‘Columbus’ Category

 

He Never Set Foot

15 columbus statueLinda Burton posting from Columbus, Ohio – A statue of Christopher Columbus nestles under the buckeye trees on the southwest corner of the Ohio Statehouse grounds. It isn’t quiet there; the statue faces busy High Street and a main stop for the COTA buses; to his left across State Street the marquee on the Ohio Theater flashes for events; a highrise hotel on the corner welcomes visitors to Columbus. But Chris looks peaceful enough, reflectively studying the globe in his hand. A few blocks away, in Battelle Riverfront Park, the Santa Maria floats gently on the Scioto 15 santa maria 2River. It’s a replica of course, open for public tours, and offering educational programs about life, and sailing, in Christopher Columbus times. Chris is a major presence in Columbus, Ohio, even though he never set foot anywhere remotely near. The “explorer’s mystique” surrounds his name; it has been chosen for cities and parks all over the world; his statues are everywhere too. The one on the Ohio Statehouse grounds isn’t a heavy-duty marble; it is crafted of hammered copper plates joined together with rivets and was created in the workshops of W H Mullins Company in Salem, Ohio in 15 columbus statue 31892, as the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ first voyage approached. Americans looked for ways to recognize what many felt was the beginning of the nation’s history; in Columbus Monsignor Joseph Jessings, founder of Pontifical College Josephenium, commissioned a statue and put it on the grounds of the Seminary. In 1932 the statue was given to the state, and has remained on the Statehouse grounds since. The base was added in 1992, the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage; it was rededicated on Columbus Day; presiding were the Mayors and Governors from Columbus, Ohio and Genoa, Liguria, the Italian city and state thought to be Columbus’ birthplace. » read more

 
 
 

Make A Plan

experience columbus 001Linda Burton posting from Columbus, Ohio – “Plan Your Visit” is a category unto itself when you travel. It’s also wise advice for living on this earth. “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up somewhere else,” is a sage bit of advice I’ve passed along to my grandkids over the years. That doesn’t mean you don’t adapt, and change plans as necessary (or desirable); it just means you have a plan. Like a Journey to 50 capital cities! Today I’m ready to make a plan for my visit in Columbus, my 39th capital city. I always seek advice from the locals – residents, and those whose task it is to promote the city, such as the visitor’s bureau; here in Columbus they go by the moniker “Experience Columbus,” which, to me, is good advice for residents as well as visitors. I have in hand the Official Visitors Guide, complete with maps, 13 german restand Columbus City Guide (from Columbus Monthly), so I’m going to read all about it, and make my plan. Neighborhoods and tours, historical sites and adventuring, eating and events – those are the basics. I see there are some interesting neighborhoods, such as Short North (so named because it is north of downtown, but short of the OSU campus); the Arena District (sports, natch); German Village (historic, south of downtown); Victorian Village/Italian Village (historic, north of downtown); Olde Towne (vintage Columbus); and of course, Downtown, home of the Statehouse, the Museum of Art, and COSI (Center of Science and Industry), a 320,000-square-foot facility that recently was named America’s #1 science center. America’s #1 science center and America’s #1 zoo in one town? I settled in to read more. Jack Hanna is Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, I read. Well then, no wonder it is great! » read more

 
 
 

Right Here In Ohio

13 car rain loadLinda Burton posting from Columbus, Ohio – The minute I crossed the state line into Ohio, two things happened. The road improved, and the rain stopped. I had loaded the car in a sprinkle; there was just enough rain to trickle down my neck. The deluge waited until I-96 towards Detroit; from there the wiper was set on triple speed and even that wasn’t enough. The trip from Lansing to Columbus was just 267 miles, but after two hours in the driving rain I stopped at an Arby’s to give my knuckles a break from their painful grip on the steering wheel. “I hear it’s supposed to 13 arbysrain all day,” said the young woman who handed me my Jr Ham and Swiss. “And the real storm is coming through this afternoon.” Rats! I missed something in the weather forecast; I remembered seeing round balls of yellow on the screen as I packed last night; how did I miss a predicted front, wildly coming at us from the west? “You just have to deal with it,” I told myself. “Drive on.” The GPS directed me onto US23 south towards Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti; I crossed a few rivers flowing towards Lake Erie, just to the east. The landscape was heavily treed, 13 flag porchthough I spotted a few patches of corn here and there. And then, I was in Ohio, and the sky was blue. US23 became I-475, and then, I-75. I spotted signs for BGSU (Bowling Green State University); at Findlay a sign proclaimed Flag City USA. Then Exit 156. Suddenly I was on a two-lane road surrounded by farms, and silos, and sun-drenched fields. I passed through Arlington, and Williamstown, small towns where every corner had an American flag and every house had a front porch. At Dunkirk I stopped for gas. » read more