Dispatches From Columbus: Day One

Football weather in the Midwest just feels different.

We touched down in Columbus just before 5pm, and the air was crisp as we exited the airport.  Earlier that day both myself and Adam, my guest on this trip and an Ohio native, had gotten a quick glimpse of what awaited us as we stepped off and on an airplane in Detroit en route to Columbus.  Clouds hung low and the wind whipped across the runway and swirled around the open and exposed door of the puddle jumpers which we took for the two legs of the flight from Norfolk to Columbus.

Once we touched down in Columbus the weather was predictably bad.  Clouds covered the sky and spat out a cold mist that coated everything.  It was dark and gloomy — perfect football weather for the Midwest in November.  The cab took us along the outer belt freeway up to the Hampton Inn where we would be staying in Dublin OH, and along the way we saw nothing but bare trees and low hanging slate gray clouds.

Stepping into our Hampton Inn was the opposite of that.  I grabbed a quick cup of coffee by the front desk, we checked in, and quickly got up to the room.  It was easy to settle in.  The room has everything we will need for the weekend and is nice and clean.  The free wi-fi is a plus as well.

From there we set out to experience some of what Columbus has to offer.  The first stop was dinner at The Pint Room in Dublin OH, a bar that I could get very used to as it has something like 100 beers on tap including 30 or so Pale Ales and IPAs.  The Barbecue Burger was also definitely worth trying.

One of Adam's friends from high school met up with us soon after we finished eating and after another round of beers we set off to a little bar southwest of campus called Johnnie's Glenn Ave Grill.  It was an old school dive bar with an AC/DC pinball machine, a pool table, and cash only drink sales.  We spent the night talking at a table and watching the locals fail repeatedly at pool.

Today will be the gameday experience, one that both Adam and I are excited for.  Neither of us have ever been in the Horseshoe before, and we will have plenty of time to explore the rest of campus.

We might even get a chance to watch Michigan play Iowa (yes, we will).

More from Columbus tomorrow.

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