Ride On_17

Lunch at Raising Cane's: This is next to the 18th Street Library. I thought it was a cool view. Waiting for awards to start in the French Field House: Team picture, along with some alumni who go to OSU and stopped by:

The Thompson Library: Downtown Columbus: Looking out toward the Oval along with some pretty flowers:

The university recently planted many new Buckeye trees. Buckeye Grove is in the foreground, one of the two towers in in the back: Looking north along the Olentangy River while on the pedestrial bridge, and the area to the left of the picture is where the wetland project is: Ohio Stadium: Looking towards RPAC:

In the aquatics center: This place is massive and is really cool. Looking at just a tiny little part of RPAC:

I love how beautiful OSU's campus is, especially once everything starts to bloom. The amphitheater: The scholars and honors house: The Thompson Library (in sort of artsy ways):

As many you have probably known from some of my previous posts, the Mentor High School Science Olympiad qualified for States held at OSU. Well, for over the past month we have been working extremely hard and have put in many hours of studying, testing, and meeting with teammates. Yesterday, April 26th, was the big day. Finally we would be able to show off our hard work, and hopefully qualify for Nationals which is in Orlando this year. Every year, the team leaves school around 9am the Friday before States. They stop for lunch about a half hour away from Columbus and then go to the campus for several hours to walk around and find the rooms and buildings for everyone's events. Then they go to the hotel to unwind, then get dinner, study, and get ready for the big day to follow. Well, 4 of us including me and one of our co-captains would not be able to go down with the team and do all of this because of States for both the Wind Ensemble band the the Concert Mixed choir. Band States was at North Royalton High School, and the Wind Ensemble left school about a half hour early to go there. We performed the best we have done (we got a 2, the second highest rating you can get) which is good, considering this was States. Right after our sight reading portion of States since this was the final portion, me and one other person who is also in Science Olympiad changed and my mom drove us 20 minutes away to Highland High School in Medina where choir States was held. We got there just in time to watch 2 out of Concert Mixed's 3 songs and they did amazing. As soon as they finished their sight reading portion, and waited around just a little bit to find out their rating (which was a 1, the best you can get!) we took two choir people who are in Science Olympiad with us and headed for Columbus. First we stopped just down the street at Wendy's to grab some dinner and then left for Columbus. We got to the hotel around 10, just in time for room checks. We heard that the day had gone well for everyone, except the middle schools had a little issue. The middle schools had 2 buses since each of the three middle schools qualified for States as well. Well, during a section of construction on the way down to their hotel, luckily traffic was moving sort of slower than usual. A car cut off the first bus, which had to slam on its brakes and caused the second bus to rear end the first. Thankfully everyone was fine but that must have been a rough way for the middle school teams to start of their States adventure. But the high school team had a pretty uneventful ride down and had dinner at Steak'n'Shake before studying. The next morning, the day of the competition, breakfast was at 5:30 am and the buses left at 6. 20 minutes later we had arrived on Ohio State's campus. We first went to our homeroom to get everything unloaded and situated and also to get our wristbands, which signified throughout the day that we were a part of the Science Olympiad events. Even though I would only be doing one event, Geologic Mapping, I was thankful to even be on the States team since only 15 people out of the normal 40ish people from my school who do Science Olympiad get to go. my event wasn't until 1:45 so I had all day to explore. Even though I had just been to OSU last weekend for the Spring Exploration Day, my mom and I were excited to walk around campus again. We love it there. After making sure everything was situated and good to go with the team, my mom and I headed over to North Campus. All of a sudden we see one of last year's Science Olympiad co-captains so of course we had to go say hi. This campus really does get small quickly, since whenever we are there, we always seem to randomly run into people we know. After talking for a little bit, my mom and I headed to Buckeye Donuts to get some both for the team and a few for us to take home with out. Then we went back to my mom's car which was sort of by the Horseshoe and the French Field House to drop off our donuts before going back to the homeroom to give the team their donuts. Everyone loved them and were very appreciative. My favorites are the Apples and Spice, Buckeye (chocolate and peanut butter), and the bacon cream filled maple glazed (yes, it might sound strange but it is delicious). Next we walked all around. It was cool and there were occasional rain showers but we had checked the weather the day before and it was supposed to warm up eventually. Soon the sun started to peak out, it stopped drizzling, and it got up to around 70 degrees. It was a perfect day. Slowly as it got later, more and more students were waking up and were around campus. We decided to walk over to RPAC (the Recreation and Physical Activity center). We have never been inside the aquatic center and weren't sure if it was open to the public, but we wanted to see if it was. Sure enough, it was open. That place is amazing. It is a giant, new facility. The men's and women's swim teams were practicing so watched for a little while but walking around the areas that were open to the public. After this, we went to the West Campus near the towers and stadium. There was what looked like some informal, friendly soccer game going on as well as some sand volleyball games going on by RPAC. It was great to see so many people outside enjoying the nice weather. We went along the Olentangy River and walked across the pedestrian bridge over it. They were working on some wetland project that was converting a little portion of the river along the opposite bank into a wetland. From there e went to the Thompson Library and went up to the 11th floor, as usual. We never miss the chance to go up there. Both my mom and I had grabbed a copy of The Lantern, the school's student newspaper, and we read it while finding a nook with comfy chairs overlooking the Oval. The Oval still wasn't too busy yet but there were a few people hanging out there. It was time for lunch, so we wanted to try out a place we heard was really good along High Street, Raising Cane's chicken. Their food was really good. The chicken was delicious, and their special sauce was amazing. I can't really describe it, but it was creamy with a little kick. We were impressed by it and said that it's a place we'd go back to. Starbucks was our next stop, and since I was getting warm I felt like something light and refreshing so I got a strawberry Frappucino. We then walked through the Union and just explored some more areas around campus. Eventually we ended up at the Oval and it was busier than before as it was expected. Usually we would have sat on the ground, but it was still a little wet from that morning's rain and we didn't have any blankets so we found a bench nearby and just sat and watched everyone. It was a little after 1 by this point and I needed to go back to our homeroom to get supplies for Geologic Mapping and to go to my event room. We caught up with some of the teammates on how the day has been going for them, we we heard nothing but positive answers. Everyone was feeling very confident which was a good sign. My event was no exception. My partner and I felt like we did a great job, but we were concerned about the test. It was very short and easy which may sound like a good thing, but with Science Olympiad you want it to be anything but. This means that likely many other teams also found it short and easy, so the competition will be higher. If you miss one point in an essay, that could already drop you down several placings is the event coordinator decides to give just a 1/4 or a 1/2 point higher to another team. But we felt great about it and left happy. Since that was my one and only event and there was still a little time before we had to load the buses, I met up with my mom again we wanted to go into the 18th Street Library, which we had never been in before. It is 4 stories and is open 24 hours, so it's the place to go to get some last minute cramming in during the middle of the night. There wasn't a seat to be found, especially on the 4th floor, the quiet level. Everyone was focused and concentrated on studying for finals. back to the Oval. By now it was pretty busy there, and we could see why it gets is nickname the Oval Beach. Lots of people were tanning on beach blankets, guys had their shirts off, girls were in bikinis and bathing suits, people were throwing balls and frisbees around, and everyone was just enjoying the warmth and taking study breaks. Then we had to go back to the homeroom to start packing everything up. We loaded the buses and as soon as the last time slot was over, we boarded back on the buses to go about 15/20 minutes away to an Olive Garden. It's a team tradition to go here every year for dinner at States before the awards ceremony, but I'm not a fan of it since we're always rushed on time. Last year the awards just started when we were running in. We had called ahead so they kept a large area open just for us, and it was a little after 4:30 when we arrived. Awards were scheduled to start at 6:30. This may seem like more than enough time, but serving 20-25 people quickly in a crowded restaurant on a Saturday night in Columbus is not something that can be done in under 90 minutes. The goal was the leave by 6. It took a long time to get drinks and food (which is understandable) but we were definitely rushed. I wasn't very hungry due to my big lunch not too long ago so I just had salad and breadsticks which was very good. We ended up leaving a around 6:15 but made it back on campus for awards just in time. Awards started with everyone on the team feeling confident and excited. We were all very hopeful that we knocked out either Solon or Centerville to claim the 2nd place spot, which would qualify us for Nationals. All day events had gone pretty well for the most part. Well, after the first several events, everyone's mood shifted. Awards at States are given out to the top 6 places, and we were receiving many 4th-6th placings, and several events we did not even place it at all. Don't get me wrong, this is a great accomplishment since this is out of roughly 40 teams from all across Ohio, but in order to beat Solon and Centerville, our goal is to average 3rd or better in every event. I did not place in Geologic Mapping which was really disappointing. We figured it must have been close, and that were only several points behind the other teams. I had a feeling this might happen, but it was still upsetting since my partner and I had worked so hard and we felt great about the test. We have placed first before, and during the recent online invitational hosted by a school from Hawaii, we placed 4th out of all the national teams that competed. Hardly any of our events at States was in the top 3. It just wasn't happening. Nobody knew what had happened. We all had felt so confident about the day, and we were not just getting complacent following our success at our last invitation, West Liberty Salem. We all had truly worked hard and were serious about getting to Nationals. I guess it just isn't out year. Even thought we all felt like this had been out best States yet, it really wasn't. When it was time for the final team awards, we came in 3rd place behind Solon and Centerville. It was disappointing since we had worked so hard and felt so good about qualifying this year, but we will just have to come back next year even better. Interestingly we did a lot worse than our 3rd place finish last year, despite last year a lot of people said they didn't think the day went well while this year almost everyone said the day was great. Oh, well. Even our middle schools did not do as strong as they usually do. Memorial, who went to Nationals for the middle school division, placed 4th this year. Solon and Magsig (a Centerville middle school) qualified for Naitonals from this division. Congratulations to Solon and Centerville for a great job and domination in both divisions! Nobody had their heads down, though. Yes, we were disappointed that we would not be going to Nationals, but we had a great season. On the bus ride home we already started talking about next year. I will miss the seniors, but I have a feeling that next year will be our year to shine. Our last trip to nationals was in 2009 and we all want to make 2015 the next. Pictures to come in following posts.

I'd rather have one big pasta noodle in the park rather than giant posters, signs and advertisements plastered all over the park, including on the fronts of coaster trains. Not like I'm pointing out any parks in particular...COUGH Six Flags COUGH

^I laughed out loud so much when I read that.

Sometimes I feel like minor park improvement like these should be a priority over new, shiny rides every year. I agree with the original list and the X-Base restrooms. It's the little details that really turn a good day into a great day at an amusement park.

Considering it will be 1 to 2 months before I get down to KI, I definitely decided to watch it. Banshee looks more and more awesome every time I watch a video or see a picture. Thanks for the POV!

Hopefully that's the case, and hopefully it will be up and running soon. That ride's so awesome and someone I know who was at the park for the 1st time for Media Day and Opening Day was disappointed it wasn't open. But thankfully Banshee seems to have running pretty well despite just a few short breakdowns.

$99? REALLY?!?!

No mobs of people, for once. Me standing by the field: O-H with my mom: Such an incredible experience. Hopefully one day soon I'll be marching down this exact ramp as a member of TBDBITL. A cool perspective of the rotunda: This is the fitness center, RPAC (Recreation and Physical Activity Center): The iconic Independence University Hall: These gargoyles on one of the buildings are creepy but cool: The building with the gargoyles is for geology classes: Looking out over the South Oval from the parking garage before we left:

Hi, cardinal. This Brutus statue in the Union also results in many people doing this...I've done it before but felt like doing it again. Buckeye Donuts! And Tommy's Pizza! A zoomed picture of one of the flowers in Ohio Stadium's rotunda. Not known by many people, the colors of the flowers and their backgrounds would be determined by the winner of the inaugural game when the stadium opened, which was a game between Ohio State and...of course...Michigan. Well, Michigan won so the flowers were actually pained blue and gold. So if OSU would've won that game, they would have been pained scarlet and gray. The rotunda:

The view from the top floor of the library will never get old. Looking down from one of the glass-walled levels in the library. It almost looks like there's no wall at all. The Oval. My dad and I in the Oval: In the first presentation: In the engineering presentation: In one of the South Campus dorms, with our student guide explaining to us the differences between South, North, and West campus residences. Inside the fitness center, Carmen Ohio (the Alma Mater) is shown using license plates. This only shows like 1/1000000 of what is inside the amazing facility. There's a balcony off of the fitness center that has a great view of the Horseshoe.

My mom, dad, and I arrived on campus around 11 am for Ohio State's Spring exploration Day for Juniors. It is a free event open to all current high school juniors that includes a presentation about the school, specified information based on a major of interest that you had to indicate during previous registration, and a student-led campus walking tour. Check-in didn't start until 12:30 but we wanted to arrive early to explore a little bit before it started. First we grabbed a little lunch in the Union, and after that we headed over toward the library. On our way we came across a Bouncy House set up as well as a table with several students giving away donuts. They were a part of what they called "Project Smiles" or something like that. Just a fun way to be happy, make other people happy, and relieve some stress before finals. It has been a couple years since my dad has been to OSU and he hasn't seen the library since it has been renovated. We showed him all around, and he really enjoyed the top floor. By this time we needed to head back to the Union to check in and get ready for the exploration program. When I checked in I received an Ohio State folder and pen along with a bunch of pamphlets, papers, and brochures about the school. We went into a large room for the presentation and it started at 1. Anything and everything relating to the school, its academics, activities, admissions, and more were discussed. This presentation lasted for about an hour. Then everyone broke off into groups based on their pre-selected major of interest. The engineering group (my group) stayed in the same room. There was another presentation about OSU's college of engineering. It was pretty interesting and I learned some great information. Then were divided into smaller groups for out walking tour. My group's student ambassador leader was awesome. He had lots of energy and was great as showing his passion for his school and showing it to other people. We took a big loop around campus, stopping inside one of the South Campus dorms and the brand new, huge, AMAZING new fitness center. Between a double level gym, too many raquetball courts to count, massive rooms full of workout equipment,and much more. I can already see myself spending lots of time here. It is the largest building of its kind on any college campus in the country. It has over 60,000 square feet of fitness, aquatic, meeting, and recreation space. That's massive. When walking through the Oval, a bunch of students kept yelling "O-H!" and impressively a good amount of the people in my tour group knew to yell back. Our student guide was really impressed too and loved our spirit. Other students were having what they called "High Five Friday" and were giving everyone high fives, smiling at people, giving out free soda, and just being nice and happy. It was pretty funny but I loved it. The tour also stopped at several other locations and toward the end of the hour and a half long tour, we went inside a classroom where our student guide talked to us about what classes are like. The tour was a lot of fun and was a great experience, even though I'm already very familiar with the campus. After telling our amazing guide thanks, my parents and I went back into the Union to decide what to do next. We planned on walking along High Street, but before we left, we saw our guide again. He was very friendly and we thanked him again. So then we headed off down High Street. By this time it was between 4:30 and 5 pm and since it was Friday night, all of the bars and clubs were just starting to fill up. All throughout the day there had been just an exciting, fun atmosphere. As we were walking, a car pulled up out of the side street we needed to cross. The person in the passenger seat suddenly smiled and started waving at us. As we got closer, I realized it was my student guide from the tour. We just had time for a quick hello, but it was funny to see each other again. Goes to show how small this campus gets (and I also so someone I know from school here too). We had to stop at Buckeye Donuts as well at Tommy's Pizza (both were delicious as always.) Then we walked over toward the Horseshoe (AKA Ohio Stadium). I was taking some pictures through the gate looking down the ramp that leads straight out to the field when several workers walked by and said they'd let us enter the stadium to get some better pictures. This was very nice of them. My mom was practically crying and jumping all around (she's a crazy Buckeye fan--in a good way, though). We walked down the ramp and out onto the field. It was so cool being able to stand in that amazing stadium, especially since it was so empty. It was a chilling and incredible experience I'll never forget. When we left we thanked the workers again. Then we continues looping around campus and stopped near the Oval as the sun was setting. It had been a fun day. Eventually we left but drove down the Short North and through downtown Columbus before getting on the freeway to head home. This Exploration Day just reassured me even more that this is where I want to go to college. I'll have several posts with pictures. They were taken both by me and my mom.

1) I love every detail the park went through with this ride. Even the little things like the chandeliers in the station make a huge difference. 2) AMAZING pictures. I especially love these 2. They're awesome. The second one is so cool seeing the track dip down into the valley, hidden in fog.

Sounds like you (and everyone else) had an awesome time! Thanks for all the pictures and information! I can't wait until June to ride this amazing new coaster.

Have fun! Can't wait to hear about Media Day and every other trip you'll take this year!

When someone creates these skyscraper, city roller coaster Photoshop images. This is very cool. http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2014/04/surreal-photos-city-roller-coasters/8835/

https://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain/newsroom/holiday-in-the-park-announcement It sounds promising, but hopefully Six Flags can pull it off. I wish I was posting something like this about Kings Island, but as we all know, another Winterfest type event just wouldn't work.

That looks AWESOME!

Sounds like you had a great time! And awesome pictures. I particularly like all of your "artsy" ones.

And a Twitter update from Tony about the new Starbucks from earlier today: Tony Clark‏@TonyClarkCP Good morning! Over the weekend, this building got more @Starbucks-ey. Mocha anyone? https://twitter.com/TonyClarkCP/status/453139266252447745/photo/1

I wasn't really sure where to post this, but Jason McClure just said this on Twitter: "Great Halloweekends meeting today. Exciting new shows and attractions being planned. Lots of new family fun and night time scares."