So Long, Ohio

In my last post, I talked about moving to Kansas City, right? Well, tomorrow, I’m actually doing it.

So that is something that is filled with all kinds of emotions. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about today. Actually, right before I tear down the PC and load it into the car, I wanted to put together a quick listicle about some of my favorite things in this state. I think I’m going to like Kansas City a lot better than here—needed the change of space, I suppose—but I’d be lying if I said there were things I wouldn’t miss.

Like…

1. Cleveland

This is my hometown, and it’s actually a pretty cool place. Only other place you’re going to find beaches like those on the Great Lakes is on one of the coasts—and it’s a great feeling to stand on those shores and gaze out over infinite water.

Terminal Tower, or Tower City, as it’s known these days, is also a lot of fun. Great shopping to be had here, and I can distinctly remember college aged shenanigans at the Tower City Hard Rock Café, though that closed a few years back.

There’s a lot of culture here, too. Used to spend a lot of time wandering the Cleveland Museum of Art (yay medieval armor and weapon room, my favorite!), listening to the Cleveland Orchestra and so on. In fact, I used to study under a flautist who played with the orchestra.

2. Mohawk Dam

This place has been a part of my life most of my life. I can remember fishing here as a kid, and even within the past couple of weeks, I’ve been out there self-immolating on the dam hills. It’s good cardio! And a beautiful place, with so much greenery, roaring water, and interesting little nooks to sit and watch nature go by. On occasion, I’ve taken my laptop here to sit and write.

3. Mohican State Park

My playground! I think I’ve been over every inch of this park. I’ve wandered the hemlocks, stood at the Gorge Overlook, taken more pictures than I can count of the covered bridge, hiked all the trails, played in the waterfalls, and gotten some of the most horrible sunburns of my life while fishing and boating on Pleasant Hill Lake. And I crashed my mountain bike into a tree here once, too. Jumped right out in front of me. Fortunately, I wasn’t going very fast.

4. Amish Country

For people known as “The Plain Folk,” they certainly are a vibrant community. I’ve had so much fun among the Amish, and in fact, one of my oldest friends is Amish. There’s a whole lot more to the Amish community here than Berlin. Don’t get me wrong, Berlin is a great little town. But the real gems are out in the rolling hills. The little bulk stores, the beautiful farms, the auction barns, the small towns like Farmerstown or Charm…

…and the date pudding you can get at the Charm Family Restaurant. I’m glad this has always been far enough away from me that I couldn’t eat it regularly because this date pudding is the best thing I have ever eaten. I could write songs and poetry about the cake and the caramel and just…yeah, it’s good.

5. The Coshocton County Fair

If you want a real county fair experience—and I mean real, not the overly commercialized experience you’d find at most theme parks—then this is it. As a child, every year for one week, I lived at the Coshocton County Fair. I was in 4-H back then, so I had to be there to mind the animals. And I loved every minute of it. In fact, the entire rest of the year, I’d usually be plotting various cottage industries, like collecting aluminum cans from all the neighbors so that I could sell them as scrap, all so that I’d have a big pile of spending money, which I would blow in its entirety at the fair. Good times.

Seriously, rides, farm life, fair food, arts and more—it’s a lot like the Ohio State Fair, but the Ohio State Fair is large enough to almost be overwhelming whereas the Coshocton County Fair has all the same things, and it’s easier to enjoy each of those things.

These are the big ones that come to mind this morning, though I’m sure that if I didn’t have to start loading my belongings into the car, I could come up with a hundred more. Alas, I do have to get busy—and maybe that’s for the best, because that leaves more for you to explore on your own.