COLUMBUS, OHIO RECAP (THE LONG VERSION)

I cannot even explain, in words, how much I loved my girls getaway to Columbus, Ohio with my two best friends in the entire world. If you have been reading this blog for a while now or know me personally, you know who Jodie and Kate are. If you are new here, WELCOME and they are AMAZING.

They are the two girls who know me better than anyone (Logan excluded, of course), the girls who never judge me, the girls who make me laugh so hard I practically pee my pants, the girls who I can tell anything to and the girls who I couldn't image life without. We met in College and were so fortune to all land in Madison soon after. We have been roommates, co-workers, and partners in crime. :)

Just recently, Kate, took a job in Columbus, Ohio and, well, Jodie and I cried. We cried a lot. We made a pact when Kate moved, that we would all spend our 30th birthdays together. Katie turned 30 and that is why Jodie and I roadtripped to Columbus, Ohio.

Our time there consisted of coffee, walks down the cobblestone streets in German Village, trying new restaurants, Badger tailgating, hiking, picnics, shopping, workouts in the park, ice cream tasting, nights out until 5am (therefore leading to more coffee), meeting the most amazing people, and lots and lots of alcohol. Oops! :)

Not only was it so good to have the three of us back together, but it was so nice to just be me. Not "me" the wife or "me" the mother ---- or employee, blogger, housekeeper, cook, and the list goes on. Now before I go any further, please do not think I do not LOVE being all of those things, because I do. It is just sometimes being all those things at once is hard, stressful, and completely overwhelming. It was like I had four entire days to just worry about having fun.

THANK YOU Jodie and Kate for such a fantastic time. There is just some special magic that happens when the three of us are together. It is like it pulls the best part of each one of us out.

Like I always say, it makes my heart smile. :)

And now for the the long version:

DAY ONE:

Jodie picked me up at 7am on Thursday morning and we arrived in Ohio around 3:30pm.  We got settled, grabbed some wine from the grocery store across the street and brought our solo cups for a walk in Schiller Park. We walked and talked and did a little ice cream sampling at Jeni's.  The salty caramel is where it's at!
DAY ONE TAKEAWAY: Eight hours in the car is really not bad when you have great company and wine waiting for you when you get there.

DAY TWO:

We slept in, Jodie and I got our workout in, we got our caffeine fix at Cup O Joe, and headed out to Hoking Hills State Park to hike the Old Man's Cave trail. It was beyond beautiful! We packed a picnic and then headed home to make dinner (Skinny Taste - Chicken Pesto Bake) and get ready to go out on the town. We started the night with wine and cocktails outside at Eleven in the Short North where we met BarryAlvarez, the former coach of the Wisconsin Badgers. Even though I am not much of a football fan, it was still pretty cool to meet him. We, then, met another group of fun people (including two guys from L.A. that shoot Adam Sandler and Tom Cruise movies!  What?!!!!) and moved our party across the street to Bar 23. Needless to say, we went to bed at 5am that night. Oops!
DAY ONE TAKEAWAY: Sometimes you just need to get dressed up, put on some makeup and high heels, and let loose with your girlfriends. The next day might be rough, but it is worth it.

DAY THREE:

Ummm... we were tired. I wonder why. ;)  When we finally got our booties out of bed, we headed straight back to Cup O Joe for coffee and then walked to the German Village Coffee Shop. While we were waiting for our table, we met the coolest photographer. We met so many cool people during our stay in Columbus, but Mike just might have taken the cake. He even shared his bacon with us! :)  We then headed home. Jodie and Kate took a nap and I ran six miles. I know. I am nuts. I wasn't feeling fantastic (again, I wonder why ;) and a good workout always makes me feel better.  When I got back we all got ready in our Badger red and headed downtown to The Varsity Club to tailgate with some of Kate's co-workers. Turns out the tickets we thought we had fell through. Jodie and I were totally fine with that. We were so tired and hungry and honestly, I probably would have fallen asleep on the bleachers. We stopped at Arch City Tavern for some food (Lobster mac & cheese... YUM!) and watched some of the game on TV before headed home and crashing.

DAY THREE TAKEAWAY: Ohio State fans are CRAY.... and there are a lot of them. We were pretty safe seeing that Badger Red is pretty similar exactly the same as Ohio Crimson. No one really even realized we were Badger fans. (yes, poser, I know.) Oh, one more take away. Their mascot looks like the Hamburglar with a diaper. Sorry. I just had to say it.

DAY FOUR:

4TH PICTURE - BACK HOME  TO MY BABY :)

Same old routine - coffee, workout, walk. We then ate breakfast at the Easy Street Cafe and did a little shopping at Easton Town Center. We got so many good deals! After shopping, we stopped home to drop off our stuff and headed downtown to meet Kate's co-worker at Bodega for trivia. The food was fantastic and they had a ton of different beers on tap. We then headed to The Pint House where we pretty much spent the rest of our night.

DAY FOUR TAKEAWAY: Girls vacations are more budget friendly when "shopping" isn't one of your travel attractions. Budget? What Budget?!

TRIP TAKEAWAY: Girls vacations are good for the soul. Plain and Simple.