President McKinley tomb
Our final stop on our June shakedown trip was in Canton Ohio, where we got the chance to visit The McKinley Presidential library and memorial, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Yeah, this was a Frank stop but one of the cool things about Jan is she’s always enthusiastic about my need for a history fix, can’t wait to plan the civil war RV tour!!
For a base camp we stayed at the Canton / East Sparta KOA.
This campsite was right next to a riding stable, so we got to see, you guessed it, more horses. We like horses, they're cool.
The McKinley Presidential Library and Memorial
Where to start. As we travel the states one thing, I like to do is visit the different Presidential libraries and historical sites. So, when I learned that President McKinley’s was only 15 minutes from us, and 7 minutes from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we quickly formed our plan of attack. First the Presidential library, then lunch, and end our day at the Hall.
First some background on President McKinley, because frankly, I did not remember much from my high school history classes about him. I guess the first shock was that he was assassinated while in office in Buffalo, New York. But that’s really at the tail end of what I learned.
William McKinley was the 25th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1897, until his assassination on September 14, 1901, after leading the nation to victory in the Spanish-American War and raising protective tariffs to promote American industry.
Of course, hearing of his part in the war in Cuba raised my interest as the president you most hear about attached to this action is Teddy Roosevelt and his famous charge up San Juan hill with his rough riders.
I can only imagine what my great, great grandfather thought of all this but I do know the liberation of Cuba from Spain was a proud moment in Cuban history.
So, it made sense that in his second term he chose Teddy as his VP running mate. Upon his assassination President Roosevelt was sworn into office while the country grieved.
The library has some great exhibits showing life at that time and we enjoyed walking through a typical town of that day. As we left I walked up the 108 steps of the monument to see his, his wife and daughter’s final resting place.
Lunch
Ok, so why am I talking about lunch? Because we happened into a little hole in the wall Greek restaurant called the Athens Restaurant. It was mid-afternoon so the lunch crowd was gone but we had a great time talking to the owner and all the staff, which have all worked there forever.
It was like "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", and we talked about everything from travel to having your gallbladder removed lol. Great people, outstanding food. If you’re in Canton, you have to go.
Here’s the address: Athens Restaurant 816 Harrison Avenue Southwest, Canton and here’s a link to their trip adviser .
Trust me, go!
It's a fun place to eat!
The Pro Football Hall of fame
I have wanted to come here for a long time, and while I would not consider myself a super fan, all throughout my life memories of football are intertwined. Growing up a Dolphin fan when we lived just a few short blocks from the Orange Bowl to my days cheering on the Houston Oilers and now Detroit, football has been there.
It also brings people together. When we lived in Houston my friend and neighbor Bob T. would cheer and suffer as Bum Philips, Earl Campbell, and Warren Moon came into our homes during the season. In fact, we still to this day text back and forth during the games and yes, I sent him texts from the Hall as I found Moon, Munchak, Campbell of the Oilers, and others from my Dolphin days like Csonka.
So I hope you enjoy these pictures and they trigger your own memories. And if your not into football it may be because your team sucks, just kidding…..
Jan’s Take on Things
Canton Ohio
Yea, back on flat ground!
We finally got to use our 35th anniversary present. We bought ourselves e-bikes. We found a great bike trail called Middle Branch Trail, run by the state parks, that goes through woods, following the train tracks, going through beautiful neighborhoods and a beautiful winery called Gervasi Vineyard. It was a great evening and very relaxing. I know as we go explore our country, we’re going to get a lot of use out of our bikes. Oh yea, we have these cool helmets with Bluetooth so we can talk to each other as we’re riding.
This whole trip was planned around seeing the synchronized fireflies but that just didn’t happen, but in both West Virginia and Ohio the normal fireflies gave us a fantastic light show. It was the perfect ending to a great trip.
Well, that wraps up this trip. We hope you have enjoyed the journey with us and will once again join us in August as we head out west.
Please let us know what you think or any suggestions by emailing us.