Time for our annual trip to Columbus, Ohio, to spend the holidays with the Marine's family. Because the Biologist had her Great Escape in October/November, the Marine narrowly escaped having to drive the Biologist all over the New England States on the way to Columbus. The only detour on this trip involved a short stop in the Atlanta area. The Marine actually used to like driving until the Biologist started waymarking...
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| The Friendliest Town in Georgia |
Day 1: Today we left Jacksonville, Florida, to begin our northern trek. Because the Biologist had a waymarking target in the Atlanta area, we took a less direct route than we could have, but not nearly the length of detours we've made during the past 2 years! We got a late start because when the Marine tried to start the car this morning, the battery was dead so we had to get it replaced before we left town. As a result, we didn't quite make it to Atlanta today, but we made it as far as Milledgeville. We passed through the lovely little town of Wrightsville on the way and stopped at the Johnson County
Courthouse, which is on the
U.S. National Register of Historic Places, has a
Town Clock, and was the focus of a
WPA Project in 1940. On the Courthouse grounds was a
Time Capsule placed in the
Spirit of '76 for the United States Bicentennial, as well as
Donated Engraved Bricks and Pavers for the City of Wrightsville Downtown Streetscape project, an
American Civil War Memorial, and a
Non-Specific Veterans Memorial. As we headed our of town, we stopped at the Wrightsville
Water Tower and an adjacent
Grain Elevator.
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| Milk House |
Day 2: This morning we reached Atlanta and stopped at the new Sovereign building, a
Skyscraper of
Postmodern Architecture, which has been recently discussed in the forums as a potential new category. Then we headed to the Sandy Springs Historic Site to check out the historic Milk House that fits under the
Milk Platforms category! We found a few other nice waymarks at this site, then started on the most direct route to Columbus.
Day 3: No waymarks today, but we arrived in Columbus in early afternoon. The previous 2 years it was snowing as we drove into Columbus, but not today. Yea! The snow had already fallen the week before. Yuck! Oh well, there wasn't too much snow on the ground and the roads were in great shape.
Day 4. No waymarks today, but we had a really nice day with the Marine's parents. They're the best! They taught us a card game called Skip-Bo. We loved it!
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| Bergstresser Covered Bridge |
Day 5: Today the Marine and the Biologist headed out to do some last minute Christmas shopping... and a little waymarking (as one of the Marine's Christmas gifts to the Biologist was to take her to find some waymarks - what a great gift!!!). Our favorite find was the Bergstresser
Covered Bridge, the last remaining covered bridge in Franklin County. This
Last of its Kind bridge is also on the
U.S. National Register of Historic Places and had an
Ohio Historical Marker on site about it. We also found several
Old Churches, a
Former School that was a
Relocated Building, an old
Train Depot with a
Hand Operated Water Pump, an historic
Grain Elevator, and a couple of
Cabooses. Is Columbus great or what?! That night we took the Marine's parents out to dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse where the Biologist spotted three
Coin-operated Fortune Telling Machines. They all predicted that the Biologist would find many waymarks in Columbus this year! Are those machines amazing or what?
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| St. John the Baptist Italian Catholic Church |
Day 6: The Marine headed off bright and early for a day of poker with his Dad and several of his Dad's friends. The Marine's Mom had a bowling league and Christmas party to go to. So the Biologist was on her own. Hmm, what to do? WAYMARKING OF COURSE! Are you surprised? Really? During the next 6 hours, the Biologist found over 10
Ohio Historical Markers, over 10
U.S. National Register of Historic Places, over 10
Old Churches of various denominations, a
Town Clock, a
Gazebo, a couple of
Figurative Public Sculptures, a
Statue of an Historic Figure, a former
Masonic Lodge, a cool
Neon Sign for Wonder Bread, and a few other odds and ends. What a fun (but cold) day!
Day 7: A day to stay inside and stay warm!
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| The Charity Newsies Historical Marker |
Day 8: This morning we headed out for our final Christmas shopping. Of course, we had to do a little waymarking as well. We found a few more
Ohio Historical Markers and
U.S. National Register of Historic Places. We also spotted a few
Worldwide Cemeteries while we were out and about and found a Headstone of a
Centenarian, a
Zinc Headstone, and a few
American Revolutionary War Grave Sites.
Day 9: Merry Christmas everyone! The Marine's parents and the two of us headed to the town of Lebanon to spend Christmas day with other family members. We stuffed ourselves silly on a delicious dinner! What a nice day.
Day 10: Today was a day of rest and relaxation before beginning our southbound journey.
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| Zippy the Pinhead Comic Strip Site |
Day 11: Today we started our trip to Jacksonville (not Florida, but North Carolina). The Marine's daughter Jamie lives there! Due to a major accident on I-77 South that had traffic backed up for over 20 miles, we made a quick exit and let En Route reroute us. We passed through Mt. Airy, home of Andy Griffith, and made one quick stop at a
Zippy the Pinhead Location, then stopped in Raleigh for the night.
Day 12: We were less than 3 hours away from Jacksonville, North Carolina, but the Marine's daughter wouldn't be getting off from work until 6pm so we decided to spend some time wandering around downtown Raleigh where we found several
North Carolina Historical Markers and
U.S. National Register of Historic Places, including a few
Old Churches, an historic
Water Tower, and an
Odd Fellows Building to name a few. There's definitely lots to see in the downtown Raleigh area. Maybe we'll spend more time there next year!
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| Jacksonville Civil War Memorial |
As we drove into Jacksonville, North Carolina, it was still a little early to check into our hotel, so we stopped by the historic downtown area and checked out the Pelletier House and Wantland Spring (a
Natural Spring) and the historic building that used to house the Bank of Onslow and the Jacksonville Masonic Temple, all on the
U.S. National Register of Historic Places. We also stopped by the Onslow County
Courthouse, where there was an
American Civil War Memorial and a
World War I Memorial on the ground, our last waymarks for the trip. The Marine's daughter was able to get off work an hour early and we had a nice dinner with her and her significant other. It sure was nice to see them!
Day 13: Today we made it home to Jacksonville, Florida! We had a wonderful trip, but as Dorothy once said, "There's no place like home."
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