My travel adventures thread

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

Well I posted on here looking for things to do or see in Ohio as well as places to eat and was given a lot of good ideas. So with those ideas plus places I already knew about, my wife and I along with our 16month old have started visiting these places weekly. I was updating that thread in general discussion but decided that it fit better in this forum. I will keep this updated weekly for those that care, some places you may have heard of or been to, others you might not have been. Hopefully some of you can find a place in my travels that you have never been to and expierence it for yourself. With that said lets get down to business...

 

September 18th 2011, Nelsonville Train Ride:

I have done a lot of things in my life and suprisingly I had never went on a train ride. So yesterday we loaded up and headed to Nelsonville to go on one. I couldn't have asked for a better day weather wise, it was perfect and our son was a champ the entire trip, just sat there taking everything in, not bad for a 15 month old haha.

 

Not the best pictures but you get the idea haha. We are going to go back again this year and take the trip during the fall, or possibly go up to Cuyahoga county and do their train trip.

 

1. I thought this sign was pretty cool

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/train.jpg

 

2. The engine that lead the train, they said it makes 1500hp and can reach speeds of 60mph, but they never go over 20mph

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/train2-1.jpg

 

3. The cart we sat in (sorry for the suns glare)

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/train2.jpg

 

4. The old ovens they used to use for baking bricks (and a random ricer eclipse)

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/train3.jpg

 

5. My son and wife enjoying the trip

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/tysonandtacara.jpg

 

 

6. Couple random shots of my kid just watching the scenery pass by

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/tysontrain.jpg

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/meandtyson2.jpg

 

7. A view of the hills along the trip

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/scenery.jpg

 

8. They stop at a place called Robins Crossing which is pretty much like Roscoe Village. They have actors potrying 1800 living, a black smith and a store that sold the best rootbeer I have ever drink. My son liked it so much that he stole the bottle from me

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/tysonandtacara3.jpg

 

 

9. My son was a little tired of riding on the train so decided to give my shoulders a shot

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/meandtyson.jpg

 

 

Overall it was pretty fun, the only thing I have bad to say against it is you don't see a whole lot of the Hocking region. You do see a lot of run down houses and realize just how bad the economy is in Nelsonville. The residents seemed pretty friendly as they all waved when the train passed by. The trip was 22 miles round trip and lasted a little over 2hrs. Not bad for $16 a piece (kids under 2 were free), we had 50 bucks in the entire day, that included 2 train passes, lunch at subway (god I love the rewards card) and a souvenier patch for our son (he has a blanket that my grandma is making him with patches of all the places he has been).

 

We also checked out Rocky Boots store. I am not a huge fan of Rocky boots and camoflauge attire, but it was pretty cool to check it out as well. 3 floors of stuff to look at. Overall a pretty good trip, 8/10 rating.

 

http://www.hvsry.org/

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

September 24th 2011, Amish Country:

Well went to Amish Country and honestly I feel a little let down. The food was amazing and the scenery along the drive to and from was nice as well. Outside of that I wasn't overly impressed. We ate at Der Dutchmen in Berlin which was really good. After that we went to the Flea Market which was way over priced on everything!!! Once we left there we decided to go check out the Cheese Factory and was let down. The area where you purchase food at was tiny and over crowded. My friend who is the cheese fanatic was in heaven though haha. On the way home we stopped at a farm/petting zoo and let my son (16months old) play with some animals and he had a good time doing that so it made my day. They had the biggest horse in Holmes County named Big Ben. Let me tell you his name definitley fit his ass, good lord he was massive. The strangest thing I saw the entire time was goats on a roof lol. They had a rampway that led the goats from the ground up to the roof, then from the ground to the roof was a rope that acted as a conveyor (spell check) belt, you filled ice cream cones up with feed and sent it up to the roof for the goats to eat.

 

I would give the whole trip a 6 out of 10, the saving grace was the food and smile on my kids face while feeding the goats. I would go back again if I had nothing else better to do, simply for the before mentioned food haha. There are a lot of little towns up there, most of which we didn't get a chance to go to. From what I have heard they are nicer, as many people feel Berlin is too comercialized these days.

 

Anyways here are some pics:

 

 

1.Cheese Factory in Berlin:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/amishcountry.jpg

 

 

2. Really random goats on top of a barns roof at a petting zoo/farm:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/goats.jpg

 

 

3. Did you notice the sign in the picture above? Well here is the really big horse!!:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/bigben.jpg

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

October 1st 2011, Mansfield Carosuel:

 

The journey continues, this time stopping in Mansfield and then Ontario. We went to Mansfield to The Richland Park Carosuel located right in downtown mansfield (corner of 4th and Main). The Carosuel is inside of a building, which was nice given todays rainy weather. They had a gift shop in which we stopped and picked up a patch for our son ($2.50). We had a friend of ours with us as well who was originally only going for the 2nd part of the trip, but ended up enjoying the carosuel.

 

Tickets were .75 individually, or you could buy more and save a little money. We bought 9 for 5.75 (saved .25 lol). Kids under 2 ride for free!! The carosuel ride lasted atleast 3minutes per ride and was suprisingly pretty quick moving. There wasn't a whole lot of people there so it was get on, get off, get back on. Total ammount spent: $8.25!!

 

I would give the carosuel a 9/10 rating. It made me feel like a 5 year old kid again and my son absolutely loved it.

 

1. Welcoming sign on the side of an old mill

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/welcometomansfield-1.jpg

 

2. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/7.jpg

 

3. The Richland Park Carosuel:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/5.jpg

 

4. The carosuel its self:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/3-1.jpg

 

5. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/4-1.jpg

 

6. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/10-1.jpg

 

7. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/1-2.jpg

 

8. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/2-1.jpg

 

9. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/2-1.jpg

 

 

Now on to stop #2 for today. After riding the carosuel we was all hungry and had already decided to head up to Ontario (roughly 10mins away) and stop at Johnny Biggs. Now this was the first time any of us had ever ate there, but I was aware of a little thing they call The Bigg Boss Challenge. Let me tell you, it definitley lived up to its name. Four 1/2lb pattys, lettuce, tomator, pickle, onion, oh yeah 2 grilled cheese sandwhiches tossed in there and 1lb of fries make up the challenge. The best part, you have 20minute in which you can do it. Game on, or so I thought haha. I attempted the challenge in which only 6 people have ever finished. Unfortunately I was not number 7 lol. I did pretty well though, I had 1 patty and a handful of fries left after 20minutes, for that I got a t-shirt. Unfortunately I had to pay $25 for my meal since I failed...oh well atleast I tried. Before attempting the challenge the manager brought out a waiver that I had to sign, stating that I would not sue them should I have a heart attack after trying this, that was comforting haha.

 

1. The Big Boss Challenge Burger:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/11-1.jpg

 

2. What I had left:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/9-1.jpg

 

3. The waiver I had to sign:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/waiver-1.jpg

 

 

http://www.richlandcarrousel.com/

http://www.johnnybiggsrestaurant.com/

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

October 2nd 2011, Old Mans Cave:

Today we ventured down to Hocking Hills, mainly Old Mans Cave and Ash Cave to check out the secenery. If you have never been there then you are missing out. I give this a 10 out of 10 just becasue of the pure beauty that nature has produced. I seriously wanted to take pictures of everything. The trails are easy to walk, the park is very clean (few assholes left trash behind) and the drive there from Columbus is just a little bit over an hr. On the way back we stoped at Ye Old Dutchmen for some lunch, let me tell you it was amazing. If you don't know what it is, it's an Amish buffet. After 2 plates I was stuffed, we stopped in their gift shop and picked something out for our son as well. After that we was heading up 33 and stopped at a flea market, it was pretty cool actually. There was so much old nostalgia that I really have no need for, but wanted it all haha.

 

Again I highly reccomend this and give it a 10/10. Next week is the Columbus Zoo and Black Hand Gorge or Dawes Arboretum. For now here's some pics from Old Mans Cave

 

Random pictures of signs at Old Mans Cave

1.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Hocking%20Hills%20October%202nd%202011/12.jpg

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Hocking%20Hills%20October%202nd%202011/13.jpg

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Hocking%20Hills%20October%202nd%202011/14.jpg

 

They call this "The Devils Bathtub":

2.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Hocking%20Hills%20October%202nd%202011/20.jpg

 

Waterfalls:

3.

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Hocking%20Hills%20October%202nd%202011/45.jpg

 

 

http://www.oldmanscave.net/

http://www.oldedutch.com/

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

October 9th 2011, Columbus Zoo:

They say if you have seen 1 zoo, you have seen em all. I tend to agree with that haha, Sunday we made our trip to the 3rd different zoo that we have visited this year. This time it was the Columbus Zoo and we had a couple friends and their baby tagging along with us. I am gonna assume more everyone reading this has been to the Columbus Zoo, if you haven't well then you should go check it out. While they have essentially the same exact animals as every other zoo across America, its close to home and cheap fun for people of all ages.

 

The park is pretty good size and took us nearly 4hrs to walk all the way through. The park is set up to exhibit the different continents. The coolest one in my opinion is Africa due to the Gorillas, followed closely by Austrailia and North America. The aquarium is also a favorite of mine at the zoo.

 

The only thing that really sucked about this visit was all the rude people that were also visiting. People would stand in front of the animals forever before moving on, pushing was common as was people just cutting in front of you like you weren't even there. If you can get past that, then you are good to go. One of the coolest things this paticular day was a female Orangutan that grew fond of our son. You will see in the pics lol.

 

Anyways here are some random pics....stay tuned as this upcoming weekend we are off to the Pigeon Roost Pumpkin Patch on Route 40 near National Trails.

 

1. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Columbus%20Zoo/zoo2-1.jpg

 

2. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Columbus%20Zoo/zoo4-1.jpg

 

3. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Columbus%20Zoo/tysongorilla.jpg

 

4. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Columbus%20Zoo/zoo3-1.jpg

 

5. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Columbus%20Zoo/tysonsnake.jpg

 

6. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Columbus%20Zoo/zoo-1.jpg

 

7. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Columbus%20Zoo/hanging.jpg

 

8. http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Columbus%20Zoo/tysonbriar.jpg

 

 

http://columbuszoo.org/

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

October 15th 2011, Pigeon Roost Pumpkin Patch:

Hometown Dog (Millersport) & Pigeon Roost Farm (St Rt 40 near national trails)So I while planning out our weekends it came to my attention that I had never been to a pumpkin patch. Apparently my parents didn't love me or something haha. Well I was going to make sure my son could say that he had been to one. We started out the day with a trip to Millersport for some lunch. We headed to our favorite place there, Hometown Hotdog! If you have never been there I highly suggest you go there and get some good food. I got chilli cheese dogs of course, 3 of these bad boys along with a litttle bit of fries and I was stuffed.

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Pumpkin%20Patch/hometowndog.jpg

 

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Pumpkin%20Patch/hometowndog2.jpg

 

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Pumpkin%20Patch/fries.jpg

 

 

After getting our belly's full we headed off to the pumpkin patch to let our little one pick out a pumpkin. We met up with some of our friends and other family members so they could to the same with their kids. Now I hate giving bad reviews on places, but I am gonna have to give a semi bad review on Pigeon Roost pumpkin patch. The farm its self is good size and has plenty of parking. The selection of pumpkins is insane, however most of them are about the same size which is huge! We was going to let our son and all his cousins go on a hayride but thats where things went downhill a little bit. They advertise the hayrides at $3 per rider and kids under $2 free. Well that may be true, but they fail to mention the $5 per person you have to pay in order to get down to the hayride.

 

Deciding against spending $21 dollars just for us to let our son ride on a tractor (his grandpa has one he can ride for free), we went back to picking pumpkins. We turned our 1 year old loose and picked which ever one he grabbed first, of course he goes to a 38lbs pumkin haha. That was the one we ended up taking home with us after paying $15 bucks for it, .39 cents adds up real quick haha.

 

I give the food a 10/10 (might be a little biased) and the pumkin patch a 6/10.

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Pumpkin%20Patch/pumkin14.jpg

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Pumpkin%20Patch/pumkin11.jpg

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Pumpkin%20Patch/pumpkin3.jpg

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Pumpkin%20Patch/pumpkin10.jpg

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Pumpkin%20Patch/pumkin8.jpg

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Pumpkin%20Patch/pumpkin5.jpg

 

 

http://www.hometownhotdogs.com/

http://pigeonroostfarm.com/

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

The next 3 weeks have trips to Kings Island, the Wisconsin/OSU game along with Ohio Deli and the Newport Aquarium plus more, stay tuned. Also if you have any suggestions on other places to check out let me know!

[pdqwagon]

Man you have been busy. Looks like fun times and beautiful scenery.

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

I hate sitting around home, I have school 4 nights a week so the weekends are my time to spend with the wife and son, so I take advantage of it the best I can. It has been perfect weather for the most part thus far, hoping for good weather the next couple weeks.

 

I mentioned some of the stuff we have coming up in the next 3 weeks, but beyond that we have:

 

Dayton Air Force Museum and a stop at Rudys BBQ in Springfield

Pro Football Hall of Fame plus somewhere to eat

Zoo lights and somewhere to eat

Mad River Mountain in Bellfontaine

Olgelbay Light Festival in West Virginia

[harmonda]

You are doing a cool thing man. Ohio is pretty bland but there are gems to be seen. I'm from Canton. In the same park as the HOF is McKinley's monument...stop there too. In the winter it is amazing for sled riding. It is up on a stepped hill so you go airborn every 20 yards or so. There is a science museum at it's base. Also, right around the corner is the First Lady's Museum if that interests anyone. London's Candy is about 5 miles north of there and they do tours. The kids may like that. Also...Taggarts Ice Cream parlor is a local landmark nearby. The Milk & Honey was founded by one of my Dad's best friends. It is also an ice cream shop but they have good food too and cheap. Hmm...candy, ice cream...wonder why Canton is so full of fat diabetics? Oh....and there is a small but cool car museum. Link below. Back in the food category...all Canton folks grew up with Pizza Oven pizza. The one on West Tusc is the classic. 'Family' owned and operated. Make sure you get sausage on whatever you order. It is the only way to get the right taste.

 

Links...

http://www.mckinleymuseum.org/

http://www.harrylondon.com/tours.aspx

http://www.firstladies.org/

http://www.taggartsicecream.com/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/milk-and-honey-canton

http://cantonclassiccar.org/

http://pizzaovenpapabears.com/

[RC K9]

those coneys look so amazing.

[twistedfocus1647545489]

I see Newport Aquarium on the list, but if you're really into aquariums I'd say it's worth the extra ~5 hrs drive time to go to Chattanooga TN. Their aquarium is probably the largest and nicest one I've been to. I'd say the one in Gatlinburg TN a little better than Newport too and there's plenty more to do besides that. Don't get me wrong, the Newport one is okay and it's closer, just not as nice as the other 2.

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

The coneys are amazing as is all the food at hometown dog lol. We are wanting to go to Tennesee next year at some point so I will keep that in mind. I will also check out the things in Canton

[nurkvinny]

Ha for the random "are you fucking serious" face from barstool chick:

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/11-1.jpg

[87GT]

Nice pictures and write up thanks for taking the time. I love day trips like this and I hope to read of others in the future. +1 for the Pro Football HOF in Canton and the McKinley monument. I was born there and lived really close to the monument. One of the few oldest memories I have as a child is playing on the hill.

[Rustlestiltskin]

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj288/Dubs740/6f06831a.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj288/Dubs740/d0ebb9f9.jpg

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj288/Dubs740/5c931a40.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj288/Dubs740/CUTtV.jpg

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

The funny thing is there was 2 guys there with her group and they were considering doing the challenge until they saw it in person

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

Kings Island...turned into Kentucky trip:

Today we headed down south for some good ole fashioned thrill seeking at Kings Island. We got to the park right as they opened up and was off and running. The first ride we hit up was The Diamondback, we expected a long line but was pleasantly suprised by only having to wait 10 minutes to ride it. After that we just made our way around the park and hit every ride that we wanted to. After 2hrs we had ridden 5 rides with the longest line being for The Flight of fear (inside ride, 45mins). Now here is where this trip went south. I am a big guy for those that don't know me (6'6 280) and I know where I have to sit on certain rides from previous expierences. Well on the flight of fear I have to sit in the front seat due to it having a little more leg room. I explain to the worker that I have to sit in the front seat, she tells me that there is already a line and I couldn't sit up there. I again explain to her that I don't fit in the other seats comfortably and would be willing to wait as I wasn't in a rush. That doesn't seem to matter to her as she tells me to get in a regular seat. So I go ahead and get in a regular seat and sit there waiting on them to come get the lap bar down over me hoping that another worker would see that I was not very comfortable and would hopefully allow me to ride up front...no such luck. Instead they smashed down on the bar a few times before locking it into place with me looking like a sardine. This is my favorite ride at the park, but at this point I was just ready for it to be over with. It was the most uncomfortable I have ever been on a roller coaster and the most pissed I have ever been at a worker.

 

That was the breaking point for our group, as we headed out to the car for lunch we joked about leaving and just going into Cincy/Kentucky and walking around. I was not opposed to this, so after eating and discussing it thats exactly what we did! Now before I get to the Cincy/Kentucky part of this entry I would like to take some time to give more details about the rides incase people reading this have never been there.

 

The Diamond Back- 8/10, the best part is the first drop (215ft) and the 80mph speed. The lines are usually long but today we waited 10 minutes.

 

The Crypt- 6/10, this used to be called the Tomb Raider and is indoors. You sit 25 people wide and go up about 75ft and do a couple flips. Not very exciting, but still fun. Line was 2mins for this lol

 

The Beast- 10/10, my rating might be a little biased as this along with flight of fear are my favorite rides at the park. Over 1 mile of wooden roller coaster that at times feels faster then the Diamondback. The best part is going through the tunnels and thinking your head is going to smack against the wall.

 

The Vortex- 4/10, I will never ride this ride again. I simply do not remember it being so damn rough on your body. Its a metal coaster that is very jerky add to that a series of flips and you'll come off this ride with one hell of a headache.

 

Flight of Fear- 8/10, would get a 10/10 but I am pissed at the workers lol. The best part of this ride is the fact that its inside and you have no idea when your going upside down, left or right plus it hauls ass.

 

Flight Deck- 9/10, would be a 10/10 but its really short. This used to be what was called The X Flight when 6 Flags was open here in Ohio. You start off on your back and climb the hill, at the top of the hill you are flipped over on to your stomach and ride the ride in this position the rest of the way. Its a very cool feeling.

 

 

Now on to the Cincy/Kentucky trip....

We got into Cincy and drove around the ball parks (Reds and Bengals), while doing this we encountered a cross dresser walking down the road wearing a bikini top and what I would call assless chaps? I swear we drove by this dude 3 times trying to get a pic without being obvious, needless to say we didn't get a pic lol. It was by far one of the funniest things I have ever seen in person lol. After that we went and parked the car and walked along the river, they have a bridge called "The Purple People" bridge that essentially allows you to walk from Ohio into Kentucky. Once we crossed over into Kentucky we was at Newport on the Levee. This reminded me of Easton here in Columbus, the stores and restraunts were of the nature in which Easton's are. There wasn't really much to do to be honest, but the view was pretty cool.

 

 

This is the view over a bridge on 71s heading towards Kings Island, the trees appear to be 100 ft below you, gives you an idea of how high the damn bridge is:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/71.jpg

 

The Diamondback (sorry its not the best pic, sunlight was horrible for picture taking with a cell phone lol):

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/diamondback.jpg

 

 

Cincy/Kentucky Pics:

 

The Purple People Bridge:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/bridge4.jpg

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/bridge.jpg

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/My%20Photos/bridge3.jpg

[h22 yo]

that's awesome you're out travelling and spending time with the little one... feels like yesterday i was doing the same with my father. time flies dude... charish that shit.

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

Yeah he wasn't with us today, he spent some quality time with his grandman (my mom). Next weekend is a trip to Columbus for lunch at Ohio Deli and then the OSU game vs Wisconsin that night.

[PRD2BDF]

The Christmas lights in WV, IMO, is a joke. We would go there annually until a few years ago where we started to feel that houses around us would be better to look at than that "park"

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

Well I've never been there so we're going lol

[Avenger1647545502]

Got a little day trip I'll recommend: Glen Helen Preserve and Clifton Gorge over in Yellow Springs. Go to the Clifton Mill ( http://www.cliftonmill.com/ ) for breakfast and get the Millrace Breakfast...it's two HUGE pancakes, if you finish those you get a third one free. Actually, any of their food is great, but those pancakes are seriously incredible. You almost don't WANT to put syrup on them, that's how good they are. Do the mill tour, it's pretty neat.

Head for Glen Helen next and do some hiking: http://antiochcollege.org/glen_helen/home/ Some of the trails are a little tough for small kids, but most are just fine.

Go shopping in Yellow Springs...the town is basically one big hippie/new age/country shopping mall, and there are a TON of cool little stores. For books, especially sci-fi and comic/geek stuff, hit Dark Star. Say hi to the cat if he's around.

Yellow Springs has a TON of good restaurants for lunch or dinner. I've yet to try them all, so I can't really recommend in honesty, but if you feel like pizza, Ha Ha Pizza makes a good pie. http://www.yelp.com/biz/ha-ha-pizza-yellow-springs-2

Any trip to the area MUST end with a stop at Young's Jersey Dairy http://youngsdairy.com/ afterwards...their food is honestly so-so, but they have the BEST ice cream in the nation. Period. Full Stop. End of Line.

There are those who will mention Graeters or Jeni's, and those are VERY GOOD, but anyone who doesn't agree that Young's is the best simply is not in their right mind, and is to be treated with pity and mercy, rather than possibly justifiable scorn and derision...

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

I will look into that for sure!

[DaddyBuiltRacing]

October 29th, Ohio State vs Wisconsin football game

My buddy Nate has never been to an actual game, several spring games have been had by him, but none that really counted. I have been telling him for years that we had to get him to an actual game, so this year we did something about that. We purchased tickets to the Wisconsin game earlier this year hoping that it would be a night game, luckily for us it turned out to be a night game. There have only been 10 night games at Ohio Stadium and now I can say I have been to 2 of them (the other being Penn State in 08).

 

Before the game we headed down South High St to The Ohio Deli for some good eats. I am a fanatic of Man vs Food and have heard/saw of this montrosity known as "The Dagwood". 2 1/2 lbs of meat between 2 giant ass pieces of bread and a huge side of fries. My mission was to beat this challenge and get my picture on the wall, sadly I failed by a bite, litterally.

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Wisconsin%20game%20October%2029th%202010/OhioDeli.jpg

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Wisconsin%20game%20October%2029th%202010/TheDagwod.jpg

 

My defeat:

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Wisconsin%20game%20October%2029th%202010/mydefeat.jpg

 

 

After over filling our bellies we headed back to campus to my buddies house to drop the car off and walk over towards the game. I have never been to a skull session and wanted to help make this whole trip memorable for my buddy, so we walked over to St. Johns Arena. This was his first time ever being inside St Johns Arena and has a fear of heights, for those that have never been there it feels like your going to fall out of the stands and onto the court below you haha. Anyways skull session was pretty cool, the marching band is there along with the team. A couple of the captains give a little pep talk before Fickell steps up and delivers a speech to get the crowd hyped. Once they left the band took over and rocked the house.

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Wisconsin%20game%20October%2029th%202010/skullsession.jpg

 

 

Wanting to soak in more of the game day expierence we left skull session early and ventured back over to the stadium. Walked around through all the tailgating areas to take a whiff of the great smells coming off grills. With an hour to go until gametime we headed in to the stadium to get our bathroom needs out of the way and to find our seats. Our seats were awesome, section 7a, row 17!! The people around us were awesome as well, its funny how random strangers become best friends for 3 hours. The game its self was one of the most "epic" (I hate that word but fuck it) ones that I have ever witnessed. My voice is gone, my throat is sore and I am beat up from the people in the stands using me as their support while jumping around all over the place. Once the game was over, we along with 105k others rushed the field. My buddy Nate and I stopped to soak it all in before taking pics of us doing random poses in various locations of the field. I dont have any of the posing pics as they are on his camera, but should have them later today. The trip far exceeded my expectations as not only did OSU win, but we ended up down on the field celebrating our asses off!!

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Wisconsin%20game%20October%2029th%202010/ourview.jpg

 

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/alittlelessordinary/Wisconsin%20game%20October%2029th%202010/rushthefield.jpg

Edited October 30, 2011 by DaddyBuiltRacing