May 29th, 2009
Hell City Tattoo Festival
Durb Morrison and crew bring in hundreds of the best tattoo artists in the country who, in turn, bring thousands of people downtown either eager to have their torso turned into a giant alien reptile queen or to stamp their ankle with a cute little porpoise. We had a great time with the Hell City guys this morning. And, to revisit the time we got tattoos live on air, Dimitrious Stanley dropped by as well. Turns out that Durb actually gave Dimitrious his first tat: a big D on his bicep. That was the first in a long line of ink workings. Dimitrious now boasts more illustrations than a graphic novel.

May 28th, 2009
Anchor Hocking Glass
This place is huge. It's loud. And it's hot. HOT. Hot and loud and huge. I've never seen so many pipes, flames, tubes, machines, and glowing globs of molten lava. The Anchor Hocking glass making facility could seriously double as a set for a Terminator movie. Really impressive just how much glass they're turning out here, and how INTENSE the work is. I've been in some cool factories. This one was jack diddle. I made that up -- it means "sweet."

May 27th, 2009
Trapper John's Canoes and Kayaks
I had a great time yesterday with Trapper John's Jason Kaufman. Jason has a real passion for getting out in the water and taking it all in nice and slow without a motor. He's a great guide, especially if you need someone to chase down a kayak that gets out from under you... Yeah, I took a good dunking shorting out both my microphone and my cell. Lesson number one: never bring anything on a canoe or kayak you don't want getting wet. Number two, if for some reason you do bring non-wettables, take a canoe. They're bigger and less likely to tip. Seriously though this is so close to the city -- a terrific way to get outdoors without making a pain-in-the-neck road trip.

May 26th, 2009
The Lincoln Theatre Returns
Right down to the ibises and pharaohs, the Egyptian imagery on the columns and the seating side panels, the love that went into renovating the Lincoln is evident everywhere. Beautifully brought back to life by CAPA and investors, this stunning theatre is bound to breathe new life into not just the King-Lincoln district but downtown Columbus as well.

May 25th, 2009
Animal Encounters Village
Back to the zoo on Memorial Day this time to check out their new animal encounters experience. Though a small scale addition for the zoo (which usually expands in great big swaths) Animal Encounters has to be one of their finest achievements. The handlers are all so friendly and knowledgeable about the creatures they bring right up to you, sometimes allowing you to pet some of them (like a baby Parma Wallaby or an African serval cub). The genuine bonds they form with animals are also apparent and make the interactions with them all the more intimate. Check this out on your next visit.

May 20th, 2009
Zoombezi Bay's Sophomore Season
We returned to Zoombezi Bay for the opening of their second season and it was just as much a kick the second time around. In fact, the cyclone was even better this time because I thought for sure we were gonna fall out. We didn't. Instead we whooped and hollered and got plenty wet.

May 18th, 2009
Camping with Andy
So Andy Dominianni had this great idea: let's go camping for real! I gotta admit, I was hesitant at first. Bring our families out to Alum Creek for a real overnight stay at a state park? What if my 5 year old acts like a maniac, what if my wife and I get into a fight, what if I can't sleep, or get attacked by a bear? Well, nothing of the sort happened and instead we had an amazing time. Helped out by the good folks at Sabo's (who put us up in a pop-up camper thereby solving both my sleeping and bear concerns) we were not only comfortable but in good company.

May 12th, 2009
Wayward Seed Farm
Adam Welly is an impressive guy. Just three years ago he started out on an acre of land. Now he's growing organic heirloom produce for some of Columbus's best restaurants. You can find Adam's veggie goods at area farmers markets or you can buy directly into his farm by subscribing to his Community Supported Agriculture program.
You want to know why organically grown produce is more expensive than its conventionally grown counterparts at big grocery retailers? In a nutshell, it's because organic farms aren't subsidized, because to do it right requires a great deal more day-to-day labor, and lastly because when you get it fresh from the farm it tastes... marvelous i.e. the celery tastes like celery and not crunchy water which is what conventional celery usually tastes like.

May 11th, 2009
Canopy Tours
We returned to the Hocking Hills Canopy Tours, one, because it's cool; and, two, because... I dunno, see one.
I thought I'd be even less afraid of heights this time around but one excruciatingly long journey across a rope bridge abruptly reminded me of my shortcomings. I half expected the villain from Temple of Doom to appear, sword in hand, and sever the ropes sending me plunging headlong into a ravine. He didn't.
Nevertheless, zipping through the tree tops is an exhilarating get-away-from-it-all adventure especially when the tour guides can point out all sorts of cool info about the flora and fauna over which you hover and soar.

b>May 7th, 2009
Schoolin' the Crew
Ok, maybe it wasn't exactly "schoolin" the 2008 MLS champions, but I definitely surprised them. The highlight of my morning was when Crew captain Frankie Hejduk told me to take a shot at the upper right hand corner of the goal and I, by some whim of soccer Providence, pegged it like Pele in his prime. Zip-bang. Frankie said it was "sick!" as in awesome.