Last Thursday, TG, Hubs, and I loaded up the car and road tripped to Ohio, where Hubs’ brother and his family live. It was your typical midwestern journey with views of farmland for most of the drive. We even saw some windmill farms. Those were especially eerie at night. When you couldn’t see the actual windmills for the darkness, for reasons I cannot quite put my finger on, the landscape of synchronized blinking red lights atop the structures unnerved us a bit. We pulled in close to 9pm. While Hubs and Liam stayed up to chat for a bit, the rest of us headed to bed.
In the morning, Hubs and TG went to check out The (why is it THE?) Ohio State University campus while Liam and Sara did some work and I caffeinated. A lot. Because…
Around noon, when Liam and Sara were done with work and Hubs and TG were back from THE OSU, the boys dropped off TG, Sara, and yours truly at the convention center in Columbus. When we first walked into the convention center, we saw a very large (first of many) dude wearing a hoodie with a quote so great that I had to snap a photo.
While the boys grabbed lunch somewhere, the three of us meandered through the Expo, getting free samples, buying stuff (t-shirts for me), and checking out the sights. After a bit, TG grew bored and decided to cop a squat in the hallway/concourse outside the Expo hall while Sara and I continued to hit the vendor booths that we had on our to do list – because it’s impossible to do fitness without extraneous amounts of stuff, right?
We met up with TG again and go them to come back and join us for the last couple of booth purchases. One, of course, was a coffee for me. ☕️😁 As the booth babe barista filled my cup, TG said, “I think that was the granny from TikTok!” I whipped my head around to ask, “Where?” And TG pointed to a woman being pushed in a wheelchair. Coffee cup lidded, we followed until we caught up to see if it really was her. It was! Since she was stopped for a moment, we walked around in front of her and I said, “We just love you!” Granny said, “Well I love you too!” Of course, we asked for a photo with her. We also got to briefly meet her grandson, Ross (@rosssmith on Snapchat, TikTok, IG, and YouTube).
After that excitement, we called our chauffeur (Liam) to drive us back to the house to gather up the rest of the fam and head out to dinner. At the recommendation of our next door neighbor who used to live in the area, we went to Northstar Cafe. I had the chicken avocado sandwich and it was out of this world.
Once back at the house, we enjoyed some Aperol spritzes and conversation while watching the replay of that day’s Strongman competition on YouTube. Then, it was off to slumber in anticipation of day two.
Naturally, the day began with a several cups of delicious coffee. And before you start worrying about my intake, Sara fills the Jura with half caff, and the largest brew is 8oz (compared to my 12oz from the Keurig at home), so it’s really not so bad for me to have a few cups before even showering. Then, we were all (including TG’s cousin) off to watch the Strongman finals. Check out this jerk:
Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, a.k.a. Thor, a.k.a. The Mountain from Game of Thrones
As much fun as it was to watch the strongmen & strongwomen do their thing, I did have to pop out for a bit to sneak back into the Expo (requires a separate ticket) for a meet and greet at the ROGUE booth. Last year (for the Tia Clair Toomey meet and greet), I had to exit the Strongman area into the hallway, then muster up the chutzpah to dart in an unmanned side door when someone exited. Being the rule follower I am, I was shaking from nerves. Thankfully, I was able to calm myself while waiting in line.
This year, when the Strongman spectators (including our crew) left the arena to grab some lunch, they had us all exit through the Expo. No Expo pass needed! So, about 45 minutes before the start of the meet and greet, I strolled through the gate like a boss and made a beeline for the ROGUE booth. I think I was only the 5th or so person in line. Oh, I neglected to mention who I was in line for, didn’t I?
When it was my turn, I walked up to the group all excited. They were all smiles. I turned to Mat and said, “I have to thank you so, so very much,” and I could tell that piqued his curiosity. I told him how we had started using his training program, HWPO, at my box (that’s gym in CrossFit-speak) back at home, and I’ve been seeing PRs (personal records) for the first time in years. All four of them were impressed and Mat even gave me a fist bump! We chatted a bit more and I showed some pictures I’d made at the ROGUE Invitational in 2019, and they were blown away at the memories and at seeing how far I’ve come since then.
The coolest part (aside from that fist bump) was that it stopped feeling like a celebrity meeting and more like chatting with athletes at a box where maybe I was dropping in while on vacation. That was definitely the highlight of the trip for me.
I made my way back to our seats in time to see the last event of the Strongman/woman competition, and then we headed back to the house, where Liam cooked dinner for us and Sara and I finished off the Prosecco leftover from our spritzes the night before.
The next morning, Sara and I went to the gym. I skipped the workout because I had hurt my back the weekend before. How’d I do that? Well, see for yourself.
Apparently, even though I do CrossFit, I am not adept at everything. Still I think I made a valiant effort to tame that gator at the Lake County Beer Festival.
I would have really liked to do the workout, but my body was not up for it. Instead, I put in an hour of mobility work with the foam roller and a massage ball. I had some FOMO, but felt better by the time we left.
After a quick shower, we made our way to the ROGUE retail store (a required stop when in Columbus). I picked up a new sweatshirt a pair of socks, and a clearance T-shirt.
After that, Hubs, TG, and I hit the road. We grabbed a late lunch on the way, making it home in time for a lite dinner. It was a great trip, and I can’t wait to do it again next year. Thanks, Liam and Sara!