Ah, the Mothership!
The factory where the Airstreams are born and one of the best places to go for service and repairs. (And I should know, because I think I have found many of the less-than-best places for service and repairs.)
I had made a reservation several months back to have a bump repaired and to have a pressure test done to try one last time to detect where the leak was and get it fixed. Since insurance was paying for the bump and I had already made an appointment, I figured I might as well get it taken care of before I handed Flo over to Joyce.
They have a great little campground on the property. They invite anyone to stay there, although it is “free” if you are having work done. I arrived on the weekend, so I had a day to fill before my appointment.
I took off for Bellefontaine, a nearby town, which was touted as have two things of interest to me:
An award-winning pizza restaurant
The nation’s oldest concrete street
The restaurant is Six Hundred Downtown. According to their website, they are “a completely independent restaurant, locally owned and operated by 5 time World Pizza Champion Brittany Saxton. In addition to being a World Pizza Champion, Brittany has competed on the Food Network show Guys Grocery Games.”
I parked and walked over to the restaurant.
I passed this sign in the window next door. I am in favor of using the wind to generate electricity, but I do realize that people can have differing opinions. I had to laugh at the name of their organization. FightTheWind.com. Really?
I entered the restaurant and got settled.
I decided to have the Detroit Style. I don’t know if the description of the pizza was what sold me or the limited availability. It was a little more than I usually spend on a pizza, but I figured that I could eat it for several days.
I found the digitally displayed drink menus to be interesting. Just in case you missed it, this is what it says at the bottom of the menu:
Why not? Everyone is staring at their phones anyway. Might as well take advantage of it.
After the wait time – which they warned me about – the Detroit style pizza arrived.
The sad thing was that I didn’t like it. How surprising and disappointing. I did manage to eat a couple slices. After all, this was my food and it was as it was described. I just didn’t care for it. I wasn’t about to leave it there, so I had it boxed up and I took it with me.
Well, that took care of my number one objective, now it was time to check out the concrete street.
And there is is!
George Bartholomew developed his formula for a durable paving concrete in Bellefontaine. According to a plaque near the stature, he used a “small laboratory in the rear of his childhood friend George Kalteyer’s drug store, across from Court Avenue.”
This statue of him was presented to the citizens of Logan country by the Concrete Industries of Ohio and the United States in 1991, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first concrete street in America.
There was a lovely courthouse in Bellefontaine that appeared to be undergoing some major renovations.
I imagine that it will be quite lovely when it is complete.
Still, the fountain continues to splash merrily. I wonder if that is the “belle” fountain?
There was a marker dedicated to Blue Jacket. I wonder how accurate the silhouettes are at the top? I don’t recall knowing that the Natives of this area lived in teepees. Still, it is something that they recognized history that wasn’t that of the settlers. If you want to find out more about Blue Jacket, click here.
I made my way back to where I had parked Bart. I thought this was an interesting composition.
I can’t imagine wanting to park where there is potential for grease over-spray.
And what is the purpose of “Unseen Elegance”?
Ah, I guess I ask too many questions.
Once back in the car, I consulted my favorite app for locating the offbeat places, History HERE! and I found that there was another marker for Blue Jacket.
The plaque reads, “This marks the site of the home of Blue Jacket, celebrated Chief of the Shawonoe Indians. Erected by Bellefontaine Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution 1928.”
The folks sitting on the porch where the monument was didn’t mind me taking their photo.
At this point, I figured that I had just about exhausted the charms of Bellefontaine. I got into Bart and headed back to the campground at the Mothership, which is referred to as “The Terrport.” There were a few folks hanging out, and I figured that I’d see if they wanted the pizza. At this point, I decided that I didn’t need to eat it just because I paid for it.
It turns out that they were having a high school reunion because Tommy was back in town getting some work done on this Airstream. I had fun with them, trying to fool the people who came up as we sat there. They’d tell me the people’s names and I greet them warmly and act like we were old friends. I managed to fool a few of them for a minute or two until my improv skills let me down.
I had a good evening with my new friends. In the morning it would be time to take care of Flo.