No mouth? How can they make sweet, passionate love without a mouth? [/Chef]
Anyway, I’ll need to come back to Ohio and some point to round up the family and herd them back down to Florida. That’s what. Probably in June, although July’s sounding pretty attractive at this point.
I could finally be bothered to actually go to the park and check the joint at. Happily Caesar Creek is a pretty Jake park. I knew that, but this was the first time I had to check it out with picnic on my mind. If you look on the park map down there at the bottom, the picnic area on Clarksville Road between the Visitor Center and the Pioneer Village should work out nicely. I talked to a very nice lady at the Visitor Center and she said that even though the picnic shelters are reservable, if they aren’t reserved for that day, they can be dibbied on a first-come, first-served basis. Me, being the Eternal Optimist (I’m still thinking some people might show up for this thing), figure we should have one of the nice shelters in the Flat Ridge Recreation Area (that’s what the big brown sign that points to the picnic area calls it). There are two there next to the playground and the nice lady said no one had a reservation in yet. There are plenty of regular picnic areas with tables and grills, but I’m hoping for a shelter. Not that it’s going to rain mind you, but because they are easier to find rather than a simple park picnic table.
“But how do I get there?” you’re asking. I don’t know how you get there, but these are the directions I use:
If you’re coming along I-75, you hop onto OH 73 going east to Waynesville. (My atlas says at Exit 38, but I don’t know fer sure.) You can pick up Clarksville on the western side of Waynesville and then you’re real close to the picnic area. I’m sure there will be big brown signs to help you along.
The bad news is I didn’t put a reservation in for a campsite for the night. There was no one at the campground office, so I didn’t get a space. But remember how I said I’m the “Eternal Optimist”? I’m sure there will be no problems. The downside is I can’t tell you where I’ll be that night until you show up at the picnic. So you won’t be able to get the site right next door. (Or way the heck on the other side of the campgrounds if that’s the way you feel about things.) I figure I’ll get something Saturday morning before I head over to the Flat Ridge Recreation Area. I should be there about 10:00 and try to start the charcoal by 11:00 so we should have hot hot dogs by noon.
Hey, Rue, have you looked out your window? High spring, but we appear to be having a blizzard. A blizzard with thunder. Maybe it’s the beginning of an unexpected new ice age.
Something ALWAYS goes wrong with these OhDopes…
Nuh-uh! That was just yesterday. By tomorrow it’s supposed to be nice. (“Nice” enough I’ll have to mow the grass. Again. And it’s not even May.) By the middle of May it’ll be so warm you’ll have to wear a bikini. Maybe under a jacket or something, but still… FisherQueen in a bikini! (Work with me here. I’m trying to draw in more people.) And games for the kiddies! (Not involving Fisher in her bikini. Or maybe it does…) And hot dogs! And Jiffy Pop! Fun for everyone! No problems with the weather, not by the 15th at least. And that’s still before the cicadas come out. Maybe your last chance to have fun all summer, what with those horrible cicadas.
Yup, TornaDope will ve the funnest ever!
People who are coming at least to the picnic Saturday, May 15th:
Me
The Little Woman
Soupo
Katcha
FisherQueen
FisherQueen’s bikini
GorillaGirl
The Mermaid (she said that she was coming somewhere else)
Mr. The Mermaid (again, somewhere else, the mentioning was)
Slortar wasn’t definite. I hope he shows up because we need more boys.
jsgoddess is a big weenie about bringing Doom down upon our heads.
grisham said he was coming, but then there were some Bad Feelings about the new Board rules, so I dunno.
Did I mention you can reserve cabins at Caesar Creek? I should have, because you can. Really, they’re just jumped up mini-barns, but they have a real roof and a door you can lock so the evil raccoons don’t carry you off as slaves for their turnip mines.
Just thought you should know.
I regret that, while I will be attending, my bikini, alas, will not be able to be there. What a terrible tragedy, or possibly not.
So, yeah. I might come. Even without the bikini showing up, I might make an appearance. I’ll even show up Friday night so that I know I’ll be there in time. I’d hate to be late.
Can I bring my dog? (My wife, on the other hand, won’t be able to make it. That’s what she gets for changing jobs. Silly woman.)
Oh, yes: are there any recommended hotels in the area for my Friday evening leisure?
Oh, and does anyone know how far this is from Cleveland? Also, what’s the weather going to be like that time of year? Hot? Warm? Fuzzy?
Geez Skip, don’t you ever think before you hit “Submit”? (If you do, how does that work out for you? Is it something I should try?)
It’s totally Jake to bring your dog. They are unruled about dog banning. At least as far as I know. If anyone asks, your dog is a Service Dog in case you have seizures. (Get him a little sweater or something, I think Service Dogs wear sweaters.)
If you have access to this new thing called The Internet you can look for hotels in the comfort and privacy of your own home. Look in Dayton or Middletown and you won’t be too far from the park. Look in Cleveland and you’ll be 217 miles form the park. It’s your call.
Right about now it’s starting to get nice. Short pants are doable. Heck Fisher’s gonna show up nekkid! (Hey, she said she wasn’t gonna wear her bikini. What else could that mean?) Unless you get cold easy, then you should wear more clothes. Bring a jacket too, you should always bring a jacket.
The camping is purely optional. Purely optional! I like to go camping, so I figured while I was at a park all day, I’d just bring my camping stuff and not go home that night. The Little Woman doesn’t like to camp, so she won’t be staying, and Katcha is unreliably housebroken overnight, so he won’t be staying but maybe Soupo will. So it’ll be us two men-folk as far as I know. But, yeah, you could stay too! That would make three of us men-folk. I mean it’s a State Park. Like I could kick you out of a State Park, even if I wanted to. (We could probably talk Fisher into staying too. Well, you could. Some people don’t like me talking to nekkid wimmins.)
Nah, thinking before posting just amounts to a lesser amount of time to post. And what would you do with your time if you didn’t have anything by me to read? I should write a book without stopping to think; then you’d be able to take unthinking writing from me anywhere you’d like. It’s like I’d always be around.
How cool is that?
Did you like how I asked you the same questions again and again and again here, on LiveJournal, and the UnaBoard? I learned, once, about that whole gadfly thingie Socrates did–but all I got from the lesson was that if you’re annoying enough, people will pay attention to you. That’s how I finally wore down auntie em for the first date and then marriage. I’m not asking for your hand in marriage or anything, but is it too much to want a kiss on the cheek (upper)?
I checked the park’s site. Doggies are allowed as long as they don’t kill someone. Especially you. Seriously. There’s a bit of text on the site that says: “All pet dogs, cats, birds, grunions, prawns, rocks, and teddy bears are allowed in the park as long as they don’t kill anyone–especially Rue DeDay.”
I know. I was surprised as you when I read that, too. I mean, teddy bears? Those things are viscious! I dunno how they hope to control them; maybe you’re the Teddy Bear Whisperer or summthin’.
I knew you were magical!
OK people! This is your last change to hop on the Funtime Bandwagon! Actually it’s your last chance to gather up some wood and some wheels and nails and maybe some screws and build the Funtime Bandwagon, then give it a big push or roll it down a hill and then hop on and throw your arms in the air and say “Wheeeeeee!!!”. Next week is when it all happens. Then I’ll shut up about the danged thing.
Hmmm… well, Rue, I went and made a big stinky production of it, but it looks like I won’t be bringing my wondermut after all. Turns out that I may extend my stay in that there part of the country, so I’ll probably be going to places that are civ-uh-lized and don’t allow that, although my pup is brilliant and beautiful and full of manners, she’s more than a dog.
So, when picking a camp site, you can get a non-pet one.
Yours Truly,
Skip-O’-Roni
Oooooh, I wanna come! Can I, can I? 
I’m not off work until 2pm on Saturday (5/15), though. Will I be too late for roasting 'mallows and telling spooky stories around the campfire if I can’t come till late afternoon? Are people camping?
I might even bring Norwegian Blue (if he’s up to it) and Cinnamon Blue Kiddo (if it’s kid-friendly).
I can’t wait to meet some real life dopers!
I didn’t think we were going to be able to make it at all, but I think we can make the picnic! I’m assuming since there’s a pet area that the park is dog-friendly?
Looking foward to seeing you again! 
Your dog needs to have proof of a recent rabies shot, laserkitty, if they demand to see it at the park. Here’s the section of the FAQ on their site which deals with pets: click me, click me!
Rue will also have to reserve a pet-friendly section of the park.
Is that just for camping that you need to reserve? We’re not camping, we’re just picnicing. I don’t want to cause trouble by bringing the dog, so if it’s gonna be a hassle we’ll just get a babysitter for the day, which isn’t a problem.
Oh. Well, then; if you’re not camping, I can’t see where it would be a problem. All you’d probably would need is proof of a rabies shot. Very cool.
Hmmm, perhaps I should give them a call. I’d love to bring her along, but the site isn’t real cut and dry about exactly where animals are permitted.
