Columbus Ohio

Very close to the Arena in Columbus was North Market which was really handy to get some food, and great food at that. There was a place to get Indian food that was really great with very nice staff. There was an amazing pancake and waffle stall called a Taste of Belgium. They gave me a pack to give out at the circus to entice new customers, which took a lot of will power to actually give away and not eat all myself but I managed as they really where amazing waffles and I wanted to share their yummyness. There was also a great ice cream stall called Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream that made great bizarre flavoured ice cream like Salty Caramel and Thai Chili, I had the pear which was delicious.

Just beyond that was the art area which also seemed really nice.




There was also a nice park close by called Goodale Park with a nice play area.

I liked Columbus but I really didn't explore it enough, no reason really other than my own laziness. I really must do better.

Albany, New York

It was another short train run this week and even though it is great to get to a new place quick so you have more time to explore, you also kind of miss a decent train run.

The train was split in 3 this week so we had neighbours and a short walk to the bus, we just had to clamber in and over the train twice to get there. I was also a short bus ride from the train to the building which was also great. When ever we are fairly close Tweedy starts going on about getting a bike so he can cycle in and this was another one of those weeks. So one morning he started to look into bike shops in the area and then that night one of the new guys on concessions came up to him and said someone said he might want to buy his bike. Apparently someone had seen him riding Willows little pink bike and thought he obviously needed one of his own. So he now has a bike that he is really pleased with.

The arena was yet again Downtown, and it was an OK area though the weather wasn't really been in our favour to explore.

Close to the arena was a really nice liquor store, owned by a Russian couple. They seemed quite excited that the circus was in town and they had 'lot' new customers, especially as some of then spoke their native tongue.

Also very close to the arena was lots of pizza places, well we were in New York after all. The two closest were Jack's pizza and Pizzeria Sapienza. While here we heard that these two had a garlic knot war going on to see who had the best. So of course we (meaning Willow and I) had to try them both out to see. For me I think Pizzeria Sapienza just got it though it was a close battle, though I think Jack's won on the pizza front, though again only just.

I liked Albany but all this pizza and garlic knots are not good for the diet and pizza being one of my favourite foods, it is hard to resist when so many good pizzerias are right on your doorstep.

Dayton, Ohio

The train run was a short wet one We passed bright orange rivers made from clay being washed from the fields framed by the lushest green. Luckily it wasn't cold so you could still hang out in the vestibule, which seems to be Willows favourite place these days. Just sitting in her frog chair with a book in her hand.

The train yard wasn't to bad, we were cut in two with a road going through the middle and a river ran along side us. A few people went fishing in there but I'm not sure if anything was caught. Some used fishing rods and some used a big kitchen colander attached to a big wooden pole. I'm thinking the latter would have been the most successful.

There were a few shops and restaurants a short wander away from the train but nothing special, though Tweedy may disagree with that as there was a gas station that sold Slush Puppy's which he got very excited about. There also seemed to be quite a lot of drive through liquor stores which just seems very odd to me.




Now it is a little confusing this week to were we actually were. The train was parked in Springfield but the arena was quite far away in Fairfield or was it Beaver Creek. Either way I think they are 'in' Dayton Ohio. Whichever it was we were in 'The Wright State'.

The arena is right next to a college and a really nice nature reserve/walk. Willow wasn't that interested in going to explore but once I talked her into it, it wasn't long before she had changed her mind and thought it was a great idea. We had quite an adventure and just because you have to cross rivers by hopping on and off logs and have to wade through swamps and such does not mean you are lost. A few nights before I had seen 5 deer on the out-skirt of the wood but we didn't see any during the day. It was still lots of fun and we did see lots of other wild life like ducklings, goslings and another bird that had the most amazing shiny red wings. It looked like its wings had red foil on them.




It was quite a nice area and there were a few things near by including a fairly decent grocery store and an Indian restaurant that I managed to persuade Willow to go to because it was a buffet. There are no where near as many Indian restaurants in the US as there are in the UK and I really miss a good curry so this was really nice. I wish I had gone more than once. There was also a Walmart and a mall across the bridge but we didn't bother going there as they are generally all the same.

The school managed to go on another field trip, this time to The National Museum U.S Air Force which I think everyone enjoyed.

Even though we didn't do much here it was still a nice enjoyable week.

Charleston, West Virginia

We didn't get to see much of Charleston but I don't think that was really a bad thing. I didn't like it very much.

The building was right next to a fairly decent mall though so that was very convenient. The elephants went there for brunch one day which was fun. Watching them stomp on watermelons is always good.

The best thing about Charleston was the train yard. It was nearly in the middle of nowhere, but a nice nowhere surrounded by hills and fields. One hill close by had a clear flat top to it and was just asking to be climbed. Many people did climb it. Willow started to climb it but didn't manage. You could walk through the fields to a river but unfortunately it was a bit of a step hill to get down so we just used the net to catch butterfly and not fish.




Even though we were nearly in the middle of nowhere there was a grocery store near by which was very handy. Actually being able to walk to by food and walk home again is a luxury we very rarely encounter.

Baltimore

A short train run found us in a train yard parked under an interstate bridge. Trucks and stuff can be pretty noisy hurtling over those things. Luckily the train is fairly well insulated and we weren't bothered by the noise too much.

The arena wasn't very nice but it is right down town which is great as it means we could pretty much walk anywhere we wanted to get to and Baltimore had quite a bit to offer so it was good that we were here for two weeks.

Lexington Market was only a few blocks away and it is funny how you get different reviews of a place. Some people told us not to go there as it was dodgy and others said they loved it. I really loved it and certainly had no qualms of going there on my own.

Inner harbor was also just a short walk away and there always seemed to be something going on here, with street entertainment and plenty of shops, including the best Barns and Noble book shop. Not because of the actual book store but its setting in an old power plant. You could also hire paddle boats here and went went old school with a retro paddle boat and not a dragon. Though I'm thinking if we had seen 'How to train a dragon' before and not after we may have had to pay more and got the dragon.





We did plan to spend a day hoping on and off the water taxi but we either got in to town too late or the weather wasn't on our side. I don't think it went anywhere you couldn't manage to walk to but it would have been a nice way to fill a few more hours and did drop you off at all the major attractions.

We went to the Federal Hill area to check out a book shop 'The Book escape'. It was a great little book store with second hand and new books. I was glad the book store made us venture out this way as Federal Hill itself is a really nice area and you had amazing views of inner harbour from there and we found a play park so willow was happy. On the way back from there we went via the harbour and did something else you are meant to do in Baltimore. We had sea food and choose well by having it at the Rusty Scupper. I had crab cakes and they were really good.



We went to Fells point a few times as it is a really nice area of Baltimore, with it's cobbled streets and trendy bars and shops. It even had pirates one day we visited. We had pizza here at a small place called Bop Pizza, and it was the best pizza I have had, even Willow liked it.




A few blocks from the arena is Westminster Hall and Burying Ground. The church and cemetery are one of the oldest in Baltimore and Edger Alan Poe's grave is here. I really loved it here. When I went the first time (I visited a couple of times) I was the only one there and it was kind of creepy. His house is also here but a bit of a walk away and not in the best part of town either.




Another Area of Baltimore (so many areas) was Mount Vernon, I wandered here one day on my own to see the Washington Memorial, smaller than the one in DC but the original. The same architect built both though. Right next to it was an amazing old Gothic church.






We had heard a lot about the National Aquarium here, it is meant to be one of the best. We managed to go on a school trip which was great but I wouldn't say it was the best we had been to. It did have a great dolphin show though and the Jellies invasion was nice. Sometimes though I wonder if we are getting to spoilt with all the places we are getting to visit and getting a bit to critical maybe.






Another few things we didn't do were the Science Museum, Children's Museum and The American Visionary Art Museum. They all looked good but we have have done quite a lot of museums in the last few weeks so gave them a miss. Especially since these ones cost money and we have been spoilt with all the free ones in DC. You can see quite a lot of the Art museum for free though, the outside of it reminded me of Phillys Magic Garden.






I liked Baltimore.