What do you do when…

1.  It’s a beautiful Saturday with nothing to do. 
2.  You’re an adventurer and you love adventure. 
3.  Your sister is encouraging you to go on an adventure and she tells you she’s available if you should need her. 
4. The COTA buses have gotten all new routes and you want to see where the route nearest to your house goes. 
5. Last, but not least, YOU HAVE A CELL PHONE IN CASE OF EMERGENCIES (I’m pretty sure it was fully charged)!

If your answer to all these statements was to go on a great adventure and see where the new bus route takes you…you’re absolutely right!  That’s exactly what I did!

I had a beautiful Saturday with nothing to do and my sister was encouraging me to go have a big, fun, and wild adventure! I had money in my wallet, a scooter that had been charging all night and was full of “gas” and a cell phone in case of emergencies!  With all this going for me, do you think I was gonna let this opportunity pass me by?  Not a chance!  I was going to seize the day and the wonderful adventure it held for me! 

A CAUTION AND WARNING TO READERS OF THIS BLOG: DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS BLOG BE PREPARED TO READ THE WORDS “I THINK AND I’M PRETTY SURE” AN AWFUL LOT! THOSE READERS WHO DO NOT SHARE MY SENSE OF ADVENTURE MAY WANT TO TAKE EXTREME CAUTION AND PLEASE TRY TO REMAIN CALM!  I SUGGEST YOU GET  AN ICED COFFEE, AN ICED LATTE, OR A NICE BIG CUP OF WARM BUTTERMILK!  THE CHOICE IS UP TO YOU!  THE BEVERAGE THAT IS CALMING AND SOOTHING TO YOU!  I URGE YOU (AS MUCH AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO ABANDON AND QUIT READING THIS BLOG) TO KEEP READING.  IT HAS A HAPPY ENDING! I AM PREPARED TO HEAR MANY OF YOU ASK ME,  “CATE, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?“  

I’m done with my caution tangent ALMOST…I would like to add one more piece of advice to my devoted readers and subscribers or I feel I would be doing a great disservice to all of you!  Whoever would choose a big, nice cup of warm buttermilk for your comfort drink, in my opinion, has some serious problems.  Do yourself a favor and seek professional help!  Ha ha ha ha 

Well, back to the story and the first of the ‘’I think” statements! I got on the bus in Grove city and in my mind, my destination was Lane Avenue.  I was looking forward to getting to the Lane Avenue Shopping Center and doing one of my favorite things, “shop til’ I drop!”  (I’m on a scooter so I never drop; I just  keep on shopping) I took the bus to Fifth Avenue (I think).  All I know is the bus dropped me off right by a Donatos Pizza!  I started down the road pretty confident that I was going to get to my destination very easily and promptly.  That feeling didn’t last long as very soon I came across my first roadblock, the sidewalk ended!  So, what do you do next?  You find an alternate route! As long as there were sidewalks and alleys for me to go down, I was going to go down them.

I found myself wandering through a neighborhood and I have to admit, I really looked like I needed to be rescued!  Who should appear, but my old college professor (I think, I’m pretty sure it was her!?).  I was wandering around this neighborhood far from home, obviously looking lost and confused, and she very kindly offered to come to the rescue.  The only thing was I didn’t want to be rescued! I was on a great adventure, and I was going to saddle up my horse (scooter) and enjoy the ride! I convinced her that, despite appearances, I was ok and pointed out that my scooter wouldn’t fit in her car.  Off she went on her merry way.  I do want to thank her for taking the time to stop and see if I was ok.  It’s so nice when people see you and think you’re in trouble (this time she didn’t have to think, she could tell I was in trouble!) and take the time to stop!

Right after she left, I came upon a great big pothole with a few pieces of drivable alley in it (instead of a big alley with a few potholes!).  I started wondering if I had foolishly let my chance for help and being rescued just drive away!  No, I could do it!  I was going to end up at Lane Avenue Shopping Center no matter what; I WAS DETERMINED!  I can get myself out of this predicament! First Obstacle – a great big pothole- passed!  I drove very slow and really watched where I was going. 

After successfully clearing my first obstacle, I found myself driving around in an apartment complex.  I was worried a policeman or some kind of security guard would come ask me why I was driving around snooping (it kind of felt like I was snooping).  Second Obstacle – driving around in apartment complex and wondering if I would get stopped by security and asked why I was roaming around snooping – passed!   No policeman or security guard ever pulled me over to question me! (WHEW)!

When I finally found my way out of the apartment complex, I just happened to find myself at a shopping center.  Don’t get too excited, it wasn’t Lane Avenue Shopping Center; it’s way too early for that! What, you want my day of adventure (getting lost) and scary excitement to be all over by lunchtime?  Not me, I wanted this to be an all-day adventure!!!!  I recognized the shopping center; I had seen it when I passed by it on the bus earlier (why didn’t I just get off the bus at this shopping center, you ask?  I’ll never know!).  Stumbling upon this shopping center was like stumbling upon a pot of gold  to me!  It had two very bright, shining, golden nuggets for me; a BATHROOM and a STARBUCKS!  Having gone to the bathroom and with a full cup of Starbucks iced coffee I was ready to get back to my adventure (of being totally lost and wandering aimlessly).

I was leaving a familiar shopping center and I was pretty sure I knew the way to go now to get to my final destination, HIP-HIP-HOORAY!!!!   Pulling out of the center I realized I had three different ways I could choose to go! How many of you think I chose the right way to go?  Well, if the majority of you out there gave me the benefit of the doubt and think I’m smarter than the average bear, I’m here to tell you that you are absolutely WRONG!  I continued to go sidewalks and through parking lots.  I had two things going for me!  It was a beautiful bright, sunny day and I was always around people.  I knew if I needed help, I could always flag someone down!  (I hope people would stop to help a hysterical, crying woman but, I have been that hysterical, crying woman before, on a sidewalk and in a store and nobody stopped to help me).  One other problem I have is I’m D.G.C. (made up acronym by, yours truly, it stands for Direction Giving Challenged).  If I had needed to call my family to come rescue me, I was going to flag someone down, explain to them I’m D.G.C., give them my phone, and let them direct my family to rescue me!  GOOD NEWS, I never had to do that the whole day! My HEAVENLY FATHER WAS ON THIS ADVENTURE WITH ME AND HE WAS LOOKING OUT FOR ME! 

Throughout the day I would come in and out of awareness of where I was (that sounds like I would come in and out of consciousness.  Let me just say this, if you can come in and out of consciousness while fully aware, that is exactly what I did!) I would find myself in a familiar place and then the next five minutes I could have been asking myself, “Am I still in Columbus, Ohio?” Once, during the day, I found myself roaming around the parking lot of the Lennox Theater!  I enjoyed the five minutes of familiarity and then I was back on another sidewalk headed who knows where!

It would have been so nice if a group of munchkins showed up and told me, “All you have to do, Cate, (in my dream world, the munchkins and I would be on a first name basis) is just follow the yellow brick road” ! Or, it would have been nice to have my fairy god mother (again on a first name basis and sorry no ruby slippers, you’ll have to settle with tennis shoes) show up and say, “Cate, click the heels of your tennis shoes together three times and say there’s no place like the Lane Avenue Shopping Center”!  But there are things I definitely don’t want to show up (not even in my fairytale) IT’S THOSE HORRIBLE, TERRIFYING, FLYING MONKEYS! I know what you all are saying right now “Cate, please come back to reality and tell us the rest of the story!” Ok, I will- if I really must! 

I found myself at Fred Beekman Park on LANE AVENUE!  I knew I was getting close. I was now on LANE AVENUE, HIP-HIP-HOORAY!  All I needed to do now was to figure out how to get to the Shopping Center!  I couldn’t just go straight down the road because again, the sidewalk ended (I think) and the road was too busy to drive on with my scooter!  Luckily, I found a shortcut right through Fred Beekman Park (which is no longer a park anymore).  I came across a paved path that led me to the middle of NOWHERE!  It was a big empty field!  I kept hoping my phone and scooter would keep their charge!  Third (and hopefully final) obstacle- scootering along in this big empty field, wondering whether or not I will run out of charge on my phone or my scooter-passed!  Both my phone and scooter kept their charge!  Eventually I found my way out of the park only to end up in yet another neighborhood!  Boy, was I GLAD AND THRILLED TO BE AROUND PEOPLE AGAIN! 

After going through the neighborhood a little while, I finally came to Lane Avenue and I knew I was right by the Shopping Center!  I cried I was so happy!  It was like the finish line I thought I would never even SEE OR REACH! I DID IT!  I MADE IT!  I did a little looking around the Shopping Center (I think). My stomach hurt a little (probably from nervous relief). There’s an Italian restaurant I like, so I got some stromboli to take home for supper and called my sister to come and pick me up!  I was ready for HOME SWEET HOME! 

In closing, I would like to encourage you to be willing to go on adventures of a lifetime!  Even if it is a little scary, you can make good memories that last a lifetime!  You’ll be glad you faced your fears and went on the adventure! Now, one last thing before I call this post a wrap. 

Cate’s top five suggestions for the adventurer… 

5. If you have a thirst for adventure…quench it!          

4. Wait for a beautiful sunny day to go on your adventure!          

3. Be sure your mode of travel- car, motorcycle or scooter has a full tank or charge!

2. Make sure there are some nice rest areas or Starbucks to keep yourself happy and hydrated along the route!

1. Last tip and probably the most important: adventure already has an element of drama with it and you want to minimize the drama, so don’t take me, Cate, the WORLD’S BIGGEST DRAMA QUEEN with you on your adventure!