We have left Ohio and are once again en route. (Wait until you see where we turn up next!) No visit to my childhood home is ever complete. There are always people we don’t see, things we don’t do. That is life. We always have a few laughs and see a few things, and eat quite a few things! Today I’m sharing with you those odds and ends that defy categorical assignment but are all part of the travel experience.

On our trip from Dallas to Cincinnati we saw a ‘dang cowgirl’. You don’t see those every day and it seemed worth noting!

We ate at one of the area’s specialty food chains, Skyline. It is a unique kind of chilli that is eaten over spaghetti for the most part. Then you add beans, onion and cheese to suit your individual taste. No description can do it justice, you just have to taste it. There are probably a few people who don’t like it, but I haven’t met them… And you have to eat the ‘oyster crackers’ with it or you just haven’t lived! (Nope, sorry, I have no idea why they are called oyster crackers except possibly the hexagonal shape, oysters do have six sides don’t they???)

While staying at the hotel we got up each morning and went for a walk. We saw Canada geese. Not Canadian, but Canada geese. Most people think they are named for the country but the ‘Canada’ is their name, not their derivation. They can be found in temperate parts of North America, and even some parts of northern Europe. Some mornings they were lolling around in the cool grassy areas, but on the cooler mornings they wandered around the enormous parking areas in the warm sunlight. They seemed not to worry at all when I went close to take photos, but knowing the predilection of geese to sometimes have a ‘go’ at someone, I stayed a safe distance. The funny thing is, these geese were nowhere to be seen when we were growing up in the area. Now they are everywhere, even shopping mall car parks! Interesting to see species adapt to urban living. The deer have done the same here, in near plague proportions, a real danger to night drivers. We almost never saw them when we lived here 40 years ago, and only this week we drove by a field and there were three bucks looking up from their morning repast as we drove by. Coyotes have done the same.

On our last day we treated ourselves to another of the local specialties, Graeter’s ice cream. Buckeye Blitz, to be exact. Ohioans are called Buckeyes. A buckeye is a local, inedible nut (no parallels should be drawn between nuts and the local inhabitants, please!). It is dark brown and tan, the colours of chocolate and peanut butter. Need I say more?

Okay, I need to say a little more… About the quaint delicacy known as Jello and fruit salad… It is an acquired taste, I think, and opinion is definitely divided over it. Of all the foods I am sensitive to, I am totally able to eat this. Go figure.

And last but not least, in my next life I hope I can sleep like this on a plane. Until next time…peace out.