"Light comment on the great American weekend getaway"

Since I started my new job less than a year ago, I haven't felt like I should take any extended periods of time off for vacation. So just like back in my early teaching days, I have been focusing on long weekend trips instead. After hosting friends and family for Thanksgiving (top left), we headed to Louisville for the traditional post-dinner sports-binging. We expected to watch the Ohio State-Michigan game without the usual Buckeye fan fury, but right before kickoff, a couple conspicuously dressed in a lot of scarlet and grey sat next to us at Highlands Tap Room (top right). We were not amused; we were much happier watching the U.S.-England World Cup match at Sports and Social Club the day before, even though it resulted in a tie (bottom).

 

The other main competition of the weekend was karaoke at Third Street Dive, a bar a couple of blocks from our accommodations (top left). As Muhammad Ali once said, it's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am, at least at singing shamelessly. Perhaps my pride was inspired by visiting his grave (top right). Or by the physical prowess we demonstrated in walking from downtown to Cave Hill Cemetery (bottom), and then around only a portion of it. The grounds are so extensive that we crossed seeing Colonel Sanders' grave off our bucket list (pun intended).

 

Catty-corner just steps away from the cemetery was PG&J's Dog Park Bar, an honest-to-goodness bar with garage doors that can be opened to let furry friends frolic to and fro throughout the establishment while their owners imbibe (top). This is a concept that we immediately decided should be replicated in Ohio, mainly because shortly after our trip we got a puppy. The Wednesday before our trip, we met three dogs at Gigi's, and the Tuesday after, we went back to take one, named Shelby, home as a foster. Eventually formally adopted and renamed Bowie, he is the most interesting and luckiest dog in the world, if you ask me (middle left). So now, watching sports routinely involves canine obstructions (middle right). And since there's no PG&J's, we have to settle for visiting the non-alcoholic dog park (bottom left) and walking at local Metro Parks (bottom right).

  

 

Although Bowie is a great hiker, we don't always bring him with us on the trails. Dogs are allowed on the trail at Old Man's Cave (top left), but Bowie stayed home because we had brunch beforehand at nearby Hocking Hills State Park Lodge. Plus, I would have been scared to watch him scramble across slippery bridges above frigid waters (top right). That would have been less of an issue during our third visit to Little Rocky Hollow because the creeks were iced over; however, dogs are prohibited in the state nature preserve (middle). It is unclear whether dogs are welcome at the privately-maintained Pretty Run Preserve (bottom left), but considering the muddy track we had to take to get there (bottom right), it's probably best that Bowie's paws stayed put.

 

  

Although Bowie is as active as any adolescent dog, he knows how to calm down, too. He has no problem just being a couch burrito, especially when we are with him (top left). It was nice to stay home for the holidays because he and the blanket kept us warm during a severe cold snap. Despite the below-zero temperatures, we ventured out for our traditional Christmas morning breakfast at Waffle House (top right). The weather had broken by February, when I received my Christmas present: tickets to The Fuzz at Natalie's Grandview (bottom). The Police cover band was well worth staying up late on a work night, something else that has been happening more since I started this new job, for some reason.

 

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“Life Lines.” Life Lines, vol. 12, no. 83, July 1970. JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.28146547. Accessed 15 Feb. 2023.