Like pretty much all 4th of July holidays of years past here in the midwest, it was a hot and humid weekend. Our plan one of the days was to ride to Delaware, OH and visit the Olentangy Indian Caverns, a place Bill had gone before with his folks, years ago. We set out on that Saturday morning, looking forward to the coolness of the cavern tour. Our route was to take I-75 south to 20 west, to 23 south, then a short ways on 315, also known as Olentangy River Road. Before turning onto 315, we stopped at what used to be the Wayside, a truck stop Bill remembered from his many trips back and forth from Kentucky to Michigan. It’s a gas station now, no sign of the restaurant that it used to be, where all the waitresses knew my ten year old Bill by name. The ancient red and white checkerboard tile and wood ceiling remained, however, a remnant of the past.
We arrived at the caverns and I actually thought ahead this time and took along my jacket, expecting to freeze. I didn’t. Though it’s stated that the caverns stay around 54 degrees, during our tour I noticed a thermometer that had held steady at 60. It felt great. As I hoped, it was comfortable enough to get some varied shots.
Outside the caverns, there is mini golf and panning for gold, a gift shop, and a strip of small “old west” type buildings, similar to Stagecoach Stop. The Columbus Zoo is located three miles from the caverns, but that would be another day, as it was already getting late. On the way down, on 23, we saw a marquee stating, “Featured Business: Kemosabe’s Roadhouse Grill”. We decided to check it out for dinner, yet it was nowhere to be found on the GPS. We had to ride back to Fostoria and ask directions, before we found it on Sandusky Rd. What a very, very cool place! Kemosabe’s is a new restaurant, open for just eight weeks. Obviously, The Lone Ranger memorabilia line the walls of this super cool bar and grill. The service was great, the food was fantastic, and we told them we’d be back.. Little did we realize at the time it would be the next day. (First déjà vu moment). We left the restaurant after having watched a huge red mass on the news, a developing storm headed right for our area. Knowing we’d get wet, I prayed for no hail or huge puddles we couldn’t ride through. We pressed on and miraculously made it home dry, just wet from the knee down from road spray. Turning onto our street, we dodged downed tree limbs and gave thanks that we still had power upon arriving home.
Which was when Bill discovered his keys were gone. We searched his bike over and over, already deciding we’d have to get the VIN number to a dealer for a replacement. The next morning he called Kemosabe’s to see if they might be in the parking lot, and thankfully, they were! It was already shaping up to be another great day, so no one needed to twist our arms to ride back down to Fostoria, where we again had lunch at one of our new favorites. We had planned to return, but not this soon. As we left, we waved to the manager and said, “See you tomorrow!”