Weekend Adventure | Dayton + Columbus

Tyler and I decided to take a last minute trip to Columbus this past weekend. Have you been? We were invited to a baseball game in Dayton on Friday evening, so we figured we might as well stay the night and then drive over to Columbus on Saturday morning.

First off, I have to say that Dayton really surprised me. For having grown up so close to the city, I don't think I have ever visited for an extended period of time. The only thing I knew about Dayton was that they ALWAYS have road construction underway. :) We were only in town for a short period of time, but I would definitely visit the Dayton Dragons baseball stadium again. Plus, we found the BEST coffee shop downtown - Press Coffee.  I'm crossing my fingers they decide to expand into Indianapolis... If you know someone, please let them know at least two people in Indy would be regular supporters! :)

We headed on to Columbus on Saturday morning and were met by rain. Lots of rain. Like raining cats and dogs. SO. MUCH. WATER. Roads were flooded. We were soaked. Oh, and did I mention that the Columbus Pride Parade and Festival was on Saturday? Yeah, we we had no idea until we got downtown. I felt bad that the weather ended up being so terrible for the event, but most people didn't seem to mind. There were TONS of soaking wet parade-goers all over the city. It made for quite the entertainment!

We found several nice stores in the Short North area, but ended up spending the majority of our time at North Market since it allowed us to get out of the rain. I had heard great things about the market, so it was nice to finally check it out. If you're looking for a large range of eating options and super nice local vendors, this is the place. Indian, Thai, Italian, Polish, fresh baked goods, Jeni's ice cream, sushi, hot fried chicken, doughnuts, tea, fresh flowers, meat market, spice shop, wine shop. You name it, they probably had it.

We originally thought the rain might move through, but by early afternoon, it was raining harder than ever. We really wanted to check out Columbus Architectural Salvage, so we risked getting washed away and trekked over. Man, so much great stuff! It was totally worth the risk. :)

Eventually we decided to give in and start driving back to Indy. When roads start to flood and become impassable, it's probably about time to move on. Right? About 45 minutes west of Columbus, we reached the the first signs of sun and a town called Springfield. It is well-known for being the antique mecca, so we made a few quick pit stops. Unfortunately, we didn't find a thing. You know the pickings are slim when you get this excited about taxidermy...

Overall, we had a great time despite the less than stellar weather conditions. It's amazing what can be found just a car ride away. I think we'll try to explore a bit more of Indy in the coming weeks, but it's so nice to hop in the car and check out something new every once in a while.