OHventures Turns 1!

Cake by Cake Central

OHventures has reached the one year mark and is celebrating its "birthday" today, April 12! It's by no coincidence that this monumental occasion also falls on my very own birthday. This blog was a birthday gift to myself, because I wanted an outlet to express my creative writing and share my stories of all the cool things I have seen and done in Ohio.

I want to thank all of the great followers and readers for their support and encouragement over the past year. It truly is what has kept me writing, and it has helped me find my voice! 

Through OHventures this past year, I have been able to expose readers to the Buckeye Bucket List, writing about a laundry list of awesome activities, including canoeing, hiking, biking, rock climbing, parasailing, ziplining, paddle boating, boating, kayaking, trampolining, boxing, skydiving, wine tasting, caving, running, skiing, winter hiking, urban hiking, and MORE! 

And I have been to cities like Akron, Canton, Toledo, Chillicothe, Youngstown, Columbus, Zanesville, and countless others. I've visited restaurants like Der Dutchmann, Kewpee Burger, Crave, Schmidt's Sausage Haus, and more. And I have written about Ohio landmarks like the Statehouse, the Harding Memorial and the Mansfield Reformatory; as well as staple events such as Warrior Dash, Pelotonia and the Ohio State Fair. 

It wasn't all about me either: my "Featured OHventurer" series introduced readers to awesome Ohioans like Columbus Blue Jackets player Derek Dorsett, Zanesville anchorwoman Kelly Mills, and recording artist Ryan Humbert.

In the past year, the blog has evolved and grown a great deal. Aside from growing in readership, we also were able to reach new audiences by being featured on radio and in print! We were published in Columbus Alive as the Weekly Q&A Feature, and we appeared on the OSU Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing radio show "Writers Talk." Additionally, I am now a guest blogger on Ohio's official tourism blog, Discovering Ohio. You can also find my business cards at the Ohio-centric boutique, Celebrate Local at Easton Town Center, and soon can catch me as a "celebrity runner" in the Capital City Half Marathon, which I am currently training for!

All of this momentum is extremely thrilling!! Over the past year, I have started a new job, moved to a new apartment, traveled to Florida and Nashville two times each, celebrated the birth of my nephew, attended numerous weddings, and the list goes on. While at times these life events have prevented me from writing as much as I would like, I promise that OHventures is a huge passion of mine that I will never let collect dust and fade away! I am in this for the long haul, and there is much more ground to be covered. 

I have tons more in store for the second year of OHventures (and the third, fourth, and so on!). I am so glad to have every reader by my side on these crazy adventures! Thanks again!