We managed to road trip to Ohio TWICE this summer…

Renee and I decided to run a marathon. Probably would’ve helped if we’d trained for it… Anyway. We had an okay time at the race and a Matt and I got in a few adventures on the way…

We got to go to the US Air Force museum (check out video here), hang out in Dayton, and go for a hike at Caesar’s Creek, some of our old stomping grounds. I also got to go for a final shake out run with Matt’s cousin Amy, who was also running the marathon – her first!

When Renee got here, we checked out the first big-marathon expo we’d been to in years. SO many pigs! I guess that’s a thing when you’re running the Flying Pig marathon…. It was so nice to see the crowds of people and everyone enjoying the various exhibitors at the expo.

We showed Renee around Cincinnati as much as we could the day before the race. We went over to Khron’s Conservatory, which I hadn’t been to since I was small, and checked out the plants. They also had a butterfly exhibit, and it was cool to watch them flit around the room for awhile. Then we hit up LaRosa’s for pizza the night before the race – that’s always a safe food choice before something big like that.

The race itself was fun, if a bit of a shit show – I guess that’s what you get for not training almost at all. We ended up having a good time, although I didn’t get nearly as many videos as I would have wanted. After a good bit of suffering, we finished the damned race and actually RAN across the finish line. Then, another Ohio classic for Renee – Skyline!

Renee went home the day after the race, and Matt and I went for a hike, which wasn’t a bad recovery activity. Bumming around Caesar’s Creek was cool, too. We used to spend some time on that lake kayaking when we lived in Dayton.

All in all, it was a great trip. Then, a short month (give or take a few days) at home, and we were off to Hawaii!!!

Hawaii was wonderful – that video is here – and then a whirlwind four days at home before shoving all our stuff (and our cat) back in the car for one of my cousin’s wedding in Cincinnati.

Having my whole family in Ohio for once was really fun. I’m not used to that place with those people, so it was quite the novelty to run around Cincinnati with them.

We went to Kings Island and rode roller coasters, we went bourbon tasting in northern Kentucky, and we saw fireworks at a Reds baseball game. The wedding was beautiful, and the trip was a total success!

Check out the video here: