Winter 2010

The fall and winter schedule has not been kind to us! We've been to busy or the snow has kept us from walking in any of the metro parks. I hope we have better luck in 2011. In the meantime, we've had opportunities to get to know some new eateries that help us in our quest to find Paris everywhere. So, off we went to the Tip Top restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. What a treat it is…small venture with an old-fashioned bar just as you walk in…traditional American fair with a flair.  I enjoyed the spinach, strawberry, and bleu cheese salad while Scott treated himself to a macaroni and cheese dish with a twist (it was delicious) and Zane had a reuben. We went back a second time for our anniversary and I had a traditional grilled cheese and tomato dish while Scott had a ham and cheese.  The drinks were quite fun with themes related to local events like Commit to be Lit (take off on the Commit to be Fit campaign) and Skkye Bust (a lampoon of SkyBus airways that went belly up leaving passengers stranded) which they promised to "throw in your face" for extra fees (lol).

Tip Top is tip-top in our minds and we highly recommend it to those who are trying to find some culture in Columbus!

Zane and me on our first visit!

Strawberry, Spinach and Bleu Cheese Salad, sandwiches and drinks! 

Scott and me on our second visit and our anniversary!

Our next stop on our second visit was at Pistacia Vera which we have featured in previous posts. PV roasts their own coffee beans which makes it a special treat for coffee connoisseurs and their desserts are freshly made delicacies for which we have found no match in Columbus.  Scott had the Lemon Tarte and I devoured a Ginger Pear Frangipani in what seemed like seconds.

Is it cheating….

…if you are looking for Paris in Columbus, Ohio and get sidetracked by a trip to New York City? There's no doubt in my mind that elements of Paris could be found in the City that Never Sleeps, but, I wonder if it's a fair comparison?

                                              Strawberry Fields…...

I don't care. It's our journey and our blog so I'm going to share a little of our trip to New York with a focus on Central Park for now.  Central Park definitely has elements of Paris. Their are city gardens all over Paris. Central Park has everything to make it the show piece of the state…perhaps of the country in the way of urban parks.

Belvedere Castle is simply gorgeous. It was the perfect setting for a wedding picture that shows scale!

A wonderful place to write….
                                         wish I could live my life right on this bench…

                                      or maybe have the time to do some Tai Chi on a daily basis…

Prairie Oaks October 6

A little late in posting some of the pictures but on October 6 we walked again at Prairie Oaks and did River Rock Trail and  Lake View Trails.  This trip out I was surprised at how close the park was to our house.  The trail were fairly easy to walk and we got some good pictures via our Iphones,  compliments of the hipstamatic app.  

One of the things that I like most about digital photography is the fact that you have the ability to experiment without actually costing a lot of money.  It allows anyone with a digital camera the ability to experiment and play with things that may or may not have worked out.  I believe everyone is creative if they are just given the chance to be.

Anyway a good walk and a couple of fun pictures...

~S

I'm just popping in to add a few more photos. I don't think I have a lot to add this time. ~C.

Dawes Arboretum

Today's venture to Dawes Arboretum in Newark, Ohio is perhaps the closest we have been to finding a local comparison to the Jardin du Luxembourg in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. We love the trails, but, the Arboretum is something special and much more likely to have general comparisons to the gardens of France. A Japanese Garden wedding was being held and, although we didn't see it, I don't know how it could have been any less than beautiful. The tree varieties are far too many to list, but, they are trimmed and pruned with great care…with the exception of one section that is noted to be left to it's natural development on one side while being cared for by man on the other. What I found most pleasing would be hard to decide although I could boil it down to the hillside covered in hundreds of different evergreens OR the walk of uncommon and unusual trees. I saw an Empress Tree which evidently dies from the cold very easily, but, grows back as quickly as it dies.

Dawes is definitely a sampling of the Jardin's du Paris. I can't wait to go back when the leaves begin to change in just a few weeks.~C.






























THE HILL OF EVERGREENS!!

I'm in total agreement that as far as a park goes this is the closest to Paris that we have seen. there is something about the controlled wildness of the gardens that is very amazing. We couldn't have had a better day either, nice a cool, sunny with lots of blue sky. We didn't really follow a trail to speak of but did most of the oak trail and probably about 5 miles or so. We really didn't run into too many people which was nice and it was dog friendly which is always a bonus. Winnie got a workout. There was a cool cemetery on the grounds as well. I have to say that I would recommend this for general wandering aimlessly and if you are looking to find trees to plant they have a great number that are labeled, So if you are looking for specific style of tree this is a good place to start .... Truly a hidden treasure

~s

Kung Fu Riesling at The Winds Cafe is a crisp taste of Paris in a small American village.


We didn't walk in a metro park today, but, we did find delight in our visit to Yellow Springs, Ohio where liberal is still a nice word, peace is still a possibility, a glass of fine wine is a hop, skip and a jump away from a walk in the woods, and you can strike up with conversations with folks younger and older than you that are meaningful and miles away from any sporting event.

Today we stood at a block intersection and talked with several octogenarians about the peace vigil they were holding and about their life experiences that brought them there. Then we sat at the winds, drank a glass of Kung Fu Girl Riesling and talked with a young woman who spends three hours biking from her home just to be somewhere that it is easy to strike up a conversation with someone.



Yellow Springs was one of our original places to escape from Columbus 15 years ago. It has gone through a lot of changes but still seems to be intact overall.

Yesterday I got a lesson in don't judge a book by its cover. We spoke to an older gentleman that could have very easily been confused for a homeless man. Turns out that he is the son of two of the original environmentalists that helped found some of our national parks. He was in WWII, holds a doctorate in zoology, taught at berkley and Antioch colleges and has self published many books. Truly a remarkable man with an incredible story.

Earlier in the day, I took my dad's truck down to Monroe and we met up with Cindy in Yellow Springs, we had some good conversation and a bite to eat at the tavern on the outdoor patio. Which by the way very very reminiscent of the outdoor cafes of Paris. Cindy and I later poked around town noting some of the changes in the shops, mourned a little for the loss of Epic Books and finished up the town tour at the Winds with some Kung Fu Girl wine and a bread salad.

We did take a small jaunt on a trail that was just off of the rails to trail bike path. I don't think it was an official trail (at least until we got down to the bottom) but it was well kept but still had that wild feel to it that some of the more urban trails in Columbus lack. It wasn't too busy and was pet friendly, both good attributes in my opinion.
~S

Heritage Trail, part deux

Time doesn't always permit us to do a full walk! With that in mind we walked another couple of miles on the Heritage Trail. You'll recall this trail is rollerblade and bike friendly, but, other than that it's just a straight shot trail with a few bird houses and prairie-ish vistas (cornfields and the like). Winnie the Poodle was a good hiker this time (we only carried her for about .5 mile), J. Cow-ouac got his pictures taken, and we had some uninterrupted talk and listen time. It was quick and brisk, but, otherwise uneventful. Afterward we took WtP home and headed out to get some fish and chips at the Old Bag of Nails in downtown Hilliard. Not Paris, but, not a bad evening at all.

On the road again, I just can't wait to get ON the road again….








Even though this was not eventful as a hike it was some of the more creative photo's we have taken. C has a knack for the hipstimatic camera on the iphone. It was a good trail, would be a good quick workout to do the whole thing in one trip. Stamina builder.

-S.

Sharon Woods Metro Park, #6

Today's walk was BRILLIANT!! 3.8 miles on the Multipurpose Trail plus another mile on the Edward S. Thomas Nature Trail. The weather was unbeatable. Puffy white clouds,cerulean blue skies, and the slightest of cool breezes after weeks of blistering heat. Autumn approaches at last!

Sharon Woods is on the northeast side of Columbus. The focus of the park is Schrock Lake. We took the Multipurpose Trail around, so our readers won't see the lake in the photos this time. It is quite lovely though and will be included when we return to fully hit the nature trails.



The multipurpose trail is paved, but, that doesn't stop it from being wooded, shaded, and able to provide a more nature-like walk. It's well-traveled. We saw runners, bikers, and walkers. Most seemed out for a fitness purposes and not the leisure-hike we were enjoying!

J. Cow-ouac enjoyed the scenery immensely. One of his favorite was stopping along the way to mark the miles.







The vegetation and photo ops are plenty even on the multipurpose trail. Sharon Woods is one of the areas that first comes to mind for me when I think Columbus area Metro Parks. I'm not sure of the date of it's opening, but, I do know it's the one I think of first.

A word about our dual perspectives in life and as we take this journey…we spent some time taking pictures of the same things to see what perspective we have on the same scene. I'll relinquish the opportunity to Scott to write more about the images, but, the macro-lens pics are quintessentially Cyndi and the wide-angle lens represent Scott.














In the end, we see things from different perspectives both through our human eye and our camera lens. Still, we make a good pair. We discovered that in Paris.

The trip came off without many snags. Those snags that did have any amount of impact didn't unsettle us. Somewhere along the way in the last fifteen years of raising a child and day-to-day living, we just seemed to have put that pairing on hold. Based on the way we are writing, the images we are creating, and our quest to find Paris everywhere, it seems we are getting back our, je ne sais quoi, togetherness? ~C.







This walk marked the begining of fall for me. The weather was absolutely perfect. Nice blue sky day with big puffy white clouds. Today didn't feel like we have just started the project, which is a good thing for me because I think now it is more part of the routine of doing things. Visually I felt a little more focused (pun unintentional) and able to view things in a new light.

The hike was a good length with a little ups and downs and lots of scenery. I felt the pull in my legs and thats a good thing. Looking forward to hitting the next trail.

S

Glacier RidgeMetro Park. Marsh Hawk trail 3 miles.

It was a little iffy on whether or not the rain would hold off but we decided to head on out and take our chances. As far as wildlife goes it has been the best so far, because we we close enough to a nest that we could have almost touched the little birds. It was built on the underside of the observation tower. The baby birds looked as if they would be ready to try a fly in a couple of weeks. There was another nest on top of the tower but it was a bit farther out.

~C. I'm just poking in to add my two cents and a couple of pictures from my new iphone. Agree that seeing the little baby birdies was very cool. As far as the rest of the walk goes I think it was a bit too metro for me. I'm not sure I found Paris here, but, I do have to say it was interesting to note that only Dublin, Ohio would place a Frisbee Golf Course in the middle of a nature walk! Pics at the bottom. ~ C.






The first stop was at the observation tower where we took some pictures and got a feel for the rest of the park. The only trail was the 3 mile (one way) to the north end of the park and seeing that it might pour we opted to take a few pictures and then drive up to the north end to catch a quick hike.







The Glacier Ridge Trail system is a multi use trail so there are runners, walkers and bicyclists. It is much more urban than most of the parks and a portion of it buts up to a . There is a wind and solar learning center. The trails are fairly flat so its a good one to try if you are up for a leisurely hike.

S.