Over my 48 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States. I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning. Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 17th state to be added to the Union: Ohio.
State: Ohio
Joined the Union: 1803
Visits: 1112 (I think)
Over the years, I’ve made at least eleven trips to the Buckeye State, first in 1996 and most recently in 2019.
My first trip would have been in early May of 1996. At the end of finals week, a group of us headed out from West Lafayette for a day trip to King’s Island amusement park. Things I remember from this trip: stopping at or near the campus of Miami of Ohio for food, I’m assuming on the way there and a group of Ferengi characters chasing after the ladies in our group and asking them to stroke their ears. I don’t remember any particular rides, though I’m sure we partook.
I would return to Ohio on Friday, April 7, 2000 to see the Cubs battle the Reds and their newest acquisition, Ken Griffey Jr. An eclectic group started the morning way too early with Krispy Kreme donuts at the house before heading towards Cincinnati. Along the way, there was a brief stop in West Lafayette, because why not, and further along in Indiana for the trifecta of a KFC/Taco Bell/Pizza Hut for lunch. We arrived in Cincinnati well before the stadium opened, so some time was spent walking around the bustling metropolis that was, and continues to be, Cincinnati. Our tickets were in the upper deck and, to be honest, I have little to no recollection of the game itself, which the Cubs won 10-6. My one and only memory of the game is losing my balance and tumbling down 5-10 rows, landing on a group of fans below. Certainly not my proudest moment.
I returned to Ohio, and the Cincinnati area, in at the end of April in 2003. My friend Scott had moved to Ohio at some point, and I went for a weekend visit. Aside from a trip to the local comic shops, the highlight was visiting the brand new Great American Ball Park. The Padres were in town to battle Reds and we got to check out what the new stadium had to offer.
The next season, the Cubs opened their season in Cincinnati against the Reds, so another trip was in order. My friend Pete and I headed out early in the morning, meeting up with Scott and walking across the bridge from Kentucky back to Ohio to get to the ballpark. Vice President Dick Cheney was on hand to throw out the first pitch, and the Cubs pulled out the victory.
I returned to the Cincinnati area in August of 2005, where I attended the Reds game against the Diamondbacks, kicking off a string of three stadiums in three states in nine days.
In 2006, the Cubs once again opened their season on the road against the Reds and again it constituted a road trip down to see, where this time President George W Bush threw out the first pitch.
I made a return trip that summer for interleague play to see the White Sox battle the Reds.
In 2007, when the Cubs were looking to clinch the division, I made the trip down, but missed it by one day.
The next year, I made my final, to date, trip down to Cincinnati and saw the Rockies defeat the Reds.
At some point through all of this, I visited during November, where Scott and I headed to Columbus for Mid-Ohio Con. I’ve been looking for anything I have that would tell me what year this happened, but I know it did. I remember getting autographs from comics writer Paul Jenkins and Andy Hallett, who played Lorne on Angel.
In 2016, I made an unplanned stop in Ohio during a road trip to Virginia. We were starting to go through some mountainous terrain when Val, who was driving, suddenly started to feel sick. She pulled off at the next exit, found a driveway next to what appeared to be a trailer park, and stopped to walk around and catch her breath. Meanwhile, Jeff, claiming he was now sober (but lying through his teeth) decided he would drive once we got back on the road. I tried to stop him, but he had the keys, it was his car, and Val was in no position to back either one of us, so he won out. Eventually, we tried to get going again, but had to pull off again at a gas station before we made any real progress.
While Jeff and Val came in and out of the gas station, I started looking for local hotels. It was obvious at this point that we would not be making it to Virginia, so this was as good a spot as any to stop for the night. The closest Hampton Inn was about 10 miles back in the other direction, so, after purchasing some Pepto-Bismal, we slowly reversed our course and found the hotel, where Jeff decided he and he alone could help Val, leaving me to babysit the car which he had left in front of the door. Unfortunately for us, the hotel did not have any double rooms, so, after a bit of finagling, we ended up with 3 rooms for the night in Chillicothe, Ohio, a mere 300 miles short of our intended destination.
Waking up the next morning, we took part in the complimentary breakfast and, with Val claiming she was feeling better, but not 100%, we headed out, looking forward to the remaining 300 miles going off without a hitch. Jeff had even downloaded a Gabriel Iglesias album to listen to, since Val had mentioned she liked his comedy earlier in the week. With Aloha Fluffy on the radio, we hit the road. Unfortunately, things again went south. About an hour in, we needed to stop at a rest area but eventually made our way out of Ohio.
My most recent trip to Ohio was also my first visit to Cleveland in September of 2019. I flew in on a Wednesday afternoon, checked in to the hotel, and then walked over to the ballpark for the night’s game, which Cleveland managed to defeat the White Sox 8-6. I returned the next afternoon to see Reynaldo Lopez toss a one-hitter, giving the White Sox the victory. I then foolishly tried to fight post-game and rush hour traffic to get back to the airport for the short flight home.
Will I return? I would think so, but I have no current plans to do so.