Start of Red Panda Weekend!

We started off the weekend in November 2021 by taking Friday off from work. We drove to Columbus, Ohio where we first stopped at the German Village Society Meeting Haus and Visitor Center. We watched a short video telling us the history of the area. The area developed south of downtown between 1840 and 1914. Faced with demolition, the area started to become preserved in 1960. We walked around, but there weren’t many shops in the area. We did stop at The Book Loft which has 32 rooms full of books! The rooms are from buildings that used to be general stores, a saloon, and a cinema. If you go here, be prepared, because the rooms are small. If you tend to get claustrophobic, then you might not want to come here. They even have a map so you do not get lost! We decided which rooms we wanted to check out, and David led the way.

After purchasing some books, we crossed the street to Tiki Botanicals where one of their staff members was making candles! I ended up buying a candle with the Christmas cookie scent in a shiny silver cup. We then drove down the street to a coffee shop and bakery that my co-worker had recommended, since she grew up in Ohio. We shared a salted brownie at Fox in the Snow. Afterwards, we checked into our hotel. I searched online for restaurants near our hotel and came across The Goat. It sounded interesting and was a short drive away. Their hamburgers were delicious and came with two patties! I also liked that the restaurant was large and spacious. I was still anxious when going out of the house, so it was nice to not go inside a crowded restaurant.

We then drove to see the Chief Leatherlips Monument. This is a monument to commemorate a Native American Wyandot Indian chief who was known for being trustworthy and never breaking a promise. Chief Leatherlips was executed by his brother’s orders in 1810 because he was accused of witchcraft. Also, his brother thought he was too friendly with the white settlers. The sculpture is made of limestone and is at the site of the chief’s last hunting camp. You would think that the sculpture would show protruding lips due to his name, but it appeared that he hardly had any lips!

Stay tuned for the next blog post which will detail our red panda experience at the zoo in Columbus, Ohio!

*I was not compensated for the reviews of any of the businesses mentioned in this blog post.