I’ve been on the road alot lately.  Last weekend I went to a small-town wedding, which gave me the opportunity to see the pleasures of small-town life, like driving your lawn mower into the gas station for lunch, and parking your horse trailer next to your mobile home.  The reception was in Burlington, Iowa- a railroad town, if anything, but with a number of pleasant surprises.  Ape and I stayed at the Squirrel’s Nest Inn, a B&B overlooking the muddy Mississipp.  The room was comfy, but the fresh-baked cookies put this place over the top.  Stay there if you get the chance!

This trip stood in sharp contrast to the next journey, which was a work trip to Dublin, Ohio.  On the way to Burlington, we took two-lane roads that shamboled through pastures and fields.  The road to Dublin was straight, narrow, and dull.  It was, however, fast.  I covered 400 miles in about 6.5 hours, stopping only once for some nourishment.  I pulled off in Mt. Comfort, Indiana, and found that the restaurants available to me were Burger King, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Subway.  Since none of these meet my criteria for nourishment, I bought some granola bars in the gas station and motored on.

Dublin rests in the northwest corner of Columbus, and feels like a small town in spite of it’s surroundings.  Highly recommended eats include La Chatelaine, a french restaurant, and Jeni’s, an ice cream place.  It’s worth mentioning that Jeni’s can be ordered online, and the Pistachio & Honey ice cream is superb.

What’s really fun about driving in the Midwest is the town names- I can truthfully say I saw London, Paris, Dublin, New Dehli, and I was near Troy, Venice, and hope to get to Athens when I go see my folks.  Beat that, Carmen SanDiego.

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