Loading Up On Some Columbus

I had one day to spend in Columbus before returning to Misery. I tried to make the most of my last day home. I arrived around noon with some ideas of what to do. Here was my list...

1. Load up on OSU paraphernalia. I have been in need of some fresh OSU garb. Of course, I wouldn't have been caught dead in Columbus wearing as much OSU stuff as I wear in Misery, but I have to represent. Universi-T's had a "buy one, get two free" deal. I couldn't resist.

2. Load up on local music. I was able to take care of half of this when I stopped by Used Kids six days before when I bought the latest release by Times New Viking. On this day, I was able to hunt down the latest by my longtime favs Earwig. The album is well-produced (compared to earlier releases). However, the passion and songwriting that made them such a popular local act seems long gone. I'll give it a few more listens, but I don't have my hopes up.


3. Load up on Jeni's ice cream. This turned out to be the trickiest task of the day, but it was a task I had to complete or R may never speak to me again. The manager said that they were waiting on a shipment of dry ice around five. So, I agreed to return later for my order. However, when I returned just before five, the shop had not received their shipment of dry ice. The guy behind the counter asked if I would mind driving over to their kitchen in Grandview to pick up some ice. I did not mind since this was my sole reason for even being in Columbus this early before my flight.

After almost getting lost (due to my forgetting where Kenny Road is), I successfully found the Jeni's kitchen. The manager wrapped up my dry ice and ice cream (to be reviewed on Digital Vittles in the near future) and offered me the "five-cent tour" for my troubles. Jeni's ice cream is amazingly created in a half-empty room with only two machines not much smaller than my own refrigerator. He then showed me the freezer that is cleaned out every two days. The ice cream solidifies in this freezer after being stirred by the machines. He then offered me an ice cream sandwich for the road. Nice guy, that Jeni.

4. Load up on local cuisine. Besides the Jeni's ice cream sandwich, I had to eat several local favorites before leaving town. After being turned down the first time at Jeni's in the North Market, I enjoyed a delicious Vietnamese sandwich - bar-b-q chicken. For dessert, I headed over to Graeter's (Columbus' other ice cream mecca) for a chocolate chip milkshake. There's something about a milkshake made with premium vanilla ice cream and large, dark chocolate chips that get stuck in your straw. Later in the day, I slurped down a Monkey Business at Columbus mainstay Cup O' Joe. (Actually, the drink was from COJ's younger brother, Mo' Joe Lounge.) The day was finished off with dinner at North Star. Their chicken wraps are so good and filling. The sandwich helped hold me over when my plane was delayed by an hour. (Skybus!)


5. Load up on some culture. I didn't have a lot of time for the culture. I considered attending a cool art house flick at the beloved Drexel Theaters. However, waiting around for a decent movie showing is risky when you have limited time and all these other tasks to complete. I then remembered that the Wexner Center for the Arts was free and usually featured some great contemporary artwork. I picked up a nice gift for R and a cool t-shirt for myself in the gift shop before checking out the current exhibits. The featured exhibit was the same show that the Wex is putting on at this year's state fair. (The Ohio State Fair just got cooler!) Three Ohio artists demonstrated a diversity I haven't seen in a gallery the size of the Wexner in...well...ever. Mark Harris' intriguing video installations were way more compelling than any reality TV crap. The oddball, mixed-media sculptures of Tracy Featherstone reminded me of the junkyard dreams of my youth. I've never felt that porcelain was a viable artistic medium until I saw the work of Rain Harris. In addition to these excellent Ohio artists, the Wex also featured work by "dusty" visual artist Robert Beck, French filmmaker Chris Marker, and the photos of Zoe Leonard.

6. Load up on tattoos. OK, so I didn't load up on tattoos, but I did get one. I returned to the place where I got my first tat about four years ago, Evolved. Matt was able to take me in as a walk-in and worked very quickly. I highly recommend anyone looking to get some ink while in Columbus to see the folks at Evolved. They are super professional and very friendly. I have two somewhat lame tattoos, and the artists there have never made me feel stupid for my choice. What did I get? I got the state of Ohio inked on my forearm. Let me just say that Sandusky Bay was rather painful. (I know that the image is a mirror image. The tattoo is not backwards!)

I certainly made the most of my visit to Ohio. Maybe I should go back...