camping, conference wind-down

Delicious coffee at Pistacia Vera,
German Village, Columbus
After 2.5 days in Columbus I wanted to:
*Move to Columbus! I miss living near(er) to a big, happening city!
*Eat at the North Market everyday; Stuffed cabbage and chicken/cheese balls at Hubert's Polish Kitchen, sandwiches and pickles from the barrel at Katzinger's Little Deli, strawberry buttermilk ice cream at Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams
*Have a roommate again--sharing a room with Prairie Dawn for a couple nights was a blast and made me miss the camaraderie of housemates
*Spend hours (decades!) at The Book Loft of German Village
*Have a croissant and quiche every day at Pistacia Vera in German Village

The conference was great, as was the digs (the Columbus downtown Hilton), and it was definitely hard to leave this happening city, but I was excited to head points north and west for a weekend of camping with ChicagoBoy.

ChicagoBoy and I met up at the State Park, Chain O' Lakes, in Albion, Indiana; the weekend was a perfect blend of fall colors: golds, crimsons, sharp yellows, and squash oranges; cold nights (36 degrees!) and warm-ish, perfect hiking days of jeans and sweatshirts; warming fires for smores; good food (cooked by me). Everything was great and we had a really good time, and going back to work on Monday was so much harder for it.

Quiche, Pistacia Vera,
German Village, Columbus


Along our hiking trail, Chain O' Lakes State Park, IN

A LOVELY field along our hike,
Chain O' Lakes State Park, IN


We stopped at the highest spot along one of the trails for a
wonderful picnic lunch,
Chain O' Lakes State Park, IN

Our picnic canopy,
Chain O' Lakes State Park, IN

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