Shawshank Redemption (Pittsburgh & Central OH Trip, Day 3)

We leave the Berkshire Lake Campground, north of Columbus, at about 8am and head north on I-71 to Bellville, just south of Mansfield, where there is a beautiful bike trail. 

At the parking lot, we meet a biker finishing his ride who tells us to go south and back to experience the most scenic part of the trail. He also tells us the best route to Malabar Farm where we want to have lunch, and about the Shawshank Trail.  The movie Shawshank Redemption was filmed around here and now there is a self-guided tour of the sites, including the prison (the former Mansfield State Reformatory) and the road and tree where “Red” found the money Andy left him. 

We ride about 10 miles along a shady trail through farm country and at the turn back point, stop at an Amish farmer’s produce stand and buy tomatoes and banana peppers that fit into our packs. When we return to the RV, on the windshield is a plastic bag holding a Mansfield area map, flyers on the Shawshank Trail and Malabar farms, and hand-written directions from our friend on the bike! 

We have a fabulous lunch of farm fresh food prepared in country French style at Malabar Farms Restaurant, out on the porch. I love this area with its rolling hills, fields of corn and gardens of lilies and vegetables. We are home by mid-afternoon.

Relaxed and Rushed (Pittsburgh & Central OH Trip, Day 2)

After Mike takes a long run, we “break camp”– just pull the electrical plug – and head to Black-Hand Gorge Nature Preserve just east of Newark, which we read on a biking website has a 4.2 mile bike trail through a stunning gorge.  We eat lunch at the trailhead, sharing a picnic table with a woman and her 10-year-old daughter who bike this trail often. Because the website warned about rough pavement we decide to walk instead of bike. It is a hot day, but the shaded trail follows the Licking River, which cut the gorge.  A huge outcropping of black rock forms the “Black Hand.”  At the turnaround point a group of young guys set out to tube the river. Faced with walking back the 4-plus miles in the heat with little water left, and seeing that the pavement isn’t that bad, I wish we had ridden our bikes. But we enjoy the view from the Quarry Rim Trail and make it back.

Mike goes into the camper to get his soap so we can wash poison ivy off our legs, but he quickly comes back out, saying we have to go back to Salt Fork.  He hung his wet running clothes on the picnic table at the campsite and then put his toiletry bag there, too, so he wouldn’t forget them. We left it all. It is 3:00pm, the drive back to Salt Fork is 80 miles, and we have dinner plans in Columbus for 6:00om. While Mike drives, I call Salt Fork and the woman at the office kindly offers to go see if the things are still at the campsite.  When I call back 20 minutes later, she says she is holding it all for us at the office. We grab the stuff, get our friends to change the reservation to 6:30pm, and fly to Columbus.

We make it to “M”, one of Columbus’s finest restaurants, just in time to wash our faces and throw “dress-up” clothes over our hot, sweaty bodies.  The valet lets us park the RV ourselves on the circle in front. As Mike gives him the keys, he jokes that the valet could take a nap in the RV while we eat dinner. 

Salt Fork State Park (Pittsburgh & Central OH Trip, Day 1)

We leave home at 9:30am in our RV, heading to Pittsburgh to have lunch with an old friend and visit a cousin who has been ill.  From there we loop back into Ohio on Rt. 70 and camp at Salt Fork State Park, Ohio’s largest state park, set in rolling woodlands and meadows bordering Salt Fork Reservoir. The campground is huge and well maintained, with excellent bathroom facilities. We camp next to a group of nurses from Akron, out for a long weekend of camping with their families. Pop-up campers and tents and kids on bikes are everywhere. This is old-fashioned family camping, with few RVs. It is a quiet night.