Friday Breather

After yesterday's whirlwind trip to Columbus and back, we took it easy this morning. Later, we are driving to central Ohio for a wedding reception for my niece. 

I mailed a request to the County Sheriff for the correct incident report for my car "accident" at the parking garage Tuesday evening.

Richard accompanied me to Pleasant Valley Shopping Center. I wanted to get my hair cut but the barber was eating lunch (at 12:50 p.m.) and told me to come back in 20 minutes. So I went across the street to another barber. No waiting. 2 barbers. The barber who cut my hair lives on Sprague where I used to deliver the Plain Dealer. I think he moved there after I gave up the route because he didn't know several of the people I remembered. However, it was fun to hear about some of my former customers.

We also stopped at Marc's. In Connecticut, they are called XPect Discount. We browsed around and got some things for tonight's party and replenished some of the water and soda at Grandma Meg's house.

In order to tide us over until this evening, we had a small bite to eat at Arby's in the KMart plaza. Actually, we've had quite a few meals at Arby's this trip. It's not something we encounter very much in Connecticut, so it's something of a treat. Richard especially enjoys a Jamocha shake. We shared an order of curley fries.

When we got back to Grandma Meg's house, we cleaned up and got ready to go to the party.

Pizza With Tina

Since Donatos Pizza is a sponsor of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Richard was eager to eat there. Although we were still rather full from lunch, we figured we had room for a small meal.

Tina led us to a location just across the street from the Ohio State University campus. It was nice because we were practically the only ones eating there, they had a glutten-free "pizza" for Tina, and I had a very nice salad. Richard and Tina also enjoyed a game of darts (see below). It felt like we were relaxing in someone's family room/basement.

Before starting the trek back to ClevO, we stopped at Cup O Joe where Tina treated me to a cup of java for the ride home. It had turned out to be a very enjoyable visit with Tina.

Columbus, Ohio

Today (Thursday July 28, 2011) we drove to Columbus, Ohio to visit our relatives there. Lynn's Aunt Pattie and Uncle Dick live in Dublin, a Columbus suburb. On the way there, we stopped at Grandpa's Cheese Barn in Ashland, Ohio to get some fudge for them. For years, this was the only place to stop between Mansfield and Clevo.

Grandpa's Cheese Barn (Ashland, Ohio)

Aunt Pattie is the sister of Lynn's father. Uncle Dick is a West Hartford native who graduated from the same high school that Richard attends (also note the name connection). We had a nice lunch with them and were joined by their son.

Our next stop was a nearby team shop for the Columbus Blue Jackets, one of Richard's favorite NHL hockey teams (see logo and alternate below).

In a quest for the desired t-shirt, we were kindly directed to the main store located at the Nationwide Arena (see picture below), located in downtown Columbus, just around the block from the stadium for the Cleveland Indians (AAA) minor league team, the Columbus Clippers. Unfortunately, they were playing away during our visit. This store was something of a nirvana for Blue Jackets paraphanalia and we purchased some items for Richard's collection.

Home of the Columbus Blue Jackets NHL Hockey team.

My sister, Tina, met us at the store and Richard gave her some suggestions for future (birthday) gifts.  Then we went out for pizza with Blue Jackets connection (see separate post).

Unfortunately, my brother David was not available to meet us. I missed seeing him this visit since it has been over a year.