we're baaaaack!!!

Our trip was fantastic.

We woke up bright and early on Thursday morning, stopped at the bagel store for breakfast, and were on our way. There was no way to avoid Chicago’s rush hour traffic, so we did more than our fair share of sitting on the expressway. In all, the trip took just over 6 hours. Luckily we had loaded up on junk food and good music to keep us occupied.

I had written down the directions, but my sister brought along her GPS, so we decided to use that instead. Jon and I have been thinking about getting one, and I was excited to try it out and see how I liked it. Here's my quick and dirty review:

1. GPS systems (at least hers) do not account for construction. A major road on our itinerary was closed due to construction, and it took some finagling to figure out how to get back on course.
2. If you stop for gas, food, or make a wrong turn, the GPS got a little abusive.
3. When we were close enough to Columbus to see the skyline, the GPS went a little nutty. It told us to get off the highway in a totally random area, and then tried to tell us that we had reached our destination when we arrived at the intersection of an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet, a vacant lot, and a porny adult video store. I was not amused.
4. If we choose to buy a GPS
   

Somehow we managed to find our hotel, check in, and get all of our stuff up to our room. We relaxed for a little while before heading out to explore the city and get our bearings.

We met our friends K and J for dinner at a greek restaurant in the Short North Arts District – a quaint neighborhood filled with unique restaurants, bars, and artsy little stores. After dinner we had some of the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted in my life. After sampling several unique flavours, I settled on grapefruit hibiscus. Yum. The kids quickly caught on to the idea that if they went from person to person, we would each give them a taste of our ice cream. Finally, we walked to a nearby park, and saw some of the biggest lily pads ever.

On our way back to the hotel, Izzie demonstrated her finesse at manipulating people by grabbing both K and J’s hands. What started out as a sweet gesture quickly evolved into a game when Izzie picked up her feet and began swinging. Elijah didn’t want to be left out of the fun, so he joined in. Unfortunately this resulted in another case of nursemaid’s elbow, so the remainder of our evening was spent taking a tour of Columbus’ emergency rooms. Argh.

The next morning we got a later start after recovering from our ER drama. We had breakfast at an adorable little café and then made our way to the Columbus Zoo and Waterpark.

The Zoo was great. They had organized the animals according to continent, and also incorporated information about things we could do to help ensure that the environment remains hospitable to all the animals of the world. We saw tons of different animals, and the twins especially loved the elephant and the alligator. However, they freaked out when they saw the stingray.

After a few hours in the 95+ degree heat, we were all ready to hit the waterpark, which just so happens to be attached to the zoo. The kids loves splashing around in the kiddie area, and tried out a couple of waterslides. I was in heaven hanging out in the lazy river. Finally it was time to meet K, J, and J’s boyfriend at an Ethiopian restaurant for dinner.

Dinner was quite tasty, but the kids were so exhausted that their eyes were barely open as they shoved the injera and wot in their mouths. When it was time for dessert, the kids had perked up a bit, and we decided to go to a chocolate café who just so happened to be having an all-you-can-eat fondue special. This was the children’s first fondue experience. It got quite messy, but they loved it!

After fondue, we had an impromptu dance party in the parking lot before saying goodnight and heading back to the hotel to sleep.

On Saturday we went to the North Market – a fantastic year round public market with vendors selling olives, cheese, veggies, fruits, ceramics, salsas, clothing, art, flowers, freshly made pasta, beautifully decorated chocolates, and all sorts of other goodies. We drank some delicious fresh squeezed lemonade, sampled a Buckeye (a decadent peanut butter ball dipped in chocolate), and bought some individual crocks for serving pastas and gratins. We also met Barack Obama (well, sort of).

After the market, we drove south to the German Village where we explored a store of crafts handmade by elderly men and women. The architecture in this area was beautiful, and each house had a lovely little garden that reminded me of the homes in the Netherlands. It was here that I saw my dream house:

We had lunch in a fantastic deli that just so happened to be featuring goat cheese (my favourite!). After lunch, we got lost in a bookstore that went on and on for 32 rooms. Finally, we said goodbye to our friends and headed to an area with interactive fountains that the kids could play in.

Sadly, by the time we got there, the kids were passed out, and we were so exhausted that we just decided to eat dinner and go back to the hotel to swim.

On Sunday morning, we brunched at yet another fantastic little restaurant. Afterwards we drove to a topiary garden inspired by the Georges Seurat painting “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte”

Then we met K at the art museum. The kids had a really great time here, and appreciated the art much more than I expected them to. There was a fantastic exhibit on quilting, and a whole room of African artifacts (mostly from the western coast). There was also an interactive kids section that they really enjoyed.

After the art museum, it was time for the long drive home. The kids slept in the car for the majority of the ride, but they loved looking out the windows and pointing out airplanes, trains, and trucks. They are excellent travelers.

I love going on vacations with the kids. It is such a privilege to see the world through their eyes. Overall, I was extremely impressed with Columbus as a city. It was diverse, clean, easy to navigate, and had a remarkably wide variety of unique dining and shopping. The architecture was also unique and quite beautiful. There was a lot of outdoorsy stuff to do (hiking trails, kayaking, parks). But by far the thing that impressed me the most was how friendly people were everywhere we went. I am certain that we’ll be back soon.