28-May-2024 Columbus and Dublin, OH

I headed north from Dayton, and my first stop was in downtown Columbus, Ohio. I figured I couldn’t drive through without at least a peek, and set my GPS for the Scioto Mile Fountain - figured it sounded like a good place to get my daily mile in! There’s a bridge right at the fountain and as I headed across on my walk I couldn’t help but notice they have a statue of a buck that looks like it’s going to jump off the bridge!

I had to look into the story behind this strange art installation. Turns out that in 2013 the Columbus Art Commission decided they needed some public art, and selected artist Terry Allen to sculpt some humanized deer. Apparently there are several bronze humanized deer statues throughout Columbus; looks like the basis of a good future scavenger hunt!

Next stop was a “new friend”. One of the great things on my travels is that several times I have been welcomed by “ friends of friends” - people I did not know before heading out on the road. Doug and Judy Whiting live about a half hour north of Columbus in the beautiful town of Dublin. They lived in Scarborough, Maine for many years and have two kids the same ages as mine, but because their kids did karate and swimming and mine did hockey and soccer we somehow never crossed paths. When the kids were young, the Whiting family moved to Ohio so Doug could pursue a new work opportunity. We have many mutual friends in Scarborough and the good news is the Whitings are moving back to Maine! Judy is already back in Portland, but I stopped in and met Doug and their adorable dog Sophie. He showed me around Dublin (what a beautiful pedestrian bridge!) and we had a nice dinner in the Germantown section of Columbus. So nice to make new friends along the way!