in the POD - jiggety jig

Alum Creek State Park

Delaware, Ohio

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So we headed east through the rest of South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, and some other state beginning with a letter "I" that I refuse to name (because it is dead to me).

After so much incredible beauty in the northwest; tall trees reaching to the heavens, clear rushing waterfalls and streams, towers of granite and mountains that rolled on and on -
raw elegance at its best -

Suddenly.........
Whoa!!!! there was a whole lot of flatness going on!
It made me wonder what the early adventurers must have thought - traveling this route in the
opposite direction - East to West.
How surprised they must have been to discover what was up ahead of this flatness!

I'm sure those dramatic sights compelled them to keep going........
hoping to find an even better home for themselves.

The low, flat horizon was beautiful and kind of restful in its own right and I am sure that there are wonderful things to see in those states but ......
We wanted to get to Ohio - specifically Columbus.
We needed to check in on the place we had once called "home" for 28 months.

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Barley's Brew House

Columbus, OH

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Columbus, OH. 

We were looking forward to re-visiting this city that had so captivated us for over 2 years. Checking in on our favorite spots, seeing what had changed and whether the city still retained the charm we had  originally found there.
Much had changed in our old neighborhood of Short North. A new hotel, whose construction practically closed the vibrant area for almost a year, lots of new restaurants replacing old mainstays, some favorite places gone, many remaining and, yes, the busy streets and walkable alleys still lured us in. Our local Goodale Park was in full bloom and the walk through and around was just as satisfying and relaxing as always. 

A stop at the local brew pub, Barley's Brewing Company, was as satisfying as ever!

A visit to our favorite art gallery, the Marsha Evans Gallery, reconnected us with our friend, Marsha, whose current show happened to be one of new paintings by Annette Poitau! 

Annette is an artist that we adore and began collecting while we lived there!! 

Serendipity at its best!

Dinner at our favorite restaurant, Basi Italia.

Cod on sweet pea ravioli with a carrot sauce

Columbus, OH

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A leisurely visit to Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens - another favorite refuge of ours in the city - was again serendipitous. It just so happened to be butterfly release month! Released twice a day in the Pacific Island Water Garden, newly emerged butterflies looking for nectar and romance filled the green space with wings of color! 

One of the many Blue Morpha landing on me!

(look right below my hands)

Franklin Park, Columbus, OH

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Fields of tulips

Franklin Park, Columbus, OH

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We also watched a glass blowing/forming demonstration in the conservatory's "Hot Shop". Interesting to watch the process but even more interesting to watch the artist's precisely timed and, seemingly, choreographed movements through the space. 

Daniel Schreiber, Glass Artist

Franklin Park, Columbus, OH

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And, of course, we had multiple visits to North Market, the neighborhood indoor open market of food purveyors. We wandered, ate as much as we could and took home (almost) everything we had been missing.


We ended our stay in Columbus visiting with our friends, Jackie and Jason.  One night they hosted a get together with my ex-Lane Bryant team. Wonderful, creative women to work with and great to still have as friends.
Love you guys! Thanks so much!!!

Lucy, Jackie, me, Robin

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