OH - IO {Sisters Trip}

My sisters and I took a weekend trip to visit Megan in Columbus over her fall break (October 11-14th).  We packed a lot of fun in a few short days and I (we) snapped way more pictures of plants than I ever thought possible (you'll see if you keep scrolling).  We laughed till we cried (naturally), we ate yummy food, we walked a LOT, and we had a marvelous time being together.  Here's the log of our adventures (and if you want the abbreviated version, just read the cliff's notes summary on the first line of each day ;).

Day 1: Thursday, October 11th --- Get to Columbus

Heather picked up Kylie from school and then met me in a parking lot in North Ogden so we could all ride down to the airport together.  As we were driving to said meeting spot, Megan texted us this picture of ten packages of Oreos that my parents' ministering brother (from Providence) had sent to her (he doesn't even really know her and wasn't ever assigned to her, but he does awesome things like this anyway).  He said he wanted her to share with her friends and rank them one to ten by favorites.  Haha.  Anyway, she was texting us to find out which ones we wanted to have on had for our late-night hotel munchies.  (We opted for regular and Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, in case you even wanted to know.)

Everything was smooth sailing at the airport and on our flights to Chicago and then on to Columbus.  We talked and snacked (Kylie made fun of us "moms" for packing so many snacks in our carry-ons, but she benefited from them as the trip went on, so we had the last laugh) and talked some more as we traveled (so much for those three books and queue of podcasts I had ready for the flights! ;)  Megan picked us up at the airport at 12:30 am and we drove the 30 something miles to the hotel (oops - didn't check out the location very carefully when we booked, but it was cheap and had queen beds, so #worthit) and crashed.

Gettin' real in the jetway!

Seats together!  (An accomplishment that we managed to keep
on each of our four southwest flights we took, even when we
forgot to check in till late on the return legs and had late C
boarding positions. Phew!)

Hello, Chicago!

Day 2: Friday, October 12th --- Downtown, Franklin Park Conservatory, Der Dutchman

On Friday we woke up, ate breakfast at the hotel and hit the road back to Columbus where we planned to visit COSI using discount tickets Megan bought for us with her student hook-ups.  Unfortunately said tickets got accidentally left behind in the hotel, a fact we didn't realize until we had parked in the COSI lot (sad face).  Because of those many miles (that we should have checked before booking) between us and the tickets, we decided to skip COSI and take a little walk downtown.  We walked around the state capital and down a street to a little park (we always ended up in the green spaces, it turned out) and back again to wander through a little farmer's market set up on one side of the capital square.  I got suckered into listening to a shpiel about worker's rights and buying a $2 (suggested donation) newspaper (it was a better alternative than the $20 calendar she was offering!) and we all bought flavored honey sticks to snack on (and take home to the kids as souvenirs - big spender, that's me!).  We walked back to the COSI parking lot and wandered around a few of the displays and playgrounds outside the entrance, which only piqued my interest for going inside even more.  Next time, for sure!

A bit of the Columbus skyline.

And the other side of the road we were walking along.

Megan said they had a great fireworks show from this park/
amphitheater for the Fourth of July.

Statue containing some "bearded zeros" on the
grounds of the state capitol building.

Views from the capitol.

A motto I can get behind.

Opposite corner of the capitol lot.  (Apparently I didn't take
a picture of the actual capitol building?)

Christopher, himself.

A fancy-pants law office we passed on our walk down the street.

Cool old church.

Some ornamental bindweed.  (I took this pic
for Callie because she be can (or could?) identify
field bindweed and since this looked similar, I
thought she might get it.  (She didn't.)

These were pretty - in the little park we ended up at on our walk.

Honey stick happiness.

So happy to be with my sisters!

"Hey Meg!  Climb on that cool playground so I can take a picture
of it and send it to my kids.  They would love this thing!"

Fun dino sculpture made out of old metal things
(plus a "can you find it" sign, which adds an
extra element of fun).

Cal has been into butterflies lately (ever since a butterfly-themed
birthday party, I think), even making a "Book of Butterflies"
in which she traced our butterfly shaped cookie cutter many times
in its pages and then decorated each one differently.  I obviously
thought of her when I saw this in the garden outside COSI.

Driving past the capitol (still not pictured) as we left downtown.
This church's bells were chiming a lovely little song.  And that
Dispatch (Ohio's Greatest Home Newspaper)
sign is apparently famous or something?

Next stop: Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.  This place was amazing!!  We could have spent all day there (and we practically did, forgoing our lunch to just snack (good thing we had those crackers and veggies, eh, Ky?).  There was so much to see, but my favorite was the children's garden.  I kept commenting how much Cal and Sam would love it.  And even without any little ones with us, we all had a great time there, touching and climbing and building and learning.  It was great.  They also had some temporary displays that we were excited to see: animal topiaries in each house (kind of like a scavenger hunt to find them all), harvest blooms (lots of mums and pumpkins!), and bonsai trees.  We even got to see a glass blowing (he never really blew it, but molding it was still cool) demonstration.  We all really enjoyed the Conservatory and it was extra fun to have our resident plant expert there to geek out about everything with.

Bright autumnal mums to welcome us to the conservatory.

One of many, many, many Chihuly blown
glass sculptures throughout the conservatory.

Our first topiary sighting - they were in every house and display,
and it was like a scavenger hunt to find them all.

I loved these colors!

Elephant Ear with Mugs for scale.

Desert house.

The strangest cactus I've ever seen.

I think this was an aloe?  Maybe?  Bueller?

Orchid display.

One variety smelled like chocolate!

Not topiaries.

Topiaries.

Also topiaries.  And cacti.

Our favorite cactus (if you can judge by how many pics
we each took of it!).

Fibonacci numbers in action.

Out into the harvest blooms display and walkway.

I loved all the colors and shapes and textures.

Hanging pumpkin balls.  A creative touch.

Craziest gourds I ever did see.  And ornamental kale - it was
everywhere!

Pitcher plants!  We gawked and geeked at these carnivorous
plants for a good while.

And besides being awesome, they're beautiful!

We found ourselves in the glass blowing area
(I think it had a real name, but I can't remember
it now) in time to see a live demo!  So fun!

He was just finishing up a glass pumpkin when
we got there.  But then he started up another one,
so we moved closer and I shot a few videos.

bonus videos!

"glass pumpkin sculpting"

And one more bonus video!

"finishing touches"

Another butterfly for Cal.

My favorite topiary in the gardens.  This one
welcomed us to the Children's Garden.

Rainbow garden (also for Cal).

Checking out the cool kaleidoscope flower
display.

Kinda fun and clever.

This reminded me of Cal and Sam - they'd try
making one if they could!  (We have plenty
of collected rocks.)

We loved this pumpkin house.

"Bee hotel".  So cute!

Spider web!  (The kids would love this!)

These kids loved it, anyway!  (ha)

I have no idea.  But it was too funny not to include.

Nesting.

Talkin' with my hands (always) about a podcast I listened to
once about the geology of Vermont and New Hampshire
(fascinating, by the way!)
(and it's relevant because this was a rock display ;).

Sassafras tree!  (One of the only colorful leaves
we saw in Ohio.)

Posing by the colorful leaf (s).

Build your own fairy garden with some of the coolest
bits and pieces of a nature I've ever seen in one stump.

Nature library and reading nook.  Be still my heart!  (Those
little cupboards were full of nature, plant, animal books!)

Splashing and playing in this little stream is encouraged (when
it's warmer, naturally).

Swamp area.

More carnivorous plants!

Weaving with natural things (yarns, yes, but also grasses and
feathers and leaves).

More of those cool pitcher plants.

Geometric art . . . that floats!  So cool!
I loved all the educational/artistic/hands on things
there were to touch and try and read and learn
and see in the Children's Garden.  They even have
weekly story times there - you can bet your bottom
I'd have a membership and we'd be there on the
regular if I lived in Columbus!

Willow entrance (for kids only) into (and out
of) the Children's Garden.

Entrance for everyone else.

Back inside in the tropical house.

More Chihuly (you can't miss it!)

Moana flower.

No idea what this is (I stole the pic from Heather and I don't
even remember seeing it in person) but isn't it pretty?!

Sisters, sisters...

I spy another topiary display.

These leaves were ginormous.

They were some really silly sisters .  . .

Koi fish!  (They were also ginormous!)

Up in a little tiki hut to get an aerial view of the tropical room.

Palm flower.  Crazy, no?!

Bonsai gingko.  (I snapped this for Cal and Sam
since we had just read a book that had a gingko
in it and they thought the name was so fun(ny).)

Starting to show some color.

Momma gingko!  (This is actually the same
tree as that baby bonsai - the bonsai was made
from this tree.)

A bonsai yew, I think?

More bonsai - and from here on out, I don't
remember what they're called.

Beautyberry bush.

In the Palm House - the oldest part of the
conservatory.

Glamour shot.

My favorite palm.

A rubber tree (on the left), if I remember
correctly.

They were getting ready for a reception -
what a fun venue!

Not-so-hardy bonsai trees were kept inside
in another exhibit area.

Outside the Palm House.

Sister selfie in front of the palm house (attempt uno).

That's better.

And even better when we asked for some help.

My favorite topiaries - there were 75 of these
flamingos!

A flamboyance of flamingos, if I ever saw one.

Sitting in a swing with my sisters in the bride's
garden - that roof in the background is the palm
house.

That cute spiral staircase again.

Poor agave is squashed in that desert house.

bonus video!

"model train for Sam"

Giant light brite board!  Of course we played on it.

By the time we had seen everything in the gardens, we were definitely ready for some grub.  I convinced the sisters to give Der Dutchman (the Amish buffet restaurant that Paul and Kim had taken us to when we were in Ohio in May) a try.  (It was actually sort of on the way back to our hotel, so there was another plus for booking in the boonies!)  None of us were sad about that spread after the ritz crackers and dried apple slices we had eaten for lunch.  ;)  After dinner we headed back to the hotel for some Facetime with the kiddies followed by a movie (we rigged up Meg's computer so we could watch The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society on the big TV in our room).

Mugs was a pro freeway driver.  And I really
snapped this pic because a big red dump truck
with a big yellow smiley face passed us.  And
naturally I had to show Sam.

Not long after we turned off the freeway, we were on
winding two lane country highways.  It was beautiful to drive
through the farms (minus the lawnmower guy who nearly collided
with us at full speed).

Dinner time!

Awww yeah, this is where it's at!

Just a decoration on the wall as we left
the restaurant - but it caught our eye because
the Tabernacle Choir sang it at conference just the
week before.

Face Time!

Day 3: Saturday, October 13th --- Ohio State campus tour, football game

Saturday was football day.  We wanted to get into the city and onto campus before all the other people, so we ate our breakfast of "egg-streme mcmuffins" and headed back into Columbus.  Thanks to Megan's participation in institute, we were able to park in that lot, close to campus, for free!  We wandered up High Street toward Target, where we shopped for Buckeye gear and grub for Sunday's lunch.  We wanted to try a Buckeye Donut, but the line was out the door, so we crossed the street and wandered through campus as we headed back toward the institute where we planned to drop our salads and change into our scarlet and gray.  We ended up deeper into campus than we planned, visiting the oval and the library (which are not that far from the stadium, really), so we ended up walking against the current of fans heading to the game to get back to the car for our quick wardrobe change.  We snagged a Panera Bread donut from the institute tray and headed back through campus to the 'Shoe.

The stadium was huge!  And there were so many people there!  (It wasn't even full, but holy smokes I've never seen so much red!)  We got to the tunnel just as the players were running up and out to the field, so that was a fun bonus.  And then we found our seats with Meg's PT buddies.  It was fun to meet a few of them and to watch her with her friends (Heath, Ky and I like them!).  The game wasn't as offensive as I was expecting (we see more scoring from our Ags this season!), but they did win and it was fun to do the O-H-I-O wave/cheer around the stadium, watch the awesome and huge marching band dancing on the field, sing the song at the end with arms around each other, and learn the OHIO pose.  We are totally Buckeyes now!  (ha!)

As we walked out and around the stadium, we discovered the "buckeye grove", where I finally found an actual buckeye (one sad, squashed little buckeye, but a buckeye all the same) to bring home for Cal and Sam (25 cent honey sticks and squished seeds from the ground - don't you wish you were getting souvenirs from me?! - But I did buy them OSU shirts (and socks for Gregg), so I'm not a total cheapskate).  We walked (the long, long way) past all the medical buildings till we got to Meg's building where all her classes are.  Then we walked back to her apartment for a tour and a drink and a rest before heading back to the institute (about 5 blocks away) and back to the car.  We wanted to get out of town for dinner, so we googled Whit's Frozen Custard (where we knew we wanted dessert) and found a restaurant near one on the way back to the hotel.  We had a bit of hot tub time, shower time, FaceTime, and Hallmark movie time before it was bedtime.

A buckeye tree!

Close-up of the leaves.

Inside the library.

We rode the elevator to the 10th floor
to get some great views of campus and Columbus.
I spy the Horseshoe!

Those tall buildings are dorms.

That big building in the back is the hospital
The James.

Views out the other side (where we met the sisters missionaries,
also enjoying the view) - The Oval is below.

Newly remodeled Mirror Lake.

Flocking to the stadium.

Tunnel thumbs up.

We got to our section just as they were playing
the national anthem.

The weather was perfect football weather - not too cold (we
were expecting rain, and it never rained, so I was happy
as could be!) and even some blue skies!

I love these girls!

The flags along the top of the stadium are the teams that
they play each season.

The marching band as dancing stick figures.  They were flossing!

Footloose.

Typical Heather.

These flags are for this week's game - OSU
on this side . . . 

. . . and Minnesota over yonder.

O-H-I-O!

Arms around each other and singing the school song at the end
(we knew the tune since it's the same one as Come Ye Children
of the Lord, also sung at conference the week before! ha!)

Everyone marching out of the stadium was
singing about how much they hate Michigan.
Talk about rivalry.

At the fancy-pants entrance to the stadium.

Walkin' in a buckeye grove.

Drooling . . . 

So much yum!

The pool was quite big and uniquely shaped - but we didn't
even swim in it.  We spent our water time in the hot tub whichd
is in the top right corner behind those chairs.

Day 4: Sunday, October 14th --- Columbus Park of Roses, church, fly back home

Sunday morning was low key and rather lazy.  It was a little bit drizzly and gray, so we ate breakfast, packed up, slowly got ready for the day and then headed out towards Columbus for our last time.  Our plan was to visit the Columbus Park of Roses and eat our salads as a picnic, but since it was so cool and wet (it never really rained on us, but it was definitely damp) we just wandered the gardens, enjoying the flowers, and then picnicked in the car in the institute parking lot before church started.  Megan said it was a little like deja vu from her trip in March with my parents, where they ate lunch in the car before church, went to Sacrament Meeting and Sunday School and then headed to the airport (our plan, too).  We just hoped the similarities ended there since they had delay after delay and didn't end up getting home until the next day!  Luckily all went smoothly for us getting home.  We got our seats together (even if we ended up in the back of the plane) but there was significantly more reading/podcast listening/football watching than there was on the Thursday flights.  I guess we had talked ourselves out after four days together.  What a weekend!  So many fun memories!

The roses were incredible!  We fully enjoyed
their October surge in blooms.

Sisters selfie from the top of the gazebo look-out thing, attempt
numero uno.

And that's a bit better.  :)

Not only roses in the rose garden - these
dahlias were lovely, too.

Elephants' ears in the wild (well, sort of), with
Megan for scale (again).

Peace rose.  My fave.

Sisters selfie in front of a really lovely rose, which we
completely blocked (oops!).

I liked these quotes along a wall in part of the park.

Info (that I still haven't read, but I have it in case
I ever wonder about the roses . . .)

Hello again, Chicago.
(I took this because it had a golf course and I
wanted to show Sam.)

"Stop trains" for Sam.

I wanted a hot dog for dinner since we were
in Chicago.  I found a little restaurant that had
"Chicago style" Italian sausage and Italian
beef sandwiches.  And then I saw the "combo"
option.  "I'll get to try both!" I thought.
Whoa, nelly! I was not expecting quite this
much meat.

But you can bet I ate it all!  (Whoa, nelly!)

So, when is our next sister's trip?!  I'm hooked!