We recently spent a Saturday late morning and afternoon full of nostalgia and inspiration!  Our joyful experiences started at the Nutcracker Family Restaurant located at the intersection of Ohio Routes 16 and 310 in Pataskala, Ohio.  We encourage you to visit this 1950’s style diner, where it is easy for one to sit in the booth eagerly anticipating dessert: especially a house-made piece of pie or a milkshake.  A uniquely extra special element to this diner is the décor, as black-and-white checkered floors, chrome plating, jukeboxes, and various wall, windowsill, and table arrangements and collectibles fill the space.  Appropriately, nutcrackers abound; it would be fun to try to see how many one can spot and count them up- maybe we will do that when we visit next time.  A hamburger and a patty melt both served with kettle chips were our meal choices along with a nice cold Coca-Cola and a piece of peanut butter pie.  The smell of freshly roasted nuts hospitably sends guests on their way when leaving the restaurant, and the mouthwatering scent is quite the greeting upon entry- what a welcome and goodbye!

Only a brief drive away (just over 5 minutes) is Lynd Fruit Farm, where over 80 booths with handcrafted items and food trucks filled the area during their “Memorial Crafters’ Event”. We were delighted with the amount of creativity, quality handmade items, reasonable prices, and friendly vendors. Some of the available crafted items included pottery, many hand-sewn items (some fabrics and threads naturally dyed), wool sculptures, macromet, crochet, carvings, etc… The amount of authentic new designs was inspiring! Both of us hopped on some projects of our own with revived vigor after our time absorbing all of the works by these Ohio crafters and artisans.

Wanting to get out of town for the day, we decided to hit a few record stores in Columbus, Ohio (all within close vicinity) and stop for lunch on the way. My husband surprised me by taking me to La Fogata Grill in Pickerington, Ohio (not far from I-70), as we haven’t eaten there for a bit. A fountain with little garden statues greets you providing a peaceful and whimsical happy atmosphere upon arrival. Inside, scenic bright colors are painted all around and the staff including the hostess, nacho and salsa server, and the most impressively precise and friendly waiter were quick and efficient! The menu is diverse and many options are available. We ordered pico de gio for additional nacho dipping straight away, as it’s always fresh and tasty. Our main course meal choices were Arroz Tapati: mixed chicken and steak (you can choose the protein) grilled with bell pepper, onion, mushroom, tomato, squash, and zucchini served on a bed of rice with a side of warm tortillas and topped with cheese dip and El Grande Burrito: stuffed with shredded chicken (you can choose the protein), rice, beans, and topped with shredded cheese, red sauce, lettuce, sour cream, and tomato. We both were stuffed soon after we began, but continued the very satisfying feast; however, we left a fair amount of food on our plates, as the portions are most generous. We thoroughly enjoyed our time and meal at La Fogata Grill and will return again.

We commenced on our search for vinyl starting at Used Kids Records on Summit St., where the staff are always friendly and helpful and the amount of records is immense and the amount of music styles available is vast. We spent most of our time in this store and picked up the ROCKY III soundtrack, Iron Maiden’s SOMEWHERE IN TIME, Elvis Presley’s ELVIS-HIS SONGS OF INSPIRATION and PARADISE, HAWAIIAN STYLE, and one more unknown album just because I liked the cover. After a fun filled time searching through a packed store of vinyl, we contentedly moved onward with our music picks to visit a new store to us, RPM: Records Per Minute on High Street.

RPM has many used older records for the low price of $2.00 and each one we inspected was in excellent condition,which is rare. Turntables and old record carriers were also available for purchase. We ended up selecting a new album, Talking Heads’ LIVE CHICAGO: AUGUST 28, 1978 and listened to it while preparing dinner. It has a crisp clear sound especially for a live recording. The vinyl is a beautifully bold blue. We were hoping to find a TH’s album on this trip, as it was David Byrne’s birthday and we hit the jackpot!

Our last record destination was Lost Weekend Records, still on High St., located in the quaint basements of a house. We always find something to take home with us. This time, we snatched up CASPER:THE FRIENDLY GHOST: HAUNTED HOUSE TALES for only $5.00! Such a nostalgic treat. Long live vinyl records; at least they do in our house.