An Autumn Weekend in Ohio
Hi all, it’s Kayla!Â
For those of you that don’t know, Jonnie and I work opposite schedules.  I work every other weekend, so sometimes it’s difficult for us to spend a decent chunk of time together. That being said, we were super excited to finally spend this past weekend together since I was off work for the first time since being back from Europe!
On Friday we spent a quiet night in making flatbread pizzas (FYI, I’m the gourmet flatbread pizza master, in case anyone was wondering). We made a pepperoni/sausage/banana pepper/mushroom flatbread, and a barbecue chicken/banana pepper/sriracha/random seasoning one, which was really good.
On Saturday, we participated in one of the Columbus beer runs, which involved 2.1 miles of running (yup, we were totally running the whole time haha) and two complementary beers from Ill Mannered Brewing Co and The Daily Growler. Jonathan is an avid runner, so I slowed him down immensely because I hate cardio, but he already knew that was going to happen when we took about 45 minutes to get through a 3 mile run with me earlier this week. Why are HIIT workouts so much easier, why I say?!!
On Sunday, we went to breakfast at Katalina’s in downtown Columbus, so I got to have my first experience with pancake balls!  They have several different flavors, but we got filled with pumpkin apple butter - YUM! We also had the breakfast tacos with chorizo (the other option is vegan sausage). The line was out the door, which Jonathan warned me about but the line does move quickly and the food is pretty great!Â
After Katalina’s, we drove up to Cuyahoga Valley National Park to enjoy some fall scenery. We took the train through the park, and then hiked some of the towpath, which is a trail next to the river that runs through the park. Jonnie knows more about the towpath and gave me a little info below that I wanted to share with you!  The reason Jonnie is smarter than your average bear when it comes to canals is because he grew up near Roscoe Village (which I am sure will be in a future Tumblr post,) which is historical village that grew up as a canal boom town and is still most ear specific!
Canals used to be the highways that connect our nation socially, culturally and economically.  We don't learn a whole lot about them today, because their reign as the best source of travel was short lived.  It wasn't very long after many major canals were dug in the Eastern US that the first steam engines became a more reasonable mode of transport, but in their peak canals were vital to our country’s growth and success.  The best way to explain them is that they are a man made river, which means they have almost no current and are easily navigable.  Canal boats can't propel themselves, they need to be towed... usually by a team of horses.  Hence the name “towpath!”  There are still some locks and evidence of the old canal that ran through the valley along with the River, and it makes for a great learning opportunity as well as some great scenery!
Hopefully you enjoyed hearing about our adventurous weekend and it inspired you to plan some adventures of your own!
Until Next time...
Jonnie & KayKay
