One of my coworkers lives in the small New-England style Village of Granville, Ohio and suggested I visit the town sometime. Well today was the sometime. We had clear skies and cold temperatures so felt a drive over there was the order for the day. After having my car serviced I headed for Granville which is located about 15 miles from Columbus along Highway 161. The above image was taken on the main street of the older part of town. Just behind me is the intersection of Broadway and Main. Each corner of the intersection was a church. It reminded my of the fact this country was founded and settled with Christian roots.

I do not like to drive major highways  so whenever I can, I choose the more scenic routes.  My scenic route required a drive through a small town called Alexandria, blink twice and you’ll miss it. The map I used showed a covered bridge on State Route 37 near the town of Alexandria. I’ve only seen photos of covered bridges so off to Alexandria I went. I was disappointed with the bridge as it has been removed from the road and was sitting along side as an old relic. I turned onto Raccoon Valley Road (love that name) which is a narrow winding two lane road leading into Granville. I enjoyed this drive because the road curved along side the river for which it’s named after. Along the road were the barren woods and open farm land I expected to see when I first came out here. Old farm houses with large silos and horse corrals lined the road. One of the barns along the road had its roof painted with our countries flag, a patriotic barn.

I entered the Village of Granville from the west, coming in on West Broadway. I drove straight through to the east side of the small village then turned around and went back to explore the older part of Granville. I walked up and down the towns main street which is not more than 4 or 5 blocks long. I found several restaurants, a pub, some gift shops and of course the locally owned coffee shop. As I was taking a photo of main street, a woman stopped and waited for me to finish before stepping in front of me. I appreciated her thoughtfulness but told her I actually did not mind having her in the image, it would add more to the photo. This led to a short conversation where I discovered she had just moved back to this area two months ago from Berthoud,  Colorado. We both laughed when I told her I grew up in Loveland which is less than 10 miles from Berthoud. She suggested I also visit the city of Newark, a larger community farther to the east. I love how things fall into place when we get out and about. This chef was outside one of the restaurants trying to peddle some of the goods he had cooked up for all the folks. Actually the chili sounded pretty good on such a cold a blustery day.

After 45 minutes of walking in the 25 degree temperatures and crisp breeze, I stepped into a small coffee shop called the Village Coffee. It was small with 8 tables, a couple of lounging chairs and a couch. They had a back door entrance for customers who parked their cars in the rear parking lot. Their menu was quite impressive, offering sandwiches, soups and salads, scones and muffins, bagels and of course a variety of hot and cold drinks. I ordered my usual test drink, a small decaf mocha with no whip. I keep it simple and consistent as a way to gage the quality of the shop, makes it more scientific. The clientele were a mix of students from Denison University, a liberal arts university, and the local folks. Some of the students had gathered around a table and were busy with group study sessions. A mother and daughter were in for soup and sandwich. A couple sat across from each other and were deep in conversation. The two young girls behind the counter were gracious and made great eye contact. It had a down home feel to it and passed with flying colors.

Over-all it was a good visit and I’m sure I’ll be back. May try the chili next time.