Finishing the trip off

After a nice breakfast,we decided to take a different route home.
My dad has long ago sworn off the turnpike area unless forced to and takes an alternative path to Ohio,so I wanted to try his way,but with a twist.
Instead of his starting point,Cherie and I decided to go to Columbus for some shopping.

Of course as we were flying down I-81,two quick stops in Ashland were musts-Grandpa's Cheese Barn and a grocery store for Jones Salt and Vinegar chips (Can't miss on a Gibble's Red Hot mix with these) and the underrated Shearer's.
The Cheese Barn was packed tighter than I ever remember it and then Cherie told me "We never are here on a Sunday" and that made all the sense in the world.
A whole bunch of cheese,garlic (dilled!),pickles and more later with a cookie for Cherie later,we were back on the road.

My plan was to drive to Columbus,enjoy the day,then travel home and catch up at some point with Dad's route up the road.
We usually shop in the Polaris area right outside the Ohio capital,with a huge mall,lots of stores outside the mall,but when I got off the exit,there was a huge Cabela's that I hadn't seen before.
As a person of size after being introduced to Bass Pro Shop's by my buddy Corey Cunningham on our long ago trip to Tennessee,I've been a customer of theirs ever since,so Cabela's was an must see.
I had never been to a Cabela's before so I was excited to give it a try.
Cabela's doesn't have the big man sizes that Bass Pro Shops does (I stopped at one near Richmond Va with Mike Oravec),but just walking through the store with the various items for sale,but especially the super fish tank filled with fish native to Ohio.
As someone that kept fish at one time and would love to do so in the future,I really enjoyed this and thin I might even consider a similar "native" tank when I do so.
I did buy myself a badly needed new pair of sandals (reg 90 on sale for 60!),but didn't buy anything else..

We did go into the mall and stores around the area,but to my surprise,didn't spend any money!
Normally,I buy lots of stuff,but why spend when you don't have to,right?
The Polaris mall is huge and double decked with lots of stores to shop and see and within view of Cabela's is in the process of maybe the largest Dick's Sporting Goods that I've ever seen.
They are in conjunction with Field and Stream to make it more like a Cabela's store and perhaps siphon some business away.
That'll be interesting to see in a future visit.
After a late lunch at longtime TRS favorite-Quaker Steak and Lube,we were on the new way home.
Quaker Steak is my personal favorite of all the "Wing" chain joints and I love their Golden Garlic and Arizona Ranch sauce.
Their hotter sauces aren't as good as Buffalo Wild Wings "wild" sauce (My preferred BWW sauce),but the rest are better by a hair,not to denigrate BWW,another TRS favorite.

We saw parts of Ohio that I hadn't seen in years with Zanesville (Zane Grey's home) and Muskingum (birthplace of John Glenn) leading the pack of interest for future stops and through parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia that were new to me.
We passed the ballpark of the Washington Wild Things,who play in the independent Frontier League and near the West Virginia Mountaineers football stadium,but lots of desolation in the two hours between Morgantown WV and Cumberland MD.
As in I counted 1 McDonalds and 1 Subway in that interim as the only fast food place and next to nothing else.
I actually freaked Cherie out as I commented about the literal "stuck in the middle of nowhere" surroundings to the point of making her nervous.
I enjoyed the drive,but after opening my mouth,Cherie might prefer the turnpike.
At least on the turnpike,there are places to stop and plenty of callboxes in case of an issue with a vehicle,so that maybe despite the constant increase in fees,taking this way back might have increased her turnpike appreciation!!!

The vacation stories are pretty much over now.
I go back to work to tomorrow and other than Hagerstown,Frederick and Harrisburg (Stuff that will wait until the future signing fronts) and the annual IFL weekend,the big things are caught up on.
I do have a Devils post planned and then we are up to date.
I planned a podcast yesterday,but road work RIGHT OUTSIDE my house put the kibosh on that,so the hope is for a podcast tomorrow night/Thursday morning from the road office.
Hope you've enjoyed the vacation stories and see you here soon!