O is for Ohio

I've moved on from Akron, southeast to Kent, the location of Kent State University, and the clothing museum that I am going to visit as soon as it opens in a little over an hour. 

Driving through Ohio, I reflected on how, during the 18th century, this was the wilderness. Driving to dinner last night in Akron proper, it looked just like any other suburban town on the East Coast. All the same chains, even some of the same road names.  Ohio was the land that sparked Manifest Destiny, a Promised Land of sorts.  It's the land that sparked the French and Indian War, and a place where Washington owned thousands of acres.  This was the old Old West, in a way. Not much frontier left now. 

Back to the current day, I'm currently sitting in exactly the kind of coffee shop I'd hoped to find in a college town. Threadbare furniture and a cashier who just looks like he belongs in an indy coffee shop, playing around on his Mac. It could use a good coat of paint that I hope it never gets, the shabbiness being part of the charm.  I'm in a back room, surrounded by bookshelves and worn copies of books that seem to be there just for customers to read.  It smells of coffee and books, and I could quite contentedly sit here for hours. I imagine it draws quite a crowd of students during the school year, although there is only one other customer this morning. Being somewhat jittery from my first cup of coffee this morning, I passed up the java for a cup of Moroccan Mint green tea. 

Ohio marks the first new state I've visited on this trip, and I'll pass through a few more today on my way to Chicago, where I'll be until the morning of the 8th. Two more nights in hotels, one night at a family friend's, and then I'm back to sleeping in a tent for a few days. I'll be out West, which still has a somewhat wild feel to it, in stark contrast to the big city I'll be in tonight.