Weekend in Columbus

I never cared for hockey one bit before I met Mike.  Mike never cared for hockey one bit before he enrolled at Miami University.  He set foot on the ice for the first time as a freshman, when some guys in our dorm cobbled together an intramural hockey team.  He was hooked, and spent the next four years playing hockey and working as a referee at Goggin Ice Arena.  When you date a guy that loves hockey, you go along and pretend that hockey is your favorite sport, too.  Lo and behold you end up marrying that guy, and the next thing you know you actually like hockey.  

I can count on one hand how many football or basketball games I attended as a student at Miami, but hockey games?  I was so there. The team's always been pretty decent, but as of late they've been awesome.  Last year they made it to the finals of the Frozen Four, and this year they're headed into the playoffs as the number one ranked team in the CCHA.  Now that we're less than two hours away from our alma mater, Mike's hinted on many occasions that he'd like to go to a Miami hockey game.  For one reason or another, we've just never made the trip.  This past Christmas I decided I would take matters into my own hands and get him tickets to a game.  Only problem is, you can't get a ticket to a home game in Oxford.  Seems those loyal fans buy up all the tickets.  After a bit of searching on the internets, I found tickets to see our boys play in Columbus, against Ohio State. 

We made a weekend out of the trip, ditching the kids with my parents.  As we were planning the trip, it occurred to me that we haven't gone away, just the two of us, since Eli was born.  So maybe a weekend getaway to Columbus, Ohio isn't the most exciting, or romantic, thing you can imagine.  But 36 hours of kid-free bliss and a king-size hotel bed?  I'll take it.

If you find yourself in Columbus and need some sustenance, may I recommend a burger?  I book-marked a post over at Serious Eats months ago about a burger joint near German Village, The Thurman Cafe.  I'm not a big burger connoisseur, but man, oh man, those were some good burgers.  The place is tiny, so be prepared for a hefty wait during peak times.  Wait patiently and you'll be rewarded with this beefy beauty:

If you need something sweet after all that beefy goodness, get yourself to Jeni's Ice Cream.  I loved the interior of this adorable ice cream shop, but I was head-over-heels for the ice cream.  I'm still dreaming about that Salty Caramel cone.

The highlight of the weekend, other than the aforementioned king-size bed, was the game.  Our seats were fabulous, and it was a fight to the end.  The game went into overtime, and then into a shoot-out.  I wish it had a better ending for us – Ohio State won the shoot-out – but it was thrilling hockey all the same.

We finished the weekend with a detour through Oxford, soaking up those last few hours by ourselves, where our story began.  Fifteen years ago (gasp!) we were a couple, going to hockey games together and sharing a cramped table at Bagel & Deli.  Fifteen years later, we're still a couple, going to hockey games together and sharing a cramped table at the same old Bagel & Deli.  Thank goodness some things never change.

You can see the rest of my photos from the weekend on my flickr page.

Planning your own trip to Columbus? Check out Uptake.com. They search 5000 travel sites so you don't have to.