It's Official...We're Ohioans!

Check us out! We both passed the much-dreaded written driver's test with flying colors. Whew! (Scott missed four. I got a perfect. Ahem.)

Our favorite sections of the driving handbook were the bits about trains, where we were given such sage advice as: 

• Once you have started to cross the tracks, keep going, especially if you see a train approaching.

• Never race a train.

(and our personal favorite)

• If your vehicle stalls while on the tracks and a train is approaching, unfasten your safety belt, get out of the vehicle, and run as far away from the tracks as you can. Run towards the direction the train is approaching. If you run from the train, you may be hit by debris when the train strikes your vehicle.

Anyways. Moving on. 

Here are some pictures of Columbus taken during exploration adventures!

The arches down High Street leading toward (or away from?) downtown Columbus. This area is called Short North, and it's ideally where we'd like to find an apartment. No luck so far on that, but keep your fingers crossed for us.

This one's for you, McNally:

What's that? Why, yes, it's a dragon holding a toothbrush. Awesome. 

And one for Russ:

Possibly the bestest Dunkin' Donuts EVER! Dude, there's a MARQUEE! And outdoor seating! We're psyched.

And one for my Book Club Ladies:

Consider this my official bid for the Book Club Tour of Two-Thousand-WIN. Nearby is the Haus Frau Haven. Just sayin'.

FYI, this part Columbus is called German Village and it's our second choice for living environs.

But nay, we did not stop at the Hey Hey Bar & Grill that day. Instead we moseyed on up to a restaurant recommended by Faith, my #1 Columbus Pal: the North Star Cafe. 

This here's some sort of gingery thirst-quenching awesomeness. With mint. It was like a mojito sans liquor and it was fantastic. You could actually get a real mojito version as well, and I'm sure that would also blow my mind.And this was one of the best veggie burgers I've ever had. I'm pretty sure it was primarily made of black beans, brown rice, and beets with something holding it all together. It had a great char, making it crunchy and smoky on the outside and soft in the middle. Yum. 

Faith, I think we'll have to put our chef hats on and figure this recipe out, agreed?!

And then we wandered further down the street and stopped by Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. Of course.

Jeni's is like the Jelly Belly of the ice cream world. Bizarre flavors, but so delicious and enticing. This here's a cup of grapefruit-hibiscus. Scott got Kona Stout. The other day I tried Gravel Road, which was salted caramel ice cream with bitter almonds. Man, oh, man. 

And then it was time to head back home. This is the sunset over the Scioto River.

Toodles!