My Lincoln Highway

An American Songline goes to (and performs at) the Opera!

mylincolnhighway — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:40:39 +0000

The Hayesville Opera House opened in 1886 and has been home to many performances over the years including Vaudeville shows and community events. In 2005 the theatre was restored to its original appearance. I cannot think of a more appropriate place for Cece to bring her performance as a part of her An American Songline tour.

As I mentioned previously, Cece and I went to the Opera House on Friday to drop off her gear and for a dress rehearsal. Many of the pictures that are in this blog were taken on that day. This includes probably too many pictures of the graffiti on the walls which I found fascinating. (Don’t forget that you can click on each picture to get a closer look.) The graffiti at the theatre dates back to the late 1800s. Most of the ones that I photographed were from 1910-1930.

Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. I was happy to be present for an outstanding performance by Cece Otto of An American Songline at the Hayesville Opera House. She performed 11 songs including “In My Merry Oldsmobile” and “Second Hand Rose” as well a beautiful rendition of Dvorak’s “Going Home.” If you happen to be somewhere west of Ohio and you’re anywhere along the Lincoln, you need to go see Cece when she performs in your state. I can’t guarantee that the atmosphere will be as captivating as it was in Hayesville, but I know that the performance will be something you’ll remember. And thanks to all of the generous folks who donated to Cece’s Kickstarter campaign, all of her shows are free to the public and truly a great way to celebrate this Centennial Year.

And so until we meet again, here’s to the Hayesville Opera House, the Lincoln Highway Centennial, and here’s to you…

Returning to the Tavern

mylincolnhighway — Sun, 12 May 2013 01:39:23 +0000

This was my first time returning since Dave passed away. His first trip on the Highway was to the Tavern. And so it seems that even though I don’t even remember all the trips I’ve made to the Spread Eagle Tavern that I’ve apparently taken many of the people that I care about in my life there. This point being demonstrated by the fact that after returning from lunch today that while I was talking on the phone with one of my best friends and mentioned that I was traveling the Lincoln Highway with Cece my friend asked if we’d gone to Spread Eagle Tavern. Of course we had.

It’s been over 9 months since he passed away and over a year since he and I last visited the Spread Eagle Tavern together. I keep working to reassemble the fragments and in this I find myself comforted, once again, by this road of mine. Things change, life goes on, and the people that I care about keep making this journey to the Tavern with me, one or two at a time.

In my heart and in my memory he goes with us, too.

And so, until we meet again, here’s to the changing and unchanging road, to the Spread Eagle Tavern, and here’s to you, too.

Waiting for Cece…

mylincolnhighway — Sat, 11 May 2013 01:54:13 +0000

This afternoon I met Cece Otto from American Songline in Wooster. We were meeting in preparation for her concert at the Hayesville Opera House on Sunday. While I was waiting for her, though, I decided to take a short stroll around town. I thoroughly enjoyed Walnut Creek Antiques. They had some of the most unique antiques that I’ve seen in a long time. After that I walked over to Uptown Downtown Antiques and Friendtiques as well. Then, and I blame Cece for this, I stopped in at Lemonberry Yogurt. It was delicious! I’m certain that the 1819 steps equalling .76 miles that I walked did NOT burn off all the calories that I ate.

So, here are a few pictures from my walk and, of course, I had to take a picture of when I finally met Cece at the end!

And so until we meet again, here’s to the road and here’s to you, too!

Lots to see in Lisbon!

mylincolnhighway — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 13:49:09 +0000

Yesterday was the last day of my Spring Break and the sun was shining and it was actually warm outside so, I decided that it was the perfect day for a stroll. Of course, any Lincoln Highway adventure that is heading East begins with a stop at Kishman’s IGA for snacks! And while I only got a protein bar and some string cheese, whatever they had going in their smoker smelled wonderful!

When I got to Lisbon it was about lunch time so I started out at the Steel Trolley Diner. As you can see from their menu, they have a Lincoln Highway burger. I thought that was pretty cool. However, I don’t eat much red meat these days, so I decided to get the Bird Is the Word turkey burger. Now, having eaten approximately 150 turkey burgers (or more) over the last 8 months, I think this probably makes me an expert on them and having decided such I can tell you that their turkey burger was excellent! It was moist and flavorful with a clean turkey taste.

So, anyways, after lunch I took a walk around downtown and took some pictures. Yes, I took another cheesy shot of me. This one has a bit of significance, though. Many years ago I was dragging a dear friend of mine along with me on a Lincoln Highway adventure and we stopped in Lisbon and I took his picture in front of that same Lincoln Highway statue. Sadly, my friend, Jeff, passed away not too long after that picture, but I always think of him as I’m passing through. Unfortunately I can’t seem to figure out where the picture went. No matter, though, I always carry that memory with me and think of him as I drive through town. That’s one thing that I love about the Lincoln Highway — it’s more than just a road, it’s a place to make memories with friends, new and old, and a continuing reminder of all the experiences that we’ve shared.

Before I show you the pictures, I’d like to offer up a little contest. In one of these pictures there is a dog. Yes, really. If you can find the dog, send me an email telling me either the number of the picture that it is in or else a very good description of it and I will send you a prize. This offer is open to the first three people to find him. Since more than one person can win, please do not provide your answer in the comments, instead email me at jamie@tinestotreasures.com . Happy hunting and don’t forget that you can enlarge each picture by clicking on them and also using the mouse to hover over the picture will tell you what number the picture is. Oh, and the contest will end and I will reveal where the dog is hiding one month from today.

This walk was 5,255 steps which is 2.2 miles.

I am editing this post to add that I thought it was curious that the banner for the Oldest Brick Building says 1802, but on the building itself it says 1803. Anyone know why, feel free to comment.

So, until we meet again here’s to meeting new friends and making memories along the road…

Time is running out to support American Songline!

mylincolnhighway — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:25:13 +0000

Just a final reminder that there are only about 20 hours left in American Songline’s Kickstarter campaign and she is sooooo close to her goal.

If you haven’t checked out her campaign and heard about her cross-country tour, please do! Every little contribution will help make this dream a reality and will help to keep her concerts free. Become a part of history and donate to my friend Cece’s dream today.

American Songline’s Kickstarter Campaign.

Zombies, Run! across the Lincoln Highway, oh, and Happy 2nd Anniversary My Lincoln Highway, too!!

mylincolnhighway — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 01:22:33 +0000

Today is the second anniversary of My Lincoln Highway. As you all know it’s been quite a year. That being said, I’d like to take a moment to thank several people who have made this year a little better. And if I’ve thanked them before elsewhere, TOO BAD, I’m going to do it again. Many small (and large) kindnesses have meant so much to me and so I’d like to thank a million times over and in no particular order, my dad, Jeremy, Ray, Dana, Lauren, Jordan, Cece, Georgie, Robin, Robin, Terri, and all my MFP friends. You have all made my world a better place.

So, back to the Lincoln Highway. Today was kind of a strange day and many of my plans got turned around but I did end up making it down to Canton. As a part of the new things that are happening in my life and the changes in this blog to make it a walking blog, I’ve also started the Zombies, Run! C25K program and so I decided to go to the McKinley Monument and surrounding area and do today’s workout there. The pictures that follow include several pictures of me which I include only to demonstrate how hard it is to take a picture of yourself and a monument together.

Before the pictures, though, I wanted to mention that while I was running, one of my favorite songs was playing and I think it was appropriate for this blog and my life in general. The song is I’ll Carry On by Rich Mullins.

Today’s trip was 4,782 steps which is about 2.25 miles. I would have liked to explore more, but it was early evening and it was cold outside. Someday I WILL make it back here when the weather is better and the monument is open. Stay tuned.

So, until next time, here’s to another year along the road, and here’s to you…

A brisk little walk through Massillon

mylincolnhighway — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 23:59:01 +0000

Yesterday I was working in Orrville and so when I was done I decided to go for a walk in Massillon. Honestly, my walk was going to be at least a mile longer, but it was 28F outside and I got COLD! I started out at Top of the Viaduct and thoroughly enjoyed my Teriyaki Chicken (only $5!) and, as you can see from the picture, I really enjoyed the chocolate cream pie.

I walked down to the other side of the viaduct and I was already cold at this point so I decided to go cruise around in Deals for a moment to get warm again. Once I had thawed a little bit I continued on to the Massillon Museum. Even though they were between exhibits, I still enjoyed seeing the Immel Circus and I am always fascinated with the Sparks Circus picture on the wall. The expressions on the faces of the people in that picture intrigue me. After looking around upstairs I went down to the lower level and had a brief chat with Oscar and Harvey. And I even got to chat with Libby for a few before I left! (Isn’t that funny, the only live human that I spoke with while I was there and I didn’t get her picture.

I left the museum and headed back up to the Top of the Viaduct and my car. It’s interesting the things you see along the way when you stop to look, isn’t it?

This trip was a total of 3766 steps which equals 1.57 miles. I’m looking forward to coming back to Massillon again when it’s a bit warmer and walking the other way in both directions. Hopefully I’ll be able to time my visit so that I can stop and see the Andy Warhol exhibit when it’s open at MassMu.

Until next time, here’s to the cold and snowy road, and here’s to you.

Support American Songline on Kickstarter Today!

mylincolnhighway — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:13:46 +0000

As I mentioned in my last post, my friend Cece Otto is a fellow Lincoln Highway blogger. If you haven’t checked out American Songline yet, you definitely should. Cece will be singing her away across the Lincoln Highway throughout the year and she has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help raise funds for her trip across the country and through 14 states.

Please consider helping her make this once in a lifetime trip!

Here’s the link to her Kickstarter campaign.

Until next time, here’s to Cece and here’s to the road…

Reassembling the Fragments

mylincolnhighway — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 01:35:28 +0000

There seems to be quite a bit of talk about moving on in my life. Every time I hear those words it makes me incredibly sad. I prefer to think of this as moving forward instead because moving on implies that I am leaving something behind. I don’t ever wish to do that. I prefer to move forward taking the happy memories and lessons learned with me.

If you read my last blog post, you know that for a long time the future of this blog was uncertain. I have thought long and hard about this for many months and truly only came to a final decision after receiving an email from a wonderful friend, Cece Otto of American Songline. It is thanks to the Lincoln Highway that Cece and I met in the first place. And so I think it is fitting that her words have helped me to realize that I need to continue this blog.

Cece’s letter was about several instances in her life which made her question continuing on with her blog. She very generously shared with me a letter that that she had written to her dad after he passed away unexpectedly. In her letter, these words stood out in particular:

All I have now are my fragments [of my broken heart] that I have to put back

together…If I don’t do this, neither of us exist.

She was right. This blog was a part of me long before I met Dave and it brought happiness into my life. I know that he would want me to continue living my life and finding happiness where I can. If I don’t do this, neither of us exist and another little bit of my happiness would be permanently gone.

So, I will go forward and slowly try to reassemble the fragments as I can. In doing that I’ve decided to change how my posts will be themed…

In the last 6 months I’ve begun walking again as a prelude to running someday so I’ve decided to walk my way across the Lincolnway. No, maybe not the whole thing and not all at once, but a little at a time.

Thus, I decided today to start again and visit the places that I went to when I first started my blog. Since this post is already longer than usual, I’m just going to put up the pictures that I took and not talk too much about them. Basically, I walked 2.2 miles round trip from the Canton Preservation Society’s Resale Store down to the intersection of Cherry and Tuscarawas in downtown Canton and then back again. Here are some of the things that I saw along the way… (You can click on each picture to enlarge it.)

And so, until we meet again, here’s to the road and reassembling the fragments along the way.

The Road goes on. Will I go with it?

mylincolnhighway — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:36:49 +0000

Six months have passed since the last time that I deliberately traveled the Lincoln Highway. It was a happy vacation with my sweet, kind, and wonderful boyfriend, Dave. We journeyed to Bedford and spent the night at the Bonnet Tavern and then traveled on to Gettysburg with a quick stop at Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum. I was composing my blog post in my head the whole way home.

I never wrote that post as the day after our return my beloved passed away suddenly. Since that time words have failed me. The Lincoln Highway no longer feels like an old friend or trusted companion anymore. Instead all I feel when I think of the road is sadness and betrayal and anger that it took my best friend away from me.

In many other ways my life has moved on and I have become a better person because of what happened. For as long as I have loved this road before, I want to forgive it, but I honestly don’t know if I can. What it took from me it can never return.

In two months time my web address will expire. Maybe by that time things will become clearer to me, I do not know.