My family made a special trip to visit me in Ohio during the week of July 4th. They arrived in Columbus on Tuesday, July 2nd in the morning, and spent the remainder of the week in Ohio. I had to work on both the 2nd and the 3rd, but I printed out a map, circled a bunch of attractions, and let them explore the area of Columbus.
Day 1: I arranged for the hotel where they would be staying at to pick them up with the hotel shuttle once they arrived in Ohio. Once I got off work, I picked them up at their hotel and brought them to one of my favorite restaurants in Columbus, Sidebar. We ordered roasted duck (my absolute favorite dish), lamb, short ribs, and a cilantro beef pizza for dinner. Every dish turned out wonderful. We were able to enjoy good food and have great conversations throughout the night. After dinner, we headed back to their hotel, chatted for a bit, and then parted ways for the evening.
Day 2: I had to work again today, but I did provide my family with a map of the Columbus area. Many of the streets were closed due to Red, White & Boom. My family ended up stopping by the North Market in the morning. When they visited me two years ago, they had the most wonderful hot chicken from Hot Chicken Takeover in the North Market. They ended up going back there for a lunch of hot chicken, coleslaw, and macaroni and cheese. After lunch, they made their way back downtown to relax at the Columbus Commons for the rest of the afternoon. Once I got off work, I met up with them at the Commons, brought them to Tiger + Lily for dinner, and then walked through the Scioto Mile Promenade as we waited for the firework display in the evening. The Red, White & Boom experience was definitely a unique experience. There were stands upon stands of carnival type food, drinks, and treats. People traveled from all over the world to attend the firework display. We walked along the Scioto Mile Promenade, crossed a bridge, looped around COSI, and headed back to Front street. My family snapped a few photos and just waited until the firework display at 10:00 p.m. The firework display began promptly at 10:00 p.m. They were absolutely amazed by the stunning synchronization of the fireworks. The first 15 minutes was just beautiful. As more time passed, the smoke filled up the air and made it a bit more difficult to watch the display. Still, the views were just stunning. Around 10:26 p.m., the fireworks ended. We made our way through the heavy crowds and then parted ways for the evening.
Day 3: My family and I started our day early and made our way to German Village. German Village has been on my list of places I wanted to visit in Ohio for the longest time. We strolled through the brick lined pavements, admired the beautiful houses which looked a bit like intricate gingerbread houses, and finally stopped by The Book Loft of German Village. To our surprise, The Book Loft was open on July 4th. We browsed through the shelves upon shelves of books to see if we could snag a book at a good deal. There were books spanning multiple genres and many of the books for on sale. We stopped at The Book Loft just long enough to snap a couple photos and flip through a few books. Then, we departed to the nearest supermarket. It was scorching hot during the day and we needed an ice cream break. Near the heart of German Village was a Giant Eagle, so we stopped inside to pick up some fruits, snacks, and ice cream. We took a brief ice cream break before heading back to my home. We relaxed for the rest of the day and stopped by a restaurant near the hotel my family was staying at in downtown Columbus. After dinner, I dropped my family off at their hotel, chatted a bit, and then went on my way.
Day 4: Kevin joined us on our trip to Hocking Hills in the morning. We headed to Logan, Ohio early in the morning in an attempt to beat traffic. Once we arrived in Hocking Hills, we noticed the parking lot outside of the state park was already packed. It was again very hot during the day. Luckily, we wore lightweight clothes, brought a lot of water, and packed some snacks to keep us fueled during our hike. We hiked through Old Man’s Cave towards the Lower Falls, and then looped back up the trails until we reached the Upper Falls. I was a bit nervous about the accessibility of the trails for my parents, but they had no trouble at all hiking the trails. The trails were very manageable for individuals of all ages. By the time we made our way through the trails, my dad was drenched in sweat. Right around 1:00 p.m., we hit the road again to head towards downtown Columbus for a late lunch. We had some flatbread and salad at The Walrus, another restaurant in downtown Columbus located near the hotel my parents were staying at. We relaxed a bit in the afternoon, headed towards the nearest supermarket to pick up some groceries, and had a dinner of mostly picnic food items. We were all exhausted by the end of dinner and retired for the evening. Kevin and I dropped our family off at their hotel and headed back home to rest up.
Day 5: We started the morning with a filling breakfast of ham, egg, and cheese sliders. Right after breakfast, we visited COSI, a lovely science museum located in downtown Columbus. We started off visiting the Dinosaur Gallery, made our way to the Life exhibit, stepped back in time at the Progress exhibit, released our inner child in the Gadgets exhibit, explored the wonders of the Ocean exhibit, and ended our visit with the Space exhibit. My family loved the variety and learning experiences in each of the exhibits. My favorite exhibit was definitely the Progress exhibit. The museum recreated storefronts from the 1800s and 1900s. Walking through the Progress exhibit felt as if I stepped back into time during those eras. Kevin and my parents loved the Life and Gadgets exhibits. My mom was very energetic and had the most fun playing with all of the gadgets in the Gadgets exhibit. Without even realizing it, a few hours had passed. We departed COSI, had a quick lunch of sandwiches, and headed towards Easton Town Center for an afternoon stroll. My mom wanted to stop by Buckeye Corner at Easton Town Center to pick up a souvenir for Aiden. She bought the perfect toddler tee shirt and purchased it as a gift for Aiden. We took another rest break after our trip to Easton and headed back to downtown for dinner at Due Amici. For dinner on their last day in Ohio, we had some pizza, pasta, and salad.
Day 6: Kevin and I woke up early in the morning to drop my family off at the airport. We were both glad they had a good trip visiting us in Ohio. During their last visit two years ago, we brought them around the Cincinnati area. During this trip, we took them around Columbus. For their next visit, we may take them up to visit Cleveland. While exhausting at times, my family definitely had a great time seeing all of the attractions in Columbus.