On the Road to Hilltop, Deshler, and Back....part 2

As I mentioned yesterday, I was "rained out" at Convoy Crestview in a double header, those were the first games cancelled since it soaked us out back on April 7th and 8th....so far for the year we are sitting at 25 games played, 6 cancelled....add that to 3 scrimmages played and 3 rained out, it's been a busy Spring thus far...the remainder of the 15 days of regular season are "iffy" at times, but we all know the forecasters are not hot looking that far into their Chrystal balls.

The Road Home from Deshler____

After stopping out at the stables Friday, visiting Tom and the horses, I said my so long, and headed out of town, towards Celina. This trip would take me by several baseball and basketball facilities that I work in season in the northern part of my umpire and officiating work. I took Ohio 18 and eventually hooked up on Ohio 65, US 224, and then the familiar back roads I knew from my days traveling the out regions of Van Wert County, working as Environmental Health Director/Sanitarian, with the VW County Health Department....

Past Patrick Henry High School, location of the Regional Baseball Tournament I umpired last Spring, through the village of Hamler, onto 65 and south and west towards Lepsic and then Ottawa...I stopped in Ottawa just past Hermiller Gymnasium, where I worked a couple of games last Basketball season, and where I am scheduled to work a Girls game this coming December...I pulled into the local McDonald's Drive Thru to grab another coffee, and decided to blow breakfast on a McBurrito....something I have done seldom since I went on my diet to avoid the pitfalls of Diabetes 2 last September...down 27 pounds since last Summer, and no signs of any relapse, so I figured "What the Hell?"...I was at 186 yesterday morning...just a handful of pounds from my original goal....another 3 should do the trick, especially with the BP and Sugar down to acceptable levels at this stage of the game.

Sipping on my large coffee, I headed out past Kalida and Ottoville, on 224. I am scheduled for a game at Ottoville this week, and at Kalida for a Summer ACME double header with Sam in early June...Kalida has a classic old ballpark that feels like the 1940s Minor League diamonds...Ottoville replaced their diamond with a brand new ball field a couple of years ago, where I had the opportunity to umpire the first home game played there.

Crossing into Van Wert County, I decided to avoid towns along the federal route 224, and headed down south on the Middle Point-Wetzel Road towards Middle Point and the Van Del Drive In Theater(for Van Wert and Delphos, the mid point on old 30). I was listening to WKSD Radio(the last station I worked for a few years ago, doing play-by-play for Basketball and Football)...and the Van Del was advertising the shows for this weekend as a celebration of the aging classics 62nd Birthday..."62 Cents a Person" was the line...62 cents a person to watch the latest Chipmunk and Sandra Bullock Movies...strange combination I thought.

The Van Del and Van Wert Drive In(on the west side of Van Wert on old US 30) were built as twin drive in theaters back in the hey day of the Midwest love affair...before our family moved to Florida in the early 1950s. I remember, even as a 3 year old going to the Drive Ins....The Van Wert facility remained open until it was destroyed by the Killer Tornado of November 2002....the Van Del is one of 3 that still are in operation in the area today...the others being east and south of Celina...the Van Del is in as good of condition as any around these days.

Here is the timeline of the November 2002 Tornado that destroyed the Van Del's sister Drive In and adjacent movie theater:

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/iwx/program_areas/events/2002/11_10_02_tornadoes/timeline.php
I snapped a couple of photos and headed towards Celina and home....I arrived at 9am and waited to see if our game at Marion Local would be played...it was, and I was ready for the weekend, and what it would bring.

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Heading Home from Florida____

Mike and Mom headed up I-75 towards north Georgia yesterday through the storms, the planned on stopping north of Atlanta for the night...I expect them to be pulling in the driveway in the early or mid afternoon today....I had planned on mowing both yards, but the wet grass and more showers on the way, will likely delay that for a day or 2.

back later>>>>

Photos---The Van Del Drive In located between Van Wert and Delphos on old US 30 (Lincoln Highway) is celebrating 62 years in business this weekend. One of the dozen or so 2 and 3 years old Trotters and Pacers that Tom works with at the Stables located outside Deshler....and the morning sun rising across the training track and into the stable area early Friday Morning/