Bent Bears Big Gay Road Trip
Being presented with a gorgeous weekend last last weekend, we just HAD to get the hell out of Columbus and hit the road for a Bent Bear Road Trip. Unlike the last trip where we just picked a direction and drove till we felt like turning around, this time out we had a destination in mind. Two of them actually.
Heading east on I-70, we drove through the rest of Ohio to Martins Ferry, just across the Ohio River from Wheeling, West Virginia, and headed north on state route 7. Route 7 pretty much follows the Ohio all the way to East Liverpool, Ohio. At one time, the road actually went THROUGH this coal powered power plant:
After 9/11, a by-pass was built and the road now goes around the plant. Aside from the obvious security risk posed by having a major highway going THROUGH a major power plant, the old road was also rather narrow, making for an interesting drive, particularly in the rain.
We followed Rt. 7 as far as Steubenville (Hometown of Dean Martin believe it or not...) and headed across the Ohio into West Virginia on Rt. 22.
Rt. 22 takes you through lovely downtown Weirton, WV. (Can you sense the sarcasm?) Weirton is a classic rust belt city, still struggling with the downsizing of the US steal industry. As in most of West Virginia, which approved slot machine gambling several years ago, and just this past June approved table games, Weirton is full of little "Cafes" which offer food, and gambling. As near as we can figure, these places can not be opened primarily for the purpose of gambling, so all have names like "Edna's Cafe and More!" or "George's Lunch Counter and MORE!" The "and more" being slot machines.
From Weirton we headed north on WV RT. 2, to Newell, WV., and the first of our planned stops for the day:
The Fiesta Ware Factory Outlet!. Yes I admit it, I'm a Fiesta Ware freak. We now have service for a bazillion, including service pieces and coffee mugs. Fiesta just recently released a new color, Evergreen, and I , being the Fiesta Bear that I am, wanted (No! NEEDED!) to have it. Not only did I get it at a reasonable price. (A bit less than Macy's wanted for it here in town), but we also spent some time going through the bins in the seconds room picking up a few things for Steve's sister, and a few things that we were missing. Some amazing deals there.
After wallowing in Fiesta-y goodness, it was back on the road, heading east into Pennsylvania, to the outskirts of Pittsburgh (Only about 45 miles from Newell) and our 2nd stop on our Big Bent Bear Road Trip of Gayness!:
Notice that in this picture, 2 of my favorite words are located in close proximity to each other: IKEA and SALE.
And yes, we had just driven 3+ hours to go to an IKEA. Some of you in other parts of the country might not understand this, since there might be an IKEA very close to you. But this IKEA in Pittsburgh is the closest one to Columbus. About every 3rd car in the lot has Ohio plates, and of those most are from the Columbus area. One would think that IKEA would have noticed this when deciding where to build the new store ini Ohio and select a site near Columbus. (What with Columbus being the 15th largest city in the U.S., and the largest city in Ohio and being right smack dab in the center of the state). But alas, the Ohio store is being built in Westchester , outside of Cincinnati. It will still be closer that Pittsburgh, but sheesh.. Cincinnati?
Having spent a couple happy hours cruising the aisles at IKEA, stocking up on cocktail glasses, various other kitchen items, and enough lingonberry jam to last until the new store opens in Ohio (I loves me some lingonberry pancakes!) we hit the checkout stands and actually made it out of IKEA having spent less than $200.00. That had NEVER happened before. Usually, we end up spending the equivalent of the gross national product of Belize. We must be slipping.
We headed home after IKEA, wanting to make it home before dark, since Steve had to work the next day. (I'm still on vacation until the 19th of July). We unpacked the car, and were thankful that for once, we didn't have to carry huge ass boxes full of flat packed furniture into the house after driving for 3 hours.
Not a bad way to spend a Sunday. Fiesta Ware, IKEA, and some interesting scenery along the way.