Bike Ride from London, Ohio to Columbus

We had the perfect weather for a fall bike ride! It is about 30 miles one way from London to Columbus, Ohio. 

We started with coffee from the London Coffee Peddler, and I will go back from more of the cold brew. We had time to chat and get helpful biking tips from the owner. We had lunch at the M & M Diner, which is a popular spot right off the bike path. We went to park our car for the night in the public lot before beginning the ride. (A call to the London Police Department helped us plan this aspect of our trip.) 

The ride started off with miles of flat, nicely paved trail and beautiful views. We enjoyed both the trees and the fields. Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park was a nice stop during our ride. This park offers another option for overnight parking, shade, and clean restrooms. The park connects riders to the Ohio to Erie Trail with some gravel paths. John's gravel bike was great, and my road bike slowly made it without pavement for a little while. 

It was a change of scenery to enter the Columbus area from rural Ohio, especially later on a Friday afternoon. We had to navigate more road crossings and turns. It was nice to make it to the Scioto Riverfront area with wide paths and a well-kept area of downtown. 

Our ending point was German Village, which we had only briefly explored before this trip. We booked a room at the South Wind Motel and enjoyed our stay. The first floor room allowed us to park our bikes inside. We stopped for Jeni's Ice Cream and walked around The Book Loft. Breakfast at the German Village Coffee House was a highlight with more time to walk through Schiller Park and around the neighborhood of German Village. It was a quick trip, so it makes me want to find time for more biking adventures during the cooler weather. 

Card Making Shortcut & Shop Hop

Cut and scored white card bases are my favorite card making shortcut! This really does save me time and energy when I am crafting. I try to keep the A2 size on hand, but I am running low on my pack from Catherine Pooler Designs. Unfortunately, I can no longer find the 8.5 x 5.5 size from Catherine Pooler. My local paper store came to the rescue, and I am ready for the Shop Hop in July. I plan to make it to 5 of the stores included this year since we have a variety of family plans in July. 

My daughter is at a morning day camp this week, so I had some uninterrupted shopping time at one of my local stores. I found a good deal on a couple of dies! The Bee Happy set came with my Shop Hop Passport. 

I have birthday and thank you cards to make, so I can put these new supplies to good use. 

Acorn Stamp

 Summer is winding down here, so I am digging out a couple of fall stamps sets. I had an unused set with an acorn, which I will use now. Our new town is named for the oak trees. This card is for my daughter's preschool director, who has created a smooth start in these uncertain times. My Stampin' Up! Night of Navy and Crushed Curry supplies match our school colors. I am happy to have time, space, and supplies to make cards from the kids' teachers.

Supplies Used

Papers and Card stock: Stampin' Up! and Close To My Heart

Stamps: The Stamping Village and  Close To My Heart (retired)

Inks: Stampin' Up!

Embossing Folder: Close To My Heart (retired)

Punch: Stampin' Up! Banners Pick a Punch

Weekend in Ohio

Alex and I made a weekend trip back to Ohio for a friend's wedding. We arrived on Thursday night and left Sunday afternoon. It was a quick trip, but we packed in some quality time with family and friends.

The wedding was in Downtown Dayton, so Alex and I posed by the Wright Brothers statue. The wedding was beautiful, and I enjoyed catching up with long time friends. This was the first wedding that Alex attended. Overall he behaved, but he did say "I do" during the ceremony! (That was the bride's line...)

We made a trip to Aullwood Center and Farm on Saturday. First we stopped at the Center where Alex held the turtle and petted one of the snakes.

We met some friends at the Farm, which has a new building and activities. It is perfect for preschoolers, so the boys had fun playing inside and outside. I missed getting a picture of "Goatzilla" when we visited all of the animals.

When I was packing Wednesday evening, I realized that I had not visited Ohio during the fall in the nine years since we moved out-of-state. I forgot how to pack for fall, but I still ended up being warm enough. We get some fall colors in the Bay Area, but I really enjoyed seeing all of the trees changing in Ohio.

Alex got in some good "grandparent time." He was enthralled with the clock at my parents' house. My paternal grandfather built it when I was little, but it has not worked well in a while. Due some "Alex magic" we did hear it chime during our visit. I immediately recognized the sound from my grandparents' house. It was a great trip!

Sledding

Alex told his teacher that he was going to ride an airplane to and see snow. I was not sure if we would see snow in Ohio. Alex got his wish to see snow; we now have about 8 inches on the ground. We had fun sledding. Alex also enjoys throwing snow balls.

Christmas

We were delayed flying out of San Francisco due to rain and wind, but we made it to Ohio on Christmas Eve. We have enjoyed lots of time with family. Alex got to stay up late on Christmas Night waiting for Aunt Jenni to arrive since she is a nurse and had the overnight shift on Christmas Eve. Alex loved opening presents! It is hard to teach a three year old to be patient!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

Wedding at Aullwood

A couple of things in the past week or so have reminded me of my wedding at Aullwood Audubon Center in July 2004. I cannot believe that it was over 8 years ago! Here are a few of the photos:

I have been back to the center once since our wedding and hope to take Alex to visit the center and farm on our next trip to Ohio.

Past, Present & Basketball

This week my past and present intersected. This was surprising considering that I moved "1200 some miles" from where I grew up.

I began working at UTSA in 2004, and the Men's Basketball team made it to the NCAA tournament that year. (I had applied for the job at UTSA at the end of February and cheered for the Roadrunners that March. Shortly after that, I was invited to come to San Antonio for a job interview.) After a few appearances in the tournament, UTSA did not have a win. This year they upset the #1 team in the Southland Conference to win the conference tournament. They were on their way to play in the "First Four" of the NCAA tournament in Dayton, Ohio. The University of Dayton has hosted the 64 vs. 65 game for a while now, but this was the first year for the "First Four," and a chance for the Roadrunners to win their first game in the NCAA Tournament. The University of Dayton and people in the area are great hosts for these early games. My mother-in-law bought tickets to the "First Four" games well before the games were announced.

I attended various UD Men's Basketball games over the years at UD Arena and had two of my graduations there. I graduated from high school at UD Arena. (I had to consult my high school scrapbook to verify the location. I must be getting old! How did I forget that?) Seven years later, I graduated at UD Arena again with my master's degree. On Wednesday, I was happy to watch UTSA win there first even NCAA tournament game in my hometown.

Their prize for winning a game was to go to Cleveland, Ohio to face the number one overall seated team in the tournament, The Ohio State Buckeyes. I was set to attend Ohio State until I visited Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland during April of my senior year. I remember calling my dad from a pay phone to explain that I had changed my mind and wanted to attend Case. I spent the next four years in Cleveland, and saw a couple of concerts (Dave Matthews Band and Bare Naked Ladies) at Gund Arena, now The Q where the next round of tournament games would be held.

A #16 seat has never beat a #1 seat in the tournament (I learn these things from my dad.) The Roadrunners were not able to change that on Friday, but I am still proud of the UTSA Men's Basketball team. For the photo, I just pulled a couple of items from Alex's toys. My parents got him the UTSA Basketball and my brother sent him the Brutus Buckeye.

Last Christmas Celebration 12/27/10

Our Christmas celebrations lasted for over a week and wrapped up with John's family on Monday. His mom's side of the family likes to play cards, so Alex had his dinner and watched them play Euchre. Gotta start them young!

Sledding

The fun part of snow is sledding. Alex went sledding in his grandma's yard on December 27th, and we went to the Englewood Reserve on December 28th to find a small hill for more sledding. Alex had fun and did not seem to mind the cold. By the time we left Ohio, the snow had melted.

More Christmas 12/26/10

On December 26th, we celebrated Christmas with my extended family and continued to celebrate with John's family.

Most of my extended family made to my aunt's house for our "white elephant" gift exchange, dinner, and good times. It was great to catch up and introduce Alex to many of them. I am thankful for time with my Oma and that Alex got to meet her. Alex is pictured playing with Heather (my cousin's wife) and John.

We headed back to John's mom house for more time with family. Alex had fun playing with his Uncle Nate.

I cannot forget about the dogs. Sammie belongs to John's mom and Bella belongs to John's sister, and they are both great with kids. We get a kick out of how Sammie sits with her hind legs straight back.