Today’s my girl’s birthday. Well, she’s not a girl anymore – geez, she’s 27! (She’s having a freak about being “almost 30”. Give me a break! lol) How’d that even happen?!
So we went adventuring.
We spent most of the day in Fairfield County, but also visited Hocking, Perry and Licking counties on our ride. Southeastern Fairfield County is perfect riding grounds. Two-lane streets, nice even pavement, rolling hills, a little winding in places, zero traffic. Doesn’t get any better than that.
We visited Flight of the Hawk park. One of the places I’ve seen mentioned on Ohio Road Trips. I like birds, so was interested. It’s really just a roadside stop. A parking lot and six mowed acres with sculptures and benches. (https://www.fairfieldcountyparks.org/parks/flight-of-the-hawk-park) I love finding art in odd places. The hawk is beautiful and huge, and worth a visit.
Clear Creek metro park is only about ten miles south of Flight of the Hawk park. We had a beautiful ride along tree-shaded streets through the park and a walk on one of the trails. We weren’t really dressed for hiking and didn’t walk far. (Note to self …) The trails are not paved, but very easy to walk on. This park has trails that are short (less than a mile) and basically level, and some that are several miles with hills. Something for everyone. It was so quiet. A truly beautiful area – but most parks are I guess.
Our journey took us many miles along country roads up the east side of Fairfield county and into Perry. Our destination was Flipflops dockside bar and grill. Off the beaten path for sure. You go through a neighborhood of little houses to get to it at the end of the road. It’s also accessible from Buckeye Lake, and they have docks to go ashore. We got there between typical lunch and dinner times, so the place was pretty empty. We sat on the patio. Although by this point we didn’t really need any more sun, there was no way I was ready to be indoors. The service was good and the food was decent. This was my first visit, and we weren’t drinking. I have a feeling their claim to fame is more in the bar side of the business than their food service. The outside bar was adorable and there’s a stage for live music.
Katie and I spend many hours together talking about life, and our perspectives of it. For many years, because she was too young to have a perspective, it was her listening to mine. Now she has her own and her mind never fails to amaze me. There’s a sign at the bar that says “life is better in flipflops”. I total agreed, and mentioned it to Katie. To me, wearing flipflops means you’re relaxing, you’re wearing comfortable clothes – it’s laid back, casual. I tend to be an optimistic person. Katie’s take on the sign was the fact that all the pictures you see of third-world countries the people are wearing flipflops, probably because they can’t afford shoes. She’s apparently much less of an optimist than I am! Everyone needs someone to show them the other side of things. She’s my balance.
Thoreau believed “it’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” I like to think that my optimism is just me “seeing” wisely.
I loved the feeling of Flipflops, though. Sitting there relaxing after lunch and I realized I felt like I was on vacation. Everything at home or at work that need to be done … was gone. I’ve seen places like this little patio bar all over Florida – Cocoa Beach, Clearwater, Fort Meyers, the Keys. They are all now grouped in my memories with sunshine, good friends and conversation, music, and, of course, an abundance of food and drinks. 😉
Riding the miles of country roads and visiting Flipflops’ patio today made me really feel like I was on an 8-hour vacation. Something we all need on a regular basis. A divergence from our busy routines and daily stresses. You should try it sometime.
Tomorrow is back to the grind – but in a much better frame of mind.