{"id":6765,"date":"2018-10-31T17:01:08","date_gmt":"2018-10-31T17:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reddoorwny.com\/?p=6765"},"modified":"2021-03-29T15:08:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T15:08:26","slug":"a-moment-of-spontaneity-a-road-trip-to-columbus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reddoorwny.com\/a-moment-of-spontaneity-a-road-trip-to-columbus\/","title":{"rendered":"A moment of spontaneity: a road trip to Columbus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buffalo Sabres\u2019 forward, Kyle Okposo with a perfect shot Thursday night beats Antti Niemi with a minute left in the game and the Sabres go on to beat the Montreal Canadiens. Rick Jeanneret then throws in a mention of next game being Saturday night in Columbus and something just clicks with me; I should make the trip to next game. An exhilarating win and the best start to a season since 2011-12 is making me think that this is the perfect time to take a semi-spontaneous trip to Columbus. I had no plans for the weekend and it\u2019s just a 5-hour drive. Almost 12-years ago, I made the same voyage with my dad, back when the Sabres were the best team in the league, and I\u2019ve been meaning to go back for a long time. Now seemed like the perfect opportunity, so I grabbed a buddy, grabbed some reasonably priced tickets and started our drive to the happiest place on Earth\u2026 Columbus, Ohio!<\/p>\n

Almost 6 hours later, (we had to stop in Ohio because I forgot to get my oil changed before we left, and it was not \u201cinstant\u201d in any way, shape, or form; although plus side I had my first \u201cChick-fil-A\u201d \u2013 very overrated) we made it to our incredibly convenient hotel; just a three-minute walk to the arena. The whole Arena District was nice, with a few hotels on the way, cobblestone roads, and the Blue Jackets practice arena and Nationwide Arena were front and center with their photos of their superstar talent painted right onto the building. We had gotten to that area early and had time to kill so we picked one of a few choices of bars to stop into and made friends with some Canadian fans at \u201cThe Three-Legged Mare.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once we passed through security and the ticket takers to get into Nationwide Arena, I was very impressed from the start. I am now the proud owner of a Columbus Blue Jackets t-shirt that they were giving away with for free on a random Saturday in October. The corridors had room for people to walk around in without bumping bodies everywhere you go, even with their own marching band! Our seats were in the corner where the Sabres shoot in the first and third period and where we were specifically located, we had a television above our heads to see up close all that they were showing on the jumbotron; not really needed since we could see the jumbotron fine, but it\u2019s the thought that counts.<\/p>\n

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