OOO #31: Outfits, Ohio, and Other Things I Like
I had to look her up, 12/88, and one of the best travel experiences of my life
Outfits
Ohio
My husband and I continued our journey of visiting all 88 counties in Ohio last week with a visit to Athens. I have a real soft spot for Southern Ohio, and I was excited to go for hike somewhere in the region that I hadn’t been to before. We spent the afternoon wandering the trails of the southeast corner of Strouds Run State Park, which had some solid elevation changes (for Ohio… Coloradans don’t come for me) and lots of tree cover. While part of me always likes to know where I am going, I really do enjoy just following trails and getting a little lost by going in whichever direction I want (in safe places, with other people, and access to a map if I really need it), and there is ample opportunity for that in Strouds Run. Next time we’re out there, I want to try the Chestnut Trail Lakeview Trail.
After hiking, my husband and I visited nearly every iteration of Jackie O’s in Athens other than the bakery (although I did have a slice of the bakery’s lemon lavender cake and it was *perfection*). We stopped by the tap room for a flight of beer, visited the bar, and then had an early dinner/late lunch the restaurant. I had their hot honey pizza, which was pretty good!
**One other OHIO thing: We have an election coming up on August 8. Mark your calendars, learn about the ballot initiative, and VOTE!**
Other Things I Like
A couple of months ago, Zach and I had the absolute pleasure of having a Lyft driver from Jordan. We spoke in Arabic for a bit and Italian for less (he lived in Rome for a while, so he spoke perfect Italian… I do not), and I had the absolute best time talking to him about his home.
I ended up in Jordan completely on accident 10 years ago. I started summer 2013 in Egypt for an internship program, but I was asked by my grad school to leave the country in late June/early July during the protests that led to the military coup which removed Mohammed Morsi from office. Visiting Petra had been on my travel list since I first saw “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” so rather than flying home, I flew to Amman.
Jordan was absolutely wonderful. I stayed in Amman, first at a research institution and then in an apartment just off of Rainbow Street. I made friends, toured the city, and then went on an adventure to the south of the country. I ended up going with kindest teacher and veteran from Baltimore who had planned a trip to Petra and other archaeological sites and agreed that I could tag along. (Side note on my travel companion: he was such a student of history that he taught history in high school all year, saved up for a dream trip during the year, learned as much about that place as possible, and then spent his summer traveling to the historical places he studied. He explained everything we saw in its historical context. I thought it was an amazing habit. I suppose I am now doing the same.)
Petra is beyond description. Nabatean architecture and engineering is incredible and inspired; seeing the Treasury for the first time as you emerge from the narrow Siq is so dramatic that it may very well actually stop you in your tracks (I still remember stopping in awe even though I knew what was coming). The Nabateans did a fantastic job using the lighting and rock types around them; the Treasury is the traditional yellow/brown you expect in the morning, until it turns a gorgeous pink in the late afternoon (see above). Spend 2-3 days in Petra and do all the hikes you can, including up to the Monastery. I try not to regret too much in life, but I regret not owning a real camera for this trip. The carvings and the rocks themselves were just too cool. If you’re ever thought about going to Petra, just do it. It will exceed your expectations ten-fold.
Last but not least, I was lucky enough to see a Sinai agama on one of our hikes! We spoke to a local who said he had lived in the area all his life and hiked at Petra all the time, but had only seen an agama TWICE.
Jordanians are wonderful and the country is both gorgeous and filled with fascinating and diverse historical gems.
Another note on Jordan: I am absolutely loving Hijazi. Ali Adel Hijazi is a music producer from Jordan, and I can’t stop listening to his Spotify channel. He did a great Umm Kulthum/Sting mashup of Enta Omry and Desert Rose last year that I have listened to approximately 1,000 times. Give him a listen!
That’s it! Have a great rest of your week.