Quick Trip to Ohio

Don's retirement gig working retail is forcing us to become a little creative with our free time. After decades of knowing we would have our weekends and holidays free from work, he now learns his schedule a couple of weeks in advance and we scramble to fill the free spaces. The odd thing, though, is in the past he worked five days a week and had two free, now that it is in the inverse it feels like less free time. Meanwhile, I'm still not working, though I would like some sporadic gig work if for no other reason than to answer the questions about how I fill my free time and have I found a job yet.

When we realized Don had off from Monday to Friday we reached out to family and friends in Ohio to see if we could fit on their calendar. With an eight-hour drive each way, it really only worked out to seeing people on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Aunt Debra and Uncle Tom invited us to stay in their guest room, which gave us the added benefit of more time with them. Cousins Allie and Laura were able to fit us in their busy weeks. Ditto with my long-time (not "old") friend Heidi. We also managed to fit in time to take the tandem on the OlentangyTrail from Clintonville to Worthington, saw Uncle Tom's band, Driving Guitars, in action, replenished our wardrobes at the Eddie Bauer Warehouse Store, and Don was able to read articles in a finance magazine that only seems to be available at the Upper Arlington Library.

A jam-packed few days.

Let's break it down day by day.

Monday night. Arrived in Bexley, Ohio and were greeted with the words: Are you up for ice cream? Music to my ears! Graeter's was celebrating their 154th anniversary. Through the app, you and up to nine friends could get a single cone for $1.54. Being the last of the big time spenders, we treated for ice cream. It was the first night when the weather broke and it was pleasant to sit outside all summer. I had Buckeye Chip after Debra raved about their chips being more like slices of really good dark chocolate. She did not lead me astray!

Tuesday: Cousin Laura invited us over for lunch after our shopping expedition. Aunt Debra joined us, too. An hour later, and with each of us carrying bags, we went to lunch at the Grove City Brewing Company (thank you, Laura!). After dropping off Aunt Debra, Don and I went to Upper Arlington to visit their library. I'm always up to study how libraries compare. This one boasts a collection of vinyls to borrow (records or LPs to us old people), a station to apply for a passport, and perfectly read shelves. I took a book off a shelf and started reading while I waited for Don. 

Cousin Allie invited us over for pizza from Fibononacci's Pizza at Studio 35 Cinema and Drafthouse. We loved being able to see her little ones (who are not on social media, I do know who they are!). The pizza was great, and the company even better.

Somehow the day escaped us without ice cream, or any other selfies.

Wednesday turned out to be busier than expected. After suffering through an oppressive heat wave for most of July, the weather as finally pleasant. At Allie's recommendation, we took the tandem out for a spin towards Worthington. Over the years, Heidi has suggested Worthington as a place where should consider moving. If Ohio can stop being so politically red and we add it back to our list of places to move to, Worthington is a worthy contender (I couldn't resist the pun). We rode about 8 miles to a strip mall. As we were driving along its backside, I noticed the sky was changing in a way that implied a storm was on its way. Gratefully we locked up the tandem at a bike rack and headed inside the Rusty Bucket for lunch. From our cozy spot away from others (given we had just ridden 8 miles on that sunny day, we requested a spot where we would not offend others) we could see the skies open up. Good timing!

The trail took us past schools, parks, and off-shoots that lead to places people would want to travel for work or errands. It is a much stronger system than we have in Mercer County. On the return trip we took a spur to Old Worthington. That led us to an antique shop that seemed to go on forever. We returned the next night for a treasure hunt.

We didn't fully think through the plans for the day when we left the house. Knowing we were meeting up with Heidi for dinner we should have packed a change of clothes. Sitting on the back of a tandem after a rainstorm gave me quite a stripe up my backside, one I did not want to wear in public. Back to Bexley for a quick change, then off to German Village to visit with Heidi.

Before exploring German Village, Heidi took us to a park I discovered through the magic of social media: The Topiary Park. We took a lot of pictures, which can be found HERE.

In addition to seeing Heidi and her dogs Pip and Niffler, trips to German Village often include a stop at The Book Loft -- one of the best independent book stores I have ever visited, and dinner at the Old Mohawk. I added many books to my to-be-read pile, and bought one filled with travel trips that were new to this seasoned traveler. The Book Loft has over 30 rooms divided into niche sections. My favorite is the section on travel writing. Don's is sports writing. Heidi likes Sci Fi. People are roaming about until they crawl into their favorite nook and are transported to far off worlds.

As we stepped outside the restaurant the skies opened up. Don offered to race to her house to pick up our car and act as our Uber. By the time he arrived, the storm had passed so we went to Jeni's for our ice cream fix. We hung out with Heidi way longer than we should have given that she had work in the morning, but the visit has to fill us until our next time together. Maybe in New Jersey? I can keep hoping!

Thursday Laura suggested we check out a new spot -- Canopy Walk in Blacklick Woods Metro Park. As with The Topiary Garden, there are a lot of pictures, so they can be found HERE instead.

We enjoyed walking the trails and having Laura to ourselves. Afterwards we went to Brassica for lunch (actually our second visit of the trip) and met up with Aunt Debra for ice cream at Johnson's Real Ice Cream, the other classic Columbus ice
cream parlor.

Quick dash up to Hilliard, OH to see Uncle Tom's band, Driving Guitars perform at a car show. Driving Guitars are made up of members from the Danger Brothers, an institution in the Columbus music scene for several decades.

We were near Dublin, Ohio, so Don popped into the REI store to compare it with where he works. The biggest difference (as far as I could tell) was the returns section was larger and better organized. 

From Dublin we drove back to Worthington to participate in the treasure hunt at the Worthington Antiques and Collectibles shop. A new antique store, their street front makes them look deceptively small. Inside it magically opens up, as if you stepped into C.S. Lewis's famous wardrobe, but without the snow. When we were there the day earlier they told us about their Alice in Wonderland-based scavenger hunt. There were three paths you could follow: Alice, Mad Hatter, or Queen of Hearts. Each one led to a prize: rubber duckies, brandy snifter, grandmother clock. We chose the Alice path. After receiving much help as some clues were misplaced and others were misleading, we succeeded moments before their doors closed for the night. The joy from the event came from the enthusiasm of the wife tracking down the Mad Hatter clues and us working with the husband to share when we found one of their clues. We all left happy. We left most of our prize there, only taking a couple of tiny glass rubber duckies to remind us of our fun. I urged them to next time have an easier path for children with a prize of a single rubber ducky.

Mad Hatter decorating was another option

This was our prize -- simply too much!

We had Napali food for dinner -- a first for both of us, but something we hope to seek out in the future.

We finished our trip where we started -- with $1.54 ice cream at Graeters with Aunt Debra and Uncle Tom.

The next morning we packed up and began the long drive home. We listened to The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry in the car, with the CD player alternating between working and not working. It worked just long enough to get to the end of the book.

An hour from home we stopped off at True Food Kitchen at King of Prussia Mall for dinner. It helps to have a full stomach when walking in the door. Thanks to Ashley, the pets were well taken care of.