Beaver, the Creek. And surrounds.

Hello again Blogi

Last time we talked there was a possibility of caverning (ie not caving) and thunderstorms. The caverns got postponed but the thunderstorm was right on schedule.

We left it a bit late to make it to the Ohio Caverns (or the OC as one sign said - is this the real one perhaps?) so instead took our picnic lunch to Young's Dairy Farm. There you can feed goats, get licked by calves, make a fool of yourself in the batting cages, play mini golf and eat reeeally gooood ice cream in an attempt to cool off. Jon had Smores flavour and I had Peanut Butter Cup.

Drove through Yellow Springs on the way, home of Dave Chappelle. There used to be a college there that shut down kind of recently so it still has a studenty vibe to it.

Stopped in Xenia on the way back, home of Gummo! Took a few photos, checked out the Towne Square (which turned out to be a giant carpark with generic shops around it) and made an attempt to find the footbridge over the railroad tracks but the thunder we'd been hearing since Young's turned into full blown storm so that cut our visit short and we headed back to Beavercreek. Traffic was creeping along as the rain was so heavy you could barely see a thing.

On friday we drove to nowhere and descended into the "most colourful caverns in all the U.S." Saw lots of stalagmites and stalactites and learned how incredibly long they take to form. Didn't see any bats though.

Got back and ate Papa John's pizza in the park. Jon had been craving it and it lived up to expectations. They still give you the garlic butter dipping sauce to dip your crusts in. Then in the evening we wandered round The Greene, an outdoor mall that was a pseudo-downtown area - a few different streets lined with shops, restaurants, salons, the ubiquitous "olde english pub" and a central park area with a fountain and a bad covers band. A pleasant experience nonetheless.

I took Jon to a part of Beavercreek he had never been to before - Beaver Creek. I'd seen in on the map, surrounded by the wetlands and wanted to investigate. Investigate we did and we found a walkway that lead to a bridge over the creek itself and what could only have been a beaver scurrying along beneath it! (Although i must admit its tail did perhaps look a little too furry even in the gloom under the steps, but it vanished before i got a closer look so beaver it is and will forever be). Also saw a couple of frogs bouncing about and the fireflies were particularly entrancing in the bushes along the creek. The mozzies weren't quite so appealing.

On Saturday we were off to the state capital, Columbus, for the day. Columbus, I am told, has one of the two biggest schools (i.e. universities) in the country. So it's a pretty vibrant place. Everyone we talked to that lives there seems to really love it. There were a few things happening that day. First stop was the North Market Food and Ohio Wine Festival where we sampled some tasty local concoctions. The Market itself is a regular fixture and was pretty incredible - a permanent, indoor farmers market, bustling and with enthusiastic vendors giving samples of everything from wine jelly to waffles. Tried a Bison Slider too for the hell of it.

From the market it was a short but slow, due to the overwhelming heat, walk to a park complete with a squirrel and dragonflies by a pond covered in lily pads. We sat for a bit to regain some energy then headed down to the annual Parking Lot Blowout - a mini music festival in the parking lot of saloon. I really liked the band playing when we got there (Fat Girls by the Snack Table i think they were called!). After that it got pretty punk, with a few older chicago bands playing that apparently hadn't played in quite some time and gave extremely high energy performances, that were especially admirable given the ridiculous heat.

Pretty much next door to that was Basil, a restaurant where one of Jon's school friends, Lydia, works. She was hostessing so got the chance to come sit with us and chat at the bar for a bit too. After a drink and a nibble (of tofu with the most delicious house-made sweet and sour sauce, i may never be able to eat that gluggy, oddly pink stuff again) it was time to head to Skully's Music Diner, conveniently right across the road. Another good school friend of Jon's band, Tin Armor, was set to open for Ted Leo and the Pharmacists (aka TL+Rx). They were fantastic and the best band of the night (in my very humble opinion) despite the sound guy have some issues including putting a strange delay on Matt's vocals for much of the set. Ted Leo was a bit of a veteran with a cult following and this may have been one of his last shows ever. Everything was just too loud to be that enjoyable though which was a shame.

After the show we got the chance to check out The Tone Shoppe, the newly established studio where Tin Armor were recording their album and living there whilst doing so. That's dedication. Drank a High Life - the champagne of beers. Or so it says on the can. Very handy to that was a Waffle House which we frequented at 3am to satisfy our choc-chip waffle and hash brown cravings; it was a popular place at that hour of a sunday morning. Fueled for the drive we headed back to Beavercreek, arriving just in time for a dawn chorus lullaby.

The following day was, unsurprisingly, pretty low key. Woke up late. Watched the world cup final. Went for a wander by some shops (saw the very empty Circuit City building Jon used to work in). Saw an incredible sun event and wandered some more to the water tower and Jon's elementary school playground. Went with Jon's mom to the cemetery where her mother and brother are buried - the coolest bit was seeing the fireflies appearing over the grass of the graves, like spirits. Then packed for NEW YORK!!