Columbus, OH

TUES., OCT 3 thru FRI., OCT 6, 2023

We arrived just outside Columbus, Ohio at Cross Creek Camping Resort after traveling 142 miles south from the Toledo area. On Wednesday, Oct. 4th (2023), the pod visited the Franklin Park Conservatory & Botanical Gardens in Columbus. What a treat! The oldest portions of the conservatory include a large Victorian-style glass greenhouse built in 1895. Just beautiful. 

Franklin Park also has the largest private collection of Dale Chihuly glass art in a botanical garden… 18 installations. Gorgeous! There were also about 8 Chihuly “Light Drawings.” All different acrylic paint abstracts on acrylic surfaces. We didn’t know he did any paintings! Ditto for a Chihuly vase. We didn’t know he created vases either. 

There was a beautiful collection of Bonsais. We saw a Bonsai Bougainville that was 63 years old. A Bonsai tree was collected from the wild in a mangrove in Florida. It was determined to have been growing since 1649. Wow. No words. 

Not to be outdone, there were 42 species of palms Inside the 1895 John F. Wolfe Palm House, which was the Victoria-style glass greenhouse. The design was influenced by the success of the Chicago’s World Fair in 1893.

There was also a wonderful “Garden Railway” on display that included a miniature world of 51 “structures” made from all-natural plant material and a G-scale model train on 1,100+ feet of track. So cool! 

The Conservatory even had an outdoor Hot Shop. We watched Lisa working for about 30 minutes on a vase… from start to finish.

And because it’s almost Halloween, we saw lots of fabulous pumpkins and fall displays. A delightful visit!

On Thursday, October 5th, (2023), we visited the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. The building is unassuming from the outside but a treasure inside! The pod even had our own private tour guide, Jim, who was a wealth of knowledge, and marveled at our lifestyle. lol. 

The Greek Revival building was built between 1839 and 1861. It is one of the oldest working statehouses in the US. The original 53 rooms were eventually divided into 317 rooms which became untenable and a major restoration was completed in 1993. Ohio limestone makes up all the walls. You can even see a few fossils embedded in the walls. 

The rotunda is 2/3 of the vertical height of the Washington DC Rotunda. There are 6,600 pieces of marble used in the floor pattern in the rotunda. Also in the rotunda is the flag that flew over the Ohio Statehouse when President Lincoln lie in state here before his funeral in 1865.

An atrium connects the Capitol with the Senate building and provides space for large gatherings including weddings. Ohio citizens can rent the space for their wedding!

In 1955 every state and territory was given a replica of the original Liberty Bell as part of a national U.S. Savings Bond campaign. Similar to Ohio, most are displayed at State Capitol buildings. We’ve seen Liberty Bells displayed in other statehouses we’ve toured. 

There is an area in the statehouse called “Light Court” which was originally roofless. Sunlight and fresh air came into interior rooms by way of the windows that opened into the light courts. This was a common design solution back in the mid-1800s when buildings weren’t yet wired for electricity.

Some other interesting factoids:

• Eight presidents came from Ohio… more than any other state!
• The Ohio Statehouse has new elevators made to look original to the building. Apparently this is a highlight for 4th graders touring the building as part of their Ohio history lessons. lol.  
• The senate is in session 2 days a week and in committees a 3rd day from September to May. They can serve a maximum of two 4-year terms and are paid $65,000 a year. Much better pay than NH senators receive! 
• The ceiling in the House of Representatives is more magnificent than in the Senate. The architect went over budget and was ordered to save money so the Senate got less of a fancy ceiling. Oops. 
• The buckeye was adopted as the state tree in 1953, giving Ohio the nickname “The Buckeye State.” Indians saw in the shiny buckeye the likeness of the eye of the proud white-tailed buck. This was considered “a fitting metaphor for an equally proud state.”
• Ohio’s state flower, the red carnation, was adopted by the Ohio Legislature in 1904 to commemorate William McKinley, Ohio’s 39th governor and president of the United States (1896-1901). The red carnation was McKinley’s favorite flower; he often wore one in the lapel of his coat. After his assassination it became the state flower as a lasting tribute to his memory.

A fun tour of another statehouse! 

On Friday, Oct. 6th (2023), we visited the nearby Alum Creek State Park which sits on 4,600 acres and has a reservoir that holds 3,387 acres of water. We also enjoyed Happy Hour with the Hannafords and ran some errands earlier in the day in preparation for our morning departure tomorrow to West Virginia!