Sometimes the Best Places to Visit are in Your own Hometown

Saturday, we ran into Matt Lewis and Jim Walker who are touring with the show Once.  They were going out of Milwaukee on Sunday headed for the Allentown Pa area.  It was so good to see the two of them and have lunch with Jim.  I hadn’t seen Jim in a few years.  It is always nice to catch up with old friends whenever we get the chance.

Sunday night went smoothly out of Appleton and by 4:00 am EST we had cleared Chicago and were able to get some sleep.  The rain on Monday was steady but fortunately did not slow us down.  By late Monday evening there was room for us at the dock, so we were backed in and ready for Tuesday by 10:30 pm or 2230 in trucking terms.

Tuesday, we ran trailers back and forth to the drop yard.  Our lead drivers were Dino and Deanna.  Deanna was kind enough to share yummy pecan coconut bars she had made with us.  They have a convection oven in their truck, just another example of how far things have come with trucks in the last twenty years.

Since our next dispatch was for Indianapolis to Columbus, OH Sunday, it didn’t make sense for us to sit around Louisville all week, so we headed home to Columbus.  I apparently have some bad karma going or have ticked someone off because I have not travelled very far from the Midwest/East coast since last summer.  But the point of this time off is to be with Vince who is on the road 280+ days a year, so wherever we end up isn’t as important as being with Vince. I know it makes for boring blogs at times but I try to still make it interesting.  

 

Ohio History Center Museum

As we headed home I realized that we spend a lot of time exploring other cities when we are on the road but we haven’t showed you our home town.  So on Wednesday we headed to the Ohio History Center Museum.  I have fond memories of going there in elementary school, but Vince did not recall going there as a child. Since he moved to Illinois in fifth grade we believe he may not have made it there before he moved.

We learned about how the geologic structure of Ohio came about, followed the flags of those who fought in the Civil War.  We toured a 1950s house and learned about life in the 50s. A school tour of catholic school children were with us during the tour of the house. The teacher was yelling for a young man named Christian to keep up.  We soon learned that Christian was with us on the tour of the house and then continued to be with us throughout the rest of the tour of the museum.  Vince was convinced we were going to be giving Christian a ride by the time our tour was over, but fortunately he rejoined his group before they left to museum.

On the second floor we learned the history of White Castle and reviewed the paintings of Lilly Martin Spencer on the third floor.  In the 1800s Lilly Spencer was the main provider for her family, not an easy thing for a woman in those times.

As we were leaving the museum, we both acknowledged that after reviewing the White Castle exhibit we had developed the “crave” for White Castle sliders, so off to White Castle we went.  Neither of us had eaten at a White Castle in several years if not over a decade.  It was a fun ending to a great day of sightseeing.

Franklin Park Conservatory

On Thursday, we head to the Franklin Park Conservatory.  In addition to a Chihuly collection, an artist whose glass sculptures I adore, they have a butterfly exhibit that is breathtaking.  I know we have way too many pictures and trust me I had to whittle it down, but I had to share the beauty of it all.  While Columbus is mainly known for our zoo, I strongly recommend anyone who visits to take the time to visit these wonderful places.