When Debi and I got a “save the date” notice, for November 2, outside of Columbus, Ohio, we immediately made loose plans for a weeklong road trip. We were delighted to be invited to Spencer’s (Diana’s college roommate) wedding, and looked forward to doing some cool things out in that area. It worked out pretty well, with my coaching schedule, as I would only be missing a couple of practices.

So, last Saturday, we embarked on our journey to Ohio. Surprisingly, we got off Long Island and out of the Metropolitan area, without any traffic problems and were able to make good time and enjoy the fall foliage along Route 80. We went as far as DuBois, Pennsylvania, which was about a five hour ride from home, and less than three hours from Canton, Ohio, where we were headed on Sunday.

We got an early start, on a frigid Sunday morning (27 degrees!). We again, made good time and got to The Professional Football Hall of Fame by around 10:30am. Debi had never been there before and I had visited, but it was nearly 40 years ago. We were both excited.

The Hall of Fame is a great museum! It is much bigger than I remembered it and has a great deal more information and memorabilia on display, now. It is beautifully, laid out and simple to navigate. For a lifelong football fan, it is like heaven. But even for the more casual fan, this place is awesome. We spent four hours, there!

After the HOF, we drove about 40 minutes north to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We got some great information and suggestions at the visitor center and then went to our hotel in Cuyahoga Falls (about twenty minutes away). Our hotel was on the west bank of the Cuyahoga River, giving guests some very nice views.

Monday morning, we set out for the National Park, where we planned to do several different hikes. It was very cool in the morning when we arrived at our first stop, Viaduct Park. It is a small area and does not take long to see it all, but it does offer some great views.

Our next stop, was Brandywine Falls, which is probably the most popular destination in the park. It has been dry this fall so the Falls were not as spectacular as they can be, but it was still a beautiful hike.

Our final stop of the day was the Everett Covered Bridge, which is restored and sits in a beautiful valley.

It was an incredible day of hiking and scenic beauty. We logged over 25,000 steps along the way! It was well worth it.

Tuesday, was a change of pace, as we headed about a half hour north, to the City of Cleveland, home of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This was both of our first visits to this very cool place! It was easy to get to and we were able to park very close by. The museum itself is a terrific experience, with something for everyone. I highly recommend visiting.

Wednesday we were back in the National Park. First we visited the Brecksville area which has beautiful trails through a very hilly, forest.

We left Brecksville and headed to the southern part of the Park, for what would be our last hike of this portion of our trip. The bartender at the hotel had suggested we visit the Cascade Valley section of the Park. The trails are very well maintained (paved, packed gravel or grass) and the views did not disappoint!

I would be remiss, if I did not mention what a great little town, Cuyahoga Falls is. With all of the activity we fit in to our time there, we could not have been happier with all of our meals and the easy pace and the friendly and helpful people. There are great places to eat and enjoy an adult beverage, after a long day of hiking. There is also a great coffee shop, “Yada Yada Coffee”, right across the street from the Sheraton.

Yesterday, we drove the nearly three hours to the Columbus area. I had read about a food market in a blog, over a year ago. It looked very cool, so I was eager to check it out. We visited the North Market and were a bit overwhelmed with all of the different types of food available, but of course we eventually made some choices and brought them to our hotel. It was delicious.

So now it is Friday (still morning, but barely), and we are getting ready to meet Diana for lunch. We are attending the “Welcome Party” tonight and the wedding is tomorrow afternoon. It has been a great week, thus far, especially for a week without lacrosse!