Hocking Hills and Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, Ohio

 I don't like looking at places before I go to them, because I like to be surprised. Hocking Hills was a great surprise! I remember seeing pictures of it on someone's Facebook page years ago, and then had to quickly click away and not look at them, because the glance of it convinced me I wanted to go. 

As a result, I didn't know which hikes we should go on. We drove to the Visitor Center, and even though the internet said it was open, it was not. I was disappointed, but then like magic, a lovely ranger opened the doors a half hour early and invited us in.

She gave us exactly what we wanted - a physical map and suggestions of the best hikes. Glorious! This is why I love visitor centers and knowledgeable rangers. 

Old Man's Cave

This hike starts right from the Visitor Center. It was so amazing. Every turn - a new waterfall, a new cliff, turns in the river, caves you can climb into and lie down! It was breathtakingly beautiful. If you can only go on one hike, go on this one.

Cedar Falls

It is possible to hike here from Old Man's Cave, but it's also possible to drive to a parking lot and hike directly there, which is what we did. Everything is very well marked, but we often did not have cell service. Physical map to the rescue! This is only a half mile and leads to... you guessed it, a gorgeous waterfall. 

Ash Cave

Again, we drove and parked at this trailhead. This one looked like a movie set, it was so dramatic. The waterfall and scene was so pretty, and also really easy to get to, so it was super popular. 

Cantwell Cliffs

The guide told us that this one required you to be careful, because there were cliffs you could fall off of, and she wasn't being dramatic! It went right along sheer cliffs where you could die. It was all I could do to not hold my kids' hands and lead them away from it like a gentle shepherd. Instead I yelled at them for getting too close and apologized as soon as they were out of danger. But - I wasn't afraid for me at all! It was exhilarating!

These four hikes were great, and when I go back, I'll go on the other three. This is a gorgeous place, and I loved it.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Logan, Ohio, which was nice and close to the park. We ate at the Hungry Buffalo, which was super kitchy-cute and had great food.

Columbus Zoo & Aquarium

This is open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas, but some things are closed except for in the summer, plus all of the bird things were closed for avian flu. However! There were so many things open that we spent five hours here seeing it all! And we did see it all - gorillas, elephants, fruit bats, rhinoceros, and animals we've never seen before. We loved watching the seals swim, the manatees eat heads of lettuce, and we loved touching the sting rays. They came up to you like they were dogs and you would pet them. I didn't ever think a sting ray would come up to be petted on purpose. What do you know?!

We stayed the night before at the Hilton Garden Inn in Dublin, Ohio, which was just 11 miles from the zoo. The night before Kris found an awesome place for dinner - Pins. It was a happening place! It's full of arcade games, and they're all free. For money, you can play ping pong or go mini bowling. You can eat there or order in food. It was such a cool, entertaining place.

Hiking with my family is my favorite thing to do, and we had a great time ... even on the cliffs. Totally a great place - way to go Ohio!

Madeira Beach, Florida

Rondi is training for a 100-mile run, and she wanted to do a training run…in Florida! She sent flight information to Molly and me, and we booked the tickets in January, when it was cold and dark. A nice trip to look forward to during the winter!

Day one

Rondi and I flew on Allegiant from Flint to the St Pete-Clearwater International Airport. We hadn’t flown from Flint in a long time, and it went great. Nice, small airports, both of them.

I’m all for budget airlines, because I’ve never had a problem with them getting cancelled (I have with American the last two flights, but it’s not really the fault of the airline) and they’re inexpensive. 

We took an Uber to our hotel – Cambria Madeira Beach Hotel. It was a great place – rooftop pool and hot tub and bar/restaurant, bike rental, and just a block off the ocean.

We ran many miles, but it was prohibitively hot at 88 degrees, so we ran/walked back.

There are a variety of places to eat in the tourist town! We stopped at Fort Knox, then had dinner at Conch Republic Grill, and everyone was friendly.

Kudos to the servers everywhere in this town. FRIENDLY. So friendly. Everywhere seemed to be well-staffed, too! Happy spring break!

I watched the sunset on Madeira Beach. This beach is great, and just what I think of when I think of Florida. White sand, wide beach, right off the city, and tons of shopping and food options. We went to Captain Billy’s with Molly to watch MSU win in the NCAA tournament! 

Day two

We woke up with goals – a triathlon! 

We ran 3.1 miles, then rented bikes at Cambria and rode for an hour. We walked to John’s Pass, which is an area with lots of shops and restaurants and ate at a place facing the water - there were many, but we went to Sculley's and had awesome mahi tacos. 

Since we were sitting right on the water, we were delighted to see – dolphins! The entire time we had lunch we watched dolphins in the water. It was exciting, and the scene itself was so beautiful.

We walked back (about 2 miles) on the beach, and then we went to the rooftop pool and hot tub. Then we swam in the ocean – my favorite. I love just floating in the salt water. Fun triathlon complete!

We went to the Beach Bar on the way back, and then we went to have dinner on the rooftop of Cambria again. Beautiful view and great place.

Day three

I woke up early, so I ran on the empty beach, and the Rondi, Molly and I ran again. 6 miles total for us! We walked to the Madeira Snack Shack and ate ice cream and breakfast. Then it was an Uber back to the airport.

I’ve never gone to Florida just for the weekend, but I totally recommend it. I feel like I got a great workout, lots of sunshine, and tons of time to talk with my friends. I came home on the first day of spring, and it set me up wonderfully for it. 

If you need a warm weekend, this is a great place to do it. Hopefully my friends will always need company for spring training!

Hottest part of Saturday

Sunday morning

Indianapolis, Indiana - Big Ten Tournament 2022!

In 2020 we came to Indianapolis when the Big Ten Tournament was cancelled, but our Airbnb could not be! This year was a redo for me. Kris has traveled to the Big Ten Tournament many times, but this was my first real time.

Eight of us total got a house together on Fletcher St. It seemed to be an Airbnb neighborhood! It was within walking distance of Gainsbridge Fieldhouse, though we did drive and park closer at one point when it was bitterly cold.

Thursday

We got there on Thursday night, and we ate at Kilroy’s before the game.

One of the things that Kris likes best about going to the tournament is that the atmosphere is awesome. Everyone’s watching basketball, everyone’s decked out in team gear, and everyone is in a good mood. I found this to be completely accurate! It was so much fun being out in the city with every bar and restaurant packed, every street full of people, and every TV tuned to basketball.

In the olden days, you could buy tickets from people on the street after their team lost. It’s not like that anymore. Now, you have to troll Stub Hub, Vivid Seats, and the university sites to get tickets. People post them as they lose, and you’re never sure when the right time to buy is. Basically the best strategy for us was to wait as long as possible to get tickets – usually about an hour before the game.

Gainsbridge Fieldhouse was great, and we loved cheering MSU to a win! They also sold ice cream cereal shakes that you could also add shots to - this is definitely not offered at Breslin. Delicious.

Afterward my brother wanted to sing karaoke, and I’m so glad he did! We went to the Wild Saloon and Kris and I sang a duet, and Gage sang Bad Company, by the band Bad Company, on the album Bad Company to ... good company? Ha! Such a fun night.

Friday

Jess and I got up and ran to the Sailors & Soldiers Monument. This was the same route as the marathon my sister Tracy and  I ran in November, and if you ever get the chance to see the nighttime show projected on it, you should. It’s glorious. I haven’t gone up in it yet, but I want to. 

We went to the Indiana State Capitol and since it was Friday, it was open! We walked all around it and admired how beautiful it was. Totally worth a tour or a self tour.

We watched the early game at home and then went to the Slippery Noodle, where Kate’s friends were having an event.

Again, we were at the Slippery Noodle in March 2020 when we heard the bars and restaurants were going to be closed, and I was so sad. Now – normal and joyful!

They all went to the game and I met up with my friend Erica, who watched the game with me at the Slippery Noodle – and a bunch of friendly MSU fans! Another win.

We had made a reservation for eating at St Elmo Steak House, one of Kris’ favorite steak places.

We had come in 2020, and I had a few bites of steak. They were delicious. I’d been having an issue with low iron, and I’d tried taking iron supplements, but they made me sick. While at St Elmo, I decided that maybe I was a meat eater now – after not eating meat for 24 years. That led to eating meat every once in awhile, to once a week, to now very frequently! And it all started in Indianapolis!

Now after two years of eating meat, I can confidently say that St Elmo is really good. However…it’s really expensive. I don’t get any bigger kick out of an expensive restaurant than I do a good, reasonably-priced restaurant. And the steak Kris makes at home with our own beef is the best, but that’s not something you’re probably going to get (check local listings). But thank you for the life changing experience, St Elmo!

Saturday

Indianapolis is a great city to run in (especially for the marathon) and it was this day too, despite it being 14 degrees. We then went to Gainsbridge Fieldhouse and got tickets for the game. Amazingly, Kate’s friend gave her tickets to a suite! We watched Michigan State lose, but we still had a blast.

We went to Sun King, a brewery we remembered from last time, and then ate at Dough King, a pizza place Andrew’s local friend recommended.

Then it was back to Fletcher Street, where they had a shower with a timer (so you can gauge how long you’re in) and a thermostat that tells you the exact temperature you’re turning the faucet to! I prefer 122 degrees, and take 5 minute showers, or even more when I’m messing with the faucet night of the king trying to figure out the right temperature.

It was interesting to see Indianapolis in the beginning of Covid, then lively for the marathon, then even more packed and vibrant for the tournament. It’s busy, but you can get in places. It’s a city, but you can drive around it AND FIND PARKING. I’m a huge fan of Indianapolis during rain, shine, pandemic, and back again on the other side!