched in the wall above the stool.

The Packard Museum in Dayton, which I visited about a week ago, probably has more cars than the one in Warren and it's in a cooler building. The one in Warren is tidier and has more than enough cars to look at. Through May 29, there are also plenty of motorcycles to look at. Thirty antique two-wheelers are mixed in with the cars. Borrowing, perhaps, from Major League Baseball, the two museums are called America's Packard Museum (Dayton) and the National Packard Museum (Warren).

The first car pictured is a 1900 Model "B". It's the tenth Packard ever made. The yellow car at the right side of the group shot is a 1936 120B Convertible Coupe. Rumble seat riders get their own windshield. The next car is a "Show Car Concept" built for the 1952 New York Auto Show. It actually saw normal street use after being sold to a Packard executive. A 1932 902 Series Five Passenger Coupe appears in both of the last pictures. I think I was attracted to the color.

I don't own any Packards but two of the displays do connect with vehicles I do own. I recently acquired a 1963 Plymouth Valiant with a pushbutton transmission. This was a concept pioneered by Packard but 1956 was the only year that it was available. I also own a Schwinn although it's a Korean made one. Among the motorcycles on display was an early model self propelled Schwinn. I'm thinking about it.

Next it was nearby Niles where William McKinley was born. He moved to Canton in his early twenties so they claim him but Niles deserves some attention, too.

When I left the Packard Museum, I pulled into the parking lot of a nearby Irish pub but the lot was completely full so I just passed through. Then, on the way to my motel, I stopped at a place that had a big tent set up and bagpipers practicing in the parking lot. They were charging $5 admission and, intending to drink one beer then check in to the motel, I passed.

Finally, when I headed out to dinner, I downed a Harp's at Clancy's. I'd spotted it earlier and thought it might be just what I was looking for. It was. A small neighborhood place filled with locals listening to non-stop Irish music on the juke box. You just can't beat getting your beer delivered with a smile like that.

In planning this trip, I kept coming across the names of two restaurants in Warren: the Saratoga and the Hot Dog Shoppe. I'd considered having lunch at the Shoppe and dinner at the Saratoga. But when I'd driven by the Hot Dog Shoppe, breakfast was less than two hours in the past and there was just no room. I still planned on the Saratoga for dinner but talking to a couple in Clancy's convinced me that the Hot Dog Shoppe would be a more meaningful experience. I was not disappointed. Great atmosphere, instant service, and this delicious three course meal was just $6.43 including drink and tax.

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