Kelly Christopher Luttrell

after packing up my gear at van buren state park, i headed towrds Findlay, OH to try to find another camping spot for the next night...i got to findlay right around 4pm and biked around town a bit, snapping some pictures of the local sights, and grabbing a bite to eat at Wilson's , which was reccomended by a local as having good cheap food...the place was a bit odd i found, and felt more like a cafeteria than a diner, but the coneydog and fries were awesome and i had a great conversation about traveling with one of the patrons...shortly thereafter i found a great coffeeshop with wifi where i grabbed a red eye and hung out for awhile as i tried to find my next spot to pitch my tent.

i spent that night in a campground just north of findlay called shadylake campgrounds, and let me tell you what the name suited the place...i did manage to talk to owner of the establishment into giving me a discounted price, as i would be leaving first thing in the morning, and also talked him into selling me a couple natty lights to help me fall asleep. the place was not maintained at all it seemed and was filled with the variety of people that made me not want to leave my tent, as i had alot of gear that i was afraid may not be there when i returned..so i stayed in the tent all night, which i dont believe was a big loss as the campgrounds werent very much to look at in the first place...

leaving shadylakes the next morning i biked through findlay once again as i made my way towards Lima, OH for the next leg of the journey...this days biking was not as easy as the others had been previously...it seems as thought my body is not what it used to be and that my back was not agreeing with the weight of my backpack very much at all..i took my time to get to lima, and stopped at many a place on the way...i stopped at a farm , where a younger looking man was washing his John Deere tractor for a show he was going to the following day...i asked if i could bother him for some cold tap water to fill my wtaer bottles with, as i hadnt seen too many places up until that point..the man's name was josh and he was very kind and talkative and was more than happy to fill my water bottles. random encounters like that is what roadtripping is all about in my book, strangers doing kind things for strangers. after talking with josh for awhile and resting, i got back on the road and headed towards Pandora, OH which was on the way to lima..

in pandora, i stopped at a grocery store/gas station right on route 12 which was about 10 miles away from lima..

thats where i met rick morrison...

he saw me in front of the store resting and munching on some lunch and asked where i was heading...as it turns out, he passed me earlier that moring in findlay and felt as though there was a reason we had run into eachother again...he was a very religious man as i came to find out and sat and talked to me for quite some time as i rested. we atlked about a great deal of things, mostly pertaining to his faith and belief in jesus christ as his saviour...

he insisted on giving me twenty dollars, he said god put him there with me for a reason, and that he would never forget our encounter..i told him i couldnt take his money but thanked him very much for the thought..but rick was quite insistant..so , sheepishly and very thankfully i accepted his gift...he was a very good man with an amazing heart and i dont think that i will forget him anytime soon...i snapped his picture, as i had been doing with mostly everyone that i encountered along the way and gave him my name so he could find me online and follow along with my travels and snag the photo i took of him. after thanking him once again and giving him a nice man hug, i made my way down the road towards lima...

just before reaching lima, i saw a garage/mechanic shop open and decided to see if i could fill my water bottles once again...the owner of the garage was working on his son's truck with his son and was very kind and offered me a two liter of water which he kept in his fridge, this was very kind...i sat there talking to them for at least a half hour before i thanked them and made my way to lima.

about four miles south of lima , there is a campground called cody lake...this place is heaven.

i rode my bike into the driveway and walked to the office where i met the owner of the campgrounds, beth...she was a very cool woman who had bought the place from here parents in the late 90's from her parents, who had established the place in '72.

as soon as i enetered the campgrounds, i knew i was in the right spot...there were families everywhere and kids were swimming in the lake having a great time...everyone there was very friendly and welcoming.