Tag: Ohio

While staying with The Spiels in Ohio, we all decided to have a camping adventure together.  With that, we loaded up their little Nissan Versa with our gear and hit the road.  A combination of Google searching and local inquiries somehow lead us in search of Wildcat Hollow in the Wayne National Forest.  The drive up to our campsite was both entertaining and beautiful.  We passed through the dilapidated old town of Chauncey (Pronounced "CHAN-see" by the locals for some weird reason).  Run-down houses and barns floated by on either side as we made our way through town.  The brick buildings of Chauncey's downtown were mere empty shells of what it must have been in years past.  An old farmer sat on cracked steps next to his John Deere push mower, his cigarette hanging from his lip as if permanently affixed.  He watched as we passed by which made me contemplate... "I wonder what he thinks of us?"   Read more

Coming into Columbus started out on a positive note as we had just skydived that day, but quickly turned into shambles. Everything was STUPID!! The only things people could suggest for us to do were parks, walking, museums, and biking. Which just couldn’t live up to the thrill of jumping from 13,000 ft out of a plane. We spent a few days bickering with a final blow up that drove us to leave and never had an intent to return!

After spending time in The Plains and winging our way to Cleveland, we found ourselves giving Columbus a second chance. This time around we weren’t hyped up on adrenaline and seeking our next fix. And this time we had a challenge: no van and no plans past somewhere to sleep that for the first night. At first glance Columbus appears to be a small town with small neighborhoods surrounding it, but we came to find out it has the 15th largest population of any city in the U.S. with diverse people and LOTS and LOTS of food.

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It began with a soggy afternoon drive through the hills of Southeastern Ohio.  Green, thick, moist, lush and calm.  The trees... Ohio has more trees than I could have possibly imagined.  We exited the freeway and followed the winding roads of the Hocking Hills past pleasant little houses and grassy knolls as I stared out the foggy window contemplating what daily life might be like in this quiet little corner of the world.  Eventually, the twisted road guided us to our parking place just outside the entrance to Old Man's Cave.  We readied ourselves and wandered down the wooden stairs to find ourselves thrust into a magical place devoid of time and reality.   Read more

Leaving for the lake seemed to take forever, as we all drug our feet with seeming exhaustion.  We watched the trees breeze by as we winded down the roads in search of this hidden gem, which the locals raved upon.  Lake Hope finally appeared out the passenger side window and we pulled in.  Relaxed and feeling the chill of the evening, getting into the water became a distant desire.  We sat on the beach chowing down on pretzels and watching Avery run around the playground 20 feet away from the water which was a distance for her to completely forget the lake existed.  

 Eventually, we all finally mustered up the energy to mosey over to the boat rentals after deciding to rent two canoes.  Read more