Road Trip To The Origins International Game Fair, Columbus OH, Part I: Getting There

A couple of weeks ago, Gynn and I hit the road for Columbus Ohio, and the Origins International Game Fair. We both volunteer for the convention. Gynn works registration, and this year I was scheduled to try out a new gig with the Origins Kids' Program.

We were leaving Monday, allowing for two days of travel to get out there. We spent Monday morning getting the house together and packing/loading while being buzzed by cicadas that had descended on our neighborhood. Actually there weren't that many in our neighborhood (although they were definitely present and one landed on me), but we drove through a stretch of Route 6 where they were all over the road.

We took I-495 to the Mass Pike to Route 84 and had an early dinner at one of our favorite stops: Traveler Restaurant & Bookstore in Union Connecticut, the classic free-book-with-your-meal diner. Actually you can take up to three free books now. We grabbed a couple including a history of the colonization of Australia, another history book on medieval Ireland, and one of the Thieves World collections.

We hit some stormy weather, but no other problems on the trip to Jersey, where we had plans to stay with family. Stopped at a Staples in Connecticut and picked up some supplies for the Kids' Program activities I was scheduled to run (a minicomic workshop and a "mad science" chemistry demonstration). Saw lots of deer along the Sawmill Parkway.

Listened to Evenescence, Johnny Cash, Beastie Boys, Dublin City Ramblers, Chuck Berry, and the Soundtrack from Shrek in the car.

Arrived at Aunt Pat & Uncle Roger's place in Caldwell NJ and snacked and socialized for a bit. Two of their grandkids (my second cousins) were staying over, but we arrived after their bedtime. We got to see them at breakfast Tuesday morning.

We set out early on Tuesday with a lot of distance to cover in order to make a dinner get-together in Columbus with our friend Sherilyn.

Tuesday was a lot of driving, but fun. We took a new route out through northern Maryland. Saw some gorgeous scenery, especially at the Sideling Hill Exhibit Center.

 Sideling Hill is has a massive cut that was blasted in the hill during highway construction. The patterns in the rocks on the sides of the cut sow evidence of the geological history of the region.

There is a footbridge over the highway with openings in the fence to take pictures through.

 There are also a couple of short trails that lead up to observation points.

Here's Gynn with the cliff in the background.

The wildflowers were spectacular. The hills were covered in this pink ground vetch.

Here's a closer shot of the vetch.

The Exhibit Center also featured a pretty flower garden.

Iniside, there were exhibits on local geology and wildlife, and on the construction of the highway.

Music we listened to on this leg of the trip: Dropkick Murphys, Bill Wyman & The Rhythm Kings, The Charlie Daniels Band, Green Day, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, The Eagles, and The Grateful Dead.

We had lunch at Cracker Barrel somewhere in PA, and had a smooth trip out through Wheeling and on to Columbus.

Checked into our hotel room and headed into Columbus to have dinner with Sherilyn and some of her friends from the GenCon message boards. We ate at Buca di Beppo in the Arena District. Good Italian food and plenty of it, served family style so everybody shared everything.

Wednesday morning, it was off to our first day at the convention, which will be covered in my next post.