This year our conference was in Columbus, Ohio. This year the conference was in July instead of June. This year we were all so excited to be back together because last year was a bust. This year we took Miss Riggy and camped 30 minutes away from the conference. It was a different experience. I have a few more bug bites than I’ve ever had at a NENA conference but every single bite was well worth it! You see, some of our friends were able to do the same thing that we did! Fellow 911 compadres brought their campers and camped right along with us at Alum Creek State Park, just 17 miles or so north of the Conference Center in Columbus.
The very first day after our arrival, was the Run for 911 5K event that 911 Authority is a sponsor of. This year we sponsored and provided the backpacks too. Check out my picture of Brady and JJ as we walk 1/2 a mile to the start of our 5k. We did so much walking that day! I snapped a few other pictures from that day too. I always regret not taking more pictures. So often, I completely forget to even take any pictures. It is a LOT easier to hang on to memories when you have a picture! Besides all that, it was a good 5k event. We all had a lot of fun, even in the heat and humidity of Columbus Ohio in July. Thankfully, the event started in the early evening.
I did a lot more driving this year than at any other conference. I didn’t see the people that I normally see because I was at the campground and not at a conference hotel like usual. I still saw some people because I drove into the city multiple times a day to either drop Joel off or to have lunch or to go on a tour. I did not however see some people I would have liked to have seen. I will do it a little differently next year. I’m not giving up camping for that conference though! Some of us have already decided that we want to camp instead of stay at any of the conference hotels. Next year, it is in Frankfort, Kentucky. That’s a small city, so the commute from whatever campground we find will be much better. I was able to find a dog walker via the internet too in Columbus. Hopefully, I will be able to find one in KY next year.
The tour we did was very cool. It was of the German Village in Columbus. Such history there! The highlight of the tour was of an old Catholic Church. We walked all around the German Village learning of its history and admiring the orignal and restored craftsmanship. The area began in the early to mid 1800s and then started getting restored and on its way to preservation in the late 1950s. It was a really cool tour. I hope to drive back there some day and check it out with Joel. I did the tour with two of my friends and a few colleagues and a few people I didn’t know. All in all we were about a dozen people. I took a few pictures, I’ll post them below. In one of the random group pictures of our group in the Village you can see in the background one of the original early 1800’s home foundations that was made of granite. So much around there was made from granite because that was the material that they had. There are some preserved carriage steps made from granite as well throughout the village. In the picture that’s of the sidewalk, zoom in and you can see an old ring and hitching post for their horses. I took a video during a random part of our tour too. those roses smelled delicious! It is a really cool place and not that far from home! I definitely want to go back there.
We were at the State Park for one extra day. We took advantage of it and kayaked in the Alum Creek Lake. It’s a pretty big lake! We had a nice time. We saw one dead catfish In the water. I actually did NOT see it, because I looked away. Who needs to see a dead catfish? I sure don’t!
Check out our pictures! We are off to the U P after this! That is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan! 70 degree weather, here we come!