Bizarre Travels 1.1

My last post might be considered a bizarre travels post. It wasn't, as Put-In-Bay does not qualify as Bizarre, just cheesy. Maybe in the future I will start a cheesy travel section. If you are lucky, er, providentially favored.

Anyway, my Bizarre travel post for this post travels one hundred miles south of Columbus, Ohio to Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The town is right in the middle of the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. I went there because part of the story I am writing takes place in Point Pleasant, and I needed to get a feel for the town. Plus, it contained a story I had loved since i was a kid.

Growing up, I was not allowed to watch horror movies. So, I had to find some other way to feed the kid desire to scare myself. I did that by reading books on Bigfoot, UFO'S and other strange creatures. The one that scared me the most happend to be the Mothman stories. I remember reading the story alone in my house, and hearing a noise in the kitchen. I ran outside scared. It was the middle of the day. Silly, but not when you are nine.

So, what is the Mothman? The events began began in late 1966. A creature, described as an eight foot tall creature with wings, red eyes, and no face was spotted by a couple driving along a lonely country road.

Side note: These things always happen on lonely country roads at night, and if you have ever driven one, you know why.

Anyway, the creature was spotted by a number of people in the area. Now, the thing about small town people that most people do not get is this: they are not easily taken in, especially with something like this. Some of the hardest skeptics about anything in general are from the country, not the city.

Plus, there were all kinds of freaky events that happend in the next year. It all came to head in tragedy when the silver bridge over the Ohio River collapsed during rush hour traffic killing nearly fifty people.

So, there is certainly an eerie vibe about the place, which increases with each mile you drive. The foothills are a bit lonely and isolated. When you drive over the new bridge into Point Pleasant, you can see the remains of the old one, and imagine what it must have been like to be on a bridge falling into an icy river.

As you get into the town, Mothman stuff is all over the place, with the highlight being the Statue and the excellant Mothman Museum. The local are very open about talking about the Mothman and one guy drew me a map to the TNT area, where most of the sightings took place.

Of course, i had to go. The TNT area was used by the government to store dynamite in areas dug into the ground, shaped like large mounds with steal doors. Each mound is down a heavily wooded area and there are some areas with keep out signs.

Now, the place is only a few miles out of town, but I can tell you, I got the creeps.

As i headed back into town, i decided to check out the French and Indian war battlefield in town. It turns out the whole town of Point Pleasant is the battlefield, with a section by the river being the official place.

I loved this town and it was really helpful for my book. Turns out I got the creepy vibe right, and the people there are really nice. Oh, and the Mothman Festival is September 15 and 16th. Check it out at www.mothmanmuseum.com/MothmanLives/mothmanfestival2007/mothmanfestival2007.html

In Praise of Cheese

The transition to Columbus has not been a very smooth one. Colin is having a tough time and we have all been sick for about a month. We have not been able to go out, invite people over or do anything fun. That is why we needed a day of doing something out of town.

And we did, going to Put in Bay, Ohio, an island in the lake known as Erie. The village on the island is pretty much one large tourist trap. You have shops that sell crappy, cheap t-shirts, trinkets with the island's name on them, or anything else you don't really need. Not to mention all the restaurants, ice cream shops, putt putt golf course, fake gem mining and the "chocolate musuem".

And you know what? I loved every minute of it.

The boys got to go on their first boat ride, which they loved. We played putt putt golf, ate ice cream and generally behaved like tourists. Plus, the island has all of these golf cart rental places. Colin begged to go on one and so we finally did. Twelve bucks for an hour. And, an hour of full on joy for the boys. Quinn road in the front seat, laughed, and waved at all the people as we drove by them. The boys got cheap things, Colin got a bag of rocks (his favorite thing at the moment) and Quinn got a little toy ship. Ah, the bliss of being a kid.

There was some educational value as well. The Perry Memorial is on the Island, commerating the battle of Lake Erie, a very important naval battle from the war of 1812 (side note, the putt putt golf course has notes about the battle at every hole). that is where I bought my reminder of the day, a book on the battle itself.

So, why I am writing? Because, it is to encourage people like me, who tend to take themselves way too seriously, to enjoy touristy places like Put in Bay. There is nothing "corporate" about them. Most of the shops in places like this are owned by locals or families (I have a friend who owns a shop like it). So, you can support the local economy.


And above all, just experience life through the joy of being with your family, relaxing and enjoy being a tourist for awhile.