Harley Davidson Travel Blog . . . and thoughts along the journey

The inn was first owned by Philip Gunckle, the founder of Germantown. In 1832 it was sold to William Schaeffer. William Leighty bought the inn in 1862 and owned "The Flo" during the Civil War. It was known as the Leighty House.
Many famous Americans stayed in the hotel. Two are Henry Clay and Clement Vallandingham, a notorious Southern sympathizer. Both are said to have addressed enthusiastic crowds from the iron balcony on the front of the building. This ornate balcony of acorns and oak leaves woven together was fabricated at the ironworks in the Old Oregon District of Dayton, Ohio. By the early 1970s, "The Flo" was in bad shape and facing demolition. Two local couples rescued the old building and restored the interior and exterior. Then the Dale Zink Family managed the restaurant.

Costume King
As I was driving home, I drove through Jamestown, OH. A small town you would not even recognize . . . or stop. I had lunch at the local restaurant and needless to say I was noticed by many as a stranger.

As I left the restaurant I noticed a store on the opposite side of Washington Street that offered costume rentals (the building was not in the best of shape). As I entered the store I was greeted by Cathy King, who (with pride) gave me a tour of her store. The amazing part were not the many, many masks, but the many, many costumes . . . and you may have never guessed it: they were all handmade by Cathy.

I felt as if I was in another world. A world of 'wanna be' and 'look at me'.

If you ever need a costume, call Cathy at 937.875.2442 or 937.675.3070

I stopped at The Marietta Brewing Company for dinner. The menu offers everything from a New York Steak to a Beer Battered Fish Sandwich. The service is extremely nice and the atmosphere is contemporary. I had the fortune that the owner was going around to each table, so I had the opportunity to chat with him a little while.

The rebirth of local brewing became reality when the first beer was tapped here in 1997

How the choices of others influence our Life

As I was arriving in the lobby of the hotel I noticed an old friend: Gene from the Barnes and Carson Circus. (You can read all about him, when you read about the Lowe Hotel.

Anyway, as I was sitting in the beautiful lobby I noticed two women. As I found out later it was a mother and daughter who were visiting Marietta. I started talking and our conversations must have lasted for over two hours. The older lady told me a very interesting story. She told me that as she was young she had a fiance. The fiance was called to war to Korea. As he was in the war, she got to know another young man and . . . they got married. She never met her past fiance again.
After years and years, she received a call from a lady who told her on the phone that her ex-fiance had died . . . and she asked the lady why she would call her. The lady's answer was that she had been his wife and she wanted to tell her that he had always carried a picture of her in his billfold . . .

She also told her that he had become an alcoholic. As she was telling the story it again became clear to me how much the choice(s) of other people influence our lives . . . rather then our own choices. Our life is truly guided by the goodness of others or by the corrupt nature of others.

As she finished her story, she asked me:"Do you believe that he became an alcoholic because of me? (that she had married someone else) I did not answer the question, but I noticed how much she withheld her feeling from any further conversation and I could tell that she was ready not to talk about this episode of her life anymore.

They both said "Good Night" and left to go to their rooms.

I spent two days in Marietta and I enjoyed every minute of it There are lots of historic buildings to see, lots of stories to hear, much great food to eat and most of all great people to meet.

Thank you Marietta!

Parkersburg, WV
We took St. Rt... 2 (which is a very scenic ride) to Parkersburg . . . It was a very hot day. I must tell you that I had a great cherry pie along the way; and wouldn't you know it I forgot the name of the restaurant . It was a very small, simple diner with a very kind waitress who did a wonderful job taking care of me. (Hey,. . . if you remember me . . . send me an email)

I encourage you to look up the website of Parkersburg. I cannot believe that a city like Parkersburg allows for design & content like that. An entire page of calculative measurements like: What is the Prime # of . . . (I am sure web surfer really want to visit Parkersburg now)
Mr. Mayor: "Please give your web surfers some meat and potatoes and sell your city to future visitors" . . . All I can say : "Pretty sad" Let me know when you have your site changed Mr. Mayor . . .

The BlennerHassett Hotel
As I arrived in Parkersburg I asked for a historic place to stay and I was guided with enthusiastic directions to the BlennerHassett Hotel.

I must tell you I have not seen yet a more elegant renovated Hotel then this beauty. The rates were reasonable (about $100.00) a night, depending what elegance level you choose. Everything, but everything about the Hotel is superb and extravagant. Every employee makes an extra effort to get to know you and to make you feel welcome.

This Hotel offers every amenity from luxurious dining, to fitness, to computer accessibility, etc.

Thank You everybody from the BennerHassett . . . you are fantastic!

However, the whole visit comes with one disappointing story: It was about 8:30 P.M. as I felt hungry. Although I knew that the BennerHassett offered a great menu at their restaurant, I felt more like a sandwich and a Coke. I asked the receptionist where she would suggest going and she gave me a map of downtown.
As I was following the map, I might as well have received a map of the local funeral parlor, because this (which?) downtown is DEAD. On some roads there are not even ANY stores. Some streets look like the entrance to h"hell". Needless to say I was not able to find a place at 8:30 P.M. in downtown that would sell /serve a sandwich.

Parkersburg, you have the historic facades, the style, the access roads, etc. . . . for crying out loud get some businesses to downtown. Believe it or not the Hotel is about the only retail business in the who downtown.

After I searched for a place to eat I finally gave up and made ourselves comfortable at the restaurant of the hotel. Be assured that the food comes close to 'manna' and the waiter serves you as if you are the King of the Night. (Well, he better, because dining is not cheap . . . and far more expensive then my sandwich I wanted so badly)


Here is our rating of the Hotel: (maximum rating in each category ●●●●●)

Food quality and value: ●●●●●
Location: ●
Service: ●●●●●
Atmosphere: ●●●●●
Our Rating: ●●●●

Just before I arrived in Point Pleasant, it started to rain heavy and so I took a break at the local McDonald's in Point Pleasant. I could not have asked for nicer personal. As they saw me all wet, they asked if I would stay overnight and they referred me to a local Hotel:

The Historic Lowe Hotel
They told me that this hotel had been bought several years ago and that it is 'sort' of a historic landmark for downtown.

Never did I think that I would discover the wonderful past of the Hotel and meet such nice people.

Upon arriving of at the Hotel I was greeted by the owner "Ruth Finley" and her daughter. The charge for the room was about $50.00 and the room was more then comfortable.

Before you visit this landmark Hotel you have to know that each room is decorated personally by Ruth and the idea was to maintain the style of the Hotel just as it once was. Beware, this is NOT some multi Million Dollar renovation . . . this Hotel is the outcome of a way of living since 1990. The Finely family lives and breathes "hotel" night and day. If you stand outside and you look at the facade of the hotel you firmly believe that the Hotel was just built . . . (it was actually built in 1901) . Can you imagine that this hotel has been in continued operation since 1901?
. . . Stories to tell and stories forgotten . . .


The lobby of these old hotels is what makes them so great. Every time I am in one of these lobbies I imagine the people who once sat here, exchanged business cards, made "big deals", experienced romances nobody should know about, etc. If you stay into a modern hotel, you will not sit in the lobby and start conversations . . . but when you come here you will.




Melinda's Restaurant
Because the newly build restaurant of the Hotel was closed (Sunday) I decided to visit Melinda's restaurant downtown. I was in the mood for some really fatty foods anyway . . . (don't tell my cardiologist). Let me assure you they had a plan and a meal for us. It was great and plenty.







Back to the Hotel
Mary and I met Gene Hembrew in the lobby after I returned from the local diner Melinda's. Gene was about 54 years old and he sat in one of the old, large leather couches. I sat down and I started a conversation that would last until late in the evening. Gene had been a very successful businessman and his dream had always to run away with the circus. Late in his life as personal circumstances changed, as a friend had a heart attack, Gene thought:"Now or Never.' So he applied at Carson & Barnes, the largest tent Circus in the US. And the Circus hired him. Gene now sells the Circus to communities like Point Pleasant. If you ever need the circus to come to your town, call Gene on his cell phone 580.743.2104.

If you are really interested what went through my head that evening please click here and find out

The next morning Ruth gave me one more tour of her beautiful hotel:

This glorious ballroom awaits the cigar smoke that shall rise from the parlors below. It awaits the dancing mood of its time and the food of indulgence. "Come, Come . . . I am ready for all of you" it seems to say and I can detect the aged smile of his shiny floor.

The Hotel may not be for everyone, but it was for me and Mary. It was a treat to be here, with real people and in a real Hotel.

Fourth and Main Street - Point Pleasant, WV 25550 -
304.675.2260

Here is our rating of the Hotel: (maximum rating in each category ●●●●●)
Food quality and value: N/A (restaurant was closed on Sunday)
Location: ●
Service: ●●●●●
Atmosphere: ●●●●●
Our Rating: ●●● 3/4

As we were on our way to Point Pleasant, I stopped for lunch at a Shoney's in Huntington, WV. No, No, No I am not going to rate the restaurant, but I did want to share an interesting story to think about:
On the other side of our table sat three people: A middle age couple and and older women. As they sat very close to me I overheard the elderly lady ask over and over again:" Do I get any change back when I pay?" The lady obviously had Dementia or Alzheimer . . . but the one thing remained in constant in her life: "Will someone take advantage of me . . . ?"

As I left Bracken County with her beautiful small town of Augusta, I said "Good Bye" to the Ferry that crosses the Ohio River 26 times a day . . . I said "Good Bye" to the wonderful people I had met and I promised that I would be back.

click on map to enlarge

As I drove along Rt.. 8 I decided to stop in Maysville, KY. Maysville welcomes you with her charming old buildings and partially renovated downtown.

While I was driving I noticed a recently renovated Restaurant. As I entered the Home Front Cafe and ordered our bean soup and hotdog I was greeted by Lanette Parnell and I noticed the many Civil War items in the restaurant.

I was eating, looking around at the many civil war artifacts, as the owner Ernie entered the room and immediately welcomed meto his place with his booming, theatrical voice. Ernie started out with the usual small talk like: Where are you going? . . . where are you from? . . What brought you here? But after a few minutes he told me "his story" How he had found the building, his love for history and especially his love for the history of the civil war. Ernie told me about the history of the South. His stories seemed like philosophical dissertation and as I listened to Ernie.

Ernie talked about truth and realities. . . How people felt in the days before the Civil War and how the two worlds started to separate. He told me about Eli Whitney who invented the cottenpicker. The South was delighted about the invention and it meant everything to the South, but the North could care less about the invention. However Eli also had invented the interchangeable part for the assembly line. With this form of manufacturing one could interchange any part with another for a specific model of production good. (gun as an example). As the North was mostly occupied with manufacturing this process changed the life and the economics of its time.

Labor was still needed in the South but the North wanted to buy cheap cotton, so the North went to the legislature of the country and asked them to abolish slavery (which was the cheap labor of the South). The North was less interested in the freedom of black slaves as in the economics o their State.
How would cotton become cheaper if slavery would be abolished you may ask. Very simply: As slavery would be abolished, production cost would be high, the English would have no interest in purchasing cotton from the South and land purchase of the South would become cheap for Northerners. (Ask Ernie what a copperhead is. . . ) Truly this is the story of Truth and Reality.

But Ernie also talked about time. How time heals all wounds, How generations have come together again. Time heals fear and anger . . . for all of us.

Ernie you are a great guy and I wish you and your family well! Thank you for all you stories, your thoughts and your hospitality.

If you go to Maysville you MUST stop at the Homefront Cafe (don't expect a quick stop is Ernie is around), and say "Hello" to Ernie from me.

On 07/15/2005 I left to drive along the Ohio river on Rt.8 . i left early afternoon and went down to Cincinnati on Rt 127. 127 will lead you directly into Cincinnati and is a smorgasboard of old architecture of stores and old home settings. You will find out that Rt. 8 is a little hard to find once you cross the river to KY, but once you found your "East direction" you will cherish the wonderful ride. The road will lead you through beautiful wooded area along the Ohio river and to my surprise you will find hardly any traveler on the road.



















When you arrive at Augusta, KY, you must stop at the Parkview Inn on 103 West Second Street.

a note about the website of the Parkview Inn:
The website does not really represent the beauty of this Inn. Although it has tons of information, the graphic design and coding need to be revised to keep up with the standards of the internet and need to represent the Inn.
I know so, because I design sites for small and large clients. . . . Just in case you would be interested in have your site developed or re-designed contact me: Manfred Schreyer

The Parkview Inn
The Inn is owned by the Mohrfields, who also own the General Store in town and the local Pub. The reception by the folks (I guess you call them Innkeeper) was outstanding and I was well taken care off in our room. The Inn offers a variety of different rooms which are incredibly tastefully decorated.
The town of Augusta is located in the flood plains of the Ohio River. This small romantic town reminds you a little about Williamsburg, since many building are standing 'tall" as in their days.
While I was there the "General's house" at the end of a shore road was for sale by a local realtor. Though I was tempted to give this (a little dilapidated) property a visit, I noticed that prospective buyers (or already new owners) negotiated in the drive of the historic building. I must warn you . . . when you stroll along the river and walk by the often meticulous kept houses, yards and gardens you will be swept away into another era . . . .

Here is our rating of the B&B: (maximum rating in each category ●●●●●)
Food quality and value: I did not eat at the B&B
Location: ●●●●●
Service: ●●●●●
Atmosphere: ●●●●●
Our Rating: ●●●●●

So, finally I did it. I wanted to create a Travel Blog for Motor Cycle Riders who enjoy traveling "the road not often traveled" and I would like to share some of my moments about the people I met and the places I visited. Let me hear from you and I can't wait to hear your story.