Three of these places have something in common and one does not. I’ve just noticed that two start with P and two start with A, but that has nothing to do with this game. Everyone is going on a major trip but me. That, of course, is a gross exaggeration, but consider this. My father is winging his way to the Czech Republic with a stop in Lyon, France as part of his journey. My mother and my brother also left today. They’re in Seattle awaiting to embark on my mother’s dream trip–a cruise to Alaska. A close friend of mine from college left today for eight days in Portugal. (She left her two children with her husband for her jaunt away.) What does Akron have to do with anything? I’m heading there on Sunday. Actually, I’m going to Stow which is next door. My excitement might come from a stop at Grandpa’s Cheese Barn near the Ashland exit off of I-71. Wheee!!! Actually, the cheese there does ratchet up my excitement quotient.
There is nothing wrong with being closer to home. A good friend of ours who lives in Madrid, Iowa just flew in today on American AIrlines. The plane was early and my husband didn’t even have to pay for parking since he was at the airport for less than 10 minutes. This visit is a chance to show our friend, who has never been to Ohio, some of our favorite Columbus hotspots before my husband and he head to Cleveland for an Indians baseball game and a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sunday is the meet up in Stow for a family picnic gathering. These gatherings are one of the reasons why we are living in the U.S. right now. Still, when I am grazing the samples at the cheese barn, I’ll think of those people I love who are on their mega trips having those adventures they’ve dreamed about.
By the way, the friend who is visiting is the one who took us on the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad mentioned in the fall foliage leaf peeping train post.