Days 1: The Road(s) Outside Columbus, OH


"There's a road outside Columbus, OH
Feels like I drove along for years.
That midwest way of ease, it surrounds us
I can't deny the rhythm here."

-Road Outside Columbus - O.A.R.


We just couldn't get "The Road Outside Columbus" out of our heads as we traveled into Ohio for the first two days of our cross-country road trip.  We spent a lot of time on those roads in the last two days!  It took us about six hours to get from home to Cleveland for Day One, and another three hours on Day Two to get from Cleveland to Dayton.  We've traveled approximately 600 miles so far and spent about $60 on gas.  Gas prices are pleasantly a little lower here in Ohio - we've paid anywhere from $2.45 - $2.55 since we've been here.  When we first crossed over into Ohio, we laughed at a digital road sign that read, "Great Scott! Watch your speed, McFly!"  Google is a great way to pass the time on the road, so we quickly learned that quirky traffic signs are an Ohio thing.  Nice, Ohio, nice!  




Cleveland was a great way to spend the first day of our road trip!  We stayed at Stone Gables Bed and Breakfast near Ohio City, and quickly found an awesome coffee shop a short walk away called Rising Star Coffee Roasters.  To RJ's delight, it was located inside an old firehouse, and the history of the fire station was written on the wall for visitors to read.  A little later, we met up with Kerri's friend Amanda.  This was a really special way to kick-off our trip.  Kerri and Amanda were best friends in first, second, and third grade.  When Amanda moved away in third grade, they lost touch for years.  After re-connecting on Facebook this year, meeting up face-to-face was amazing!  Amanda took us to Melt - a Chicago staple - for some amazing grilled cheese sandwiches.  They were featured on Man vs. Food a while back for their twelve cheese challenge sandwich.  Then, Amanda showed us one of the awesome metro-parks overlooking Lake Erie and took us for ice cream (ice cream and a view of the water - a friendship that was always meant to be!).  Finally, Amanda dropped us off at the House of Blues so we could catch our Frank Turner concert.  It was our first time seeing Frank, and he did NOT disappoint. He is such a performer! 






Time to hit the road again!  We'll be back with more on our cross-country road trip soon!  

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