Akron, Ohio

This evening we are parked about ten miles outside of Akron, Ohio, in a small town called Tallmadge.  We're anchored for the night in the Walmart parking lot.  In the lot here tonight, we're surrounded by other boondockers and two or three 18-wheelers.

(The top photo of the Goodyear Blimp is not my own.  The Blimp is pictured flying over Akron.  The brick building below is a photo of the Goodyear headquarters.)

As we were driving into Akron, we saw the Goodyear Blimp flying off in the distance.  It provoked an interesting conversation between consort and I as to whether we had seen the Goodyear Blimp previously.  We both felt we had, but couldn't put a time or place to it.  Not too many miles farther down the road we passed the Goodyear plant.  The first Goodyear factory opened in Akron in 1898.  Two of the items they manufactured were bicycle tires and poker chips.

This one's for you, Elizabeth.

The most popular regional food in Ohio is Cincinnati Chili.  The recipe for Cincinnati Chili sounds pretty easy:  Cooked spaghetti noodles topped with chili then covered with shredded cheddar cheese.  Simple, right?

One evening while in Tennessee, I cooked cabbage rolls for dinner.  Consort only just tolerates cabbage rolls, but our friends and I were craving them.  Tonight, when consort took his first bite of Cincinnati Chili, he screwed his face up like, What the heck was that?  He was not impressed with the flavor of the chili and was already leaning heavily towards, I don't like this!  I took a bite of my chili and was immediately rewarded with an array of spices that exploded in my mouth; dominant among them was allspice.  I was thinking, This is the best chili I've ever had!

We discussed what we liked and didn't like about the chili.  Consort said he was expecting a more traditionally flavored, thick chili, like the kind you get on Coneys or over french fries; something like Ron's.  I was happy to find that was not the case (Although I do love Ron's sausage burgers.  Okay, okay.  His chili, too.)  We both agreed the beef and seasonings in the Cincinnati Chili were very similar in flavor to the beef/seasoning combo in cabbage rolls.  So there you have it.  You'll have to come to Akron and eat at Skyline Chili to decide for yourself because tonight, we have a split vote.

Possibly a relevant note.  As you just read, consort really -- I mean, really, does not like cabbage rolls.  Me, I absolutely despise chili.

Two pics of the day

D.O.G. reviewing treat options

Gulls flapping around the Walmart parking lot.  Sounds like we're at the ocean.
I believe these birds are ring-billed gulls.  We're about 70 miles south of Lake Erie