Weekend in Ohio

While in college, several of my friends and I made a list of places we never wanted to go again. Ever. One of the places that made it onto the list was Ohio. It seems almost inevitable that the places we most desire to avoid are the places to which we return. Jordan and I arrived in Ohio on Thursday and escaped Saturday afternoon.

The reason we went to Ohio was that one of Jordan's college roommates was getting married. Unfortunately for the groom, his bride calls Ohio home. To be more specific, she calls Cuyahoga Falls home. So, we spent a little over two days navigating the badly marked, weirdly busy roads of northeastern Ohio.

Jordan was an usher in the wedding, so I was invited to the rehearsal dinner and all. It was fun except for the fact that I take a while to warm up to people and I didn't know anyone other than Jordan. His friends were welcoming and friendly, but it's rather difficult to push your way into a group of friends who have four years of shared memories. Fortunately for me, Jordan tells stories and most of the characters in those stories happened to be people at the wedding, so I had a bit to go on. Jordan has had it pretty easy with meeting my friends, one at a time, and generally in familiar surroundings. In some ways, my introduction to his friends was more like being thrown into the deep end and told to swim. In social situations, I can sometimes barely manage a doggie paddle.

The weekend went pretty smoothly, except for the excessive time spent getting around and giving directions and caravaning (something that frustrated both of us). The highlight for me was sitting in Applebee's the day after the wedding, eating lunch with some of JZ's friends, just relaxing and getting to observe them in a different setting. We had hoped to go hiking in Cuyahoga National Forest, but the a morning lightning storm put the kibosh on that plan.

On the way home, we stopped by Grove City and I got to see Jordan's college campus. We also stopped by his friend's house for a couple hours. She had been a bridesmaid in the wedding. Grove City is a nice little town, but after Houghton it's weird for me to think of going to college in the middle of somewhere...

Anyway, I always think one of the best parts of any trip is getting home. This trip was no exception. We were greeted at the door by Sadie who has regained her girlish figure and now has six puppies. I'll be posting some more pictures of them soon, but for now, I'll leave you with a picture of the proud mama and her pups. They are only a few days old (born Friday morning), but my favorite is the little guy fourth from the left.