First Day - Summerfield, Ohio

Cumulative Miles: 485

Wow! What a packed first day. I left home at 6:00 am after a fitful night of sleep. I drove all the way across PA, through the horn of West Virginia, into Noble County in Southeastern Ohio, where my father was born and raised. As a child we took annual trips from our home in North Carolina to Ohio to visit our grandparents in Summerfield where they lived and he grew up. I wish I could say they were joyful occasions, but my father's parents were reserved and not inclined to show any emotions. The small town they lived in is in a hilly portion of the state and could be classified as "Appalachia". It was prosperous in the early 1900's, but it has steadily declined since the great depression. As a child it was full of tired, white clapboard houses with single pane windows and sad, limp, white curtains. We walked everywhere, because everything was within the few blocks of the town. Today it's even sadder. The church burned down, the school is deserted, and fracking is degrading the landscape.

My grandparents moved to North Carolina in the late 80's to be closer to my parents and the last time I visited was probably 20 years ago - see the picture of their house (below) at that time.

And here's how it looks today. Vinyl siding, new roof, and no awnings. Still, it could be worse.

I went to the cemetery in the town to scope out my extended family's graves and found some Philpot names I am not familiar with. For the record, my father's family is pretty complicated. My grandfather was adopted into the Philpot family. Both of his adoptive parents, my great grandparents, were widowed, each with children from previous marriages, so my grandfather had an array of step-siblings and, to be honest, I've never sorted them all out. I now have a big list of questions for my dad.

By the way, I've never met another person with the last name of Philpot (spelled with one "t,") that I am not related to. I know they are out there. I've been asked if I know a Jan Philpot, a nurse in NJ. Nope. I was even stalked by a bill collector trying to find a different Tim Philpot in Kentucky who apparently was in arears on some things. Not me or anyone I know. Have any of you met a one-t Philpot before me?

So after Summerfield, I pressed on to a campground near Cambridge, Ohio. Nice place, with some primitive camping sites. Nothing but some cleared ground with a fire ring. No problem! Or..... was it? I struggled a bit to erect the tent. Definitely should have practiced before I left PA. Then I went to make some dinner and the campstove wouldn't light. Again, no problem, because I packed a lighter, BUT I COULD NOT FIND IT. I am one thousand percent sure it's packed somewhere, but I can't locate it. Dinner was tuna fish and crackers. Not gourmet, but it filled the tummy. I am NOT complaining. I am so joyous to be able to do this trip.

If you've read this far, thank you! Tomorrow I'm off to Columbus, Ohio, the place of my own birth and early childhood until I was four years old. I'm going to go back to see the house and neighborhood where we lived, then I'll press on to Michigan.

Love to all!