Franklinsanity

8:24 pm, Cuyahoga Falls, OH.  Honestly, I don’t know what it is about this state.  It was the lowlight of our trip East – and it’s exceeded that non-standard nicely on our trip West.

I should state that for any number of reasons, I’m predisposed  to like Ohio, vs. not.  Two of the most excellent guys I knew in college were from there, just for a start. The only time I’ve ever been to a party at which a mime was in attendance, for another.  And the only time I’ve ever borrowed a kilt – wait, that’s not true.

I digress.  Point is, I had nothing against Ohio prior to this trip.  But at this stage, should I be so shallow as to hold a grudge against a state, I’d definitely pick this one.

Where to begin?  So as not to turn this into a thousand word post, let’s just say the roads and the construction remain worse than the BQE near JFK for most of the 90’s; supposedly dog-friendly restaurant – according to multiple online sources, including the restaurant’s own – suggest that not only do you have to leave the large, generally uninhabited outdoor patio with your dogs, you can’t even order takeout because you have the dogs, unless you also take the dogs halfway down the block; not a single gas station has carbonated water (I know, first-world problems); and the hotel tells you your credit card is declined, when the credit card company tells you it’s just fine.

You know, that paragraph reads like we’re unbelievably spoiled, petty people.  Heck with it, I’ll own it.  When you’ve got 2 kids and 2 dogs and drive 8 hours, you’re hungry and want to believe a website.  And while no one wants their card declined, that’s especially true when in fact it’s working just fine.

I think I’ll relax in my $159 one-bedroom suite now, nursing my outrage at the lack of agua sin gas, thankful for the fact that Chipotle was across the street from the human-centric restaurant.  My kids love Chipotle.  And there was something oddly mellow about eating burritos while sitting on the curb in the parking lot with your dogs.

Funny, no one else I follow on instagram has this sort of thing in their feed. Somewhere, men named Stoller, Ruehl and Bader are laughing.

Looking forward to Iowa City tomorrow.