Day-Tripping: A Visit to Granville Ohio

Day-Tripping: A Visit to Granville Ohio
Granville is a cute little town about 22 miles east of Columbus. It is home to Denison University and filled with fun things to do.

If you live in the central Ohio area, it is a perfect spot for Day-tripping. However, if you are in other parts of Ohio or surrounding states, this could quickly go from a Day Trip to a weekend getaway. There is plenty to do for a weekend. So visit. It’s worth it.

I started coming to Granville before I even moved to Ohio. The Granville Inn was a stop for Prime Rib and as close to Wisconsin supper club food as I could get. The Inn received an update since my first visits, and they have changed their menu a bit. I have not visited the Inn lately, so check the Inn out and let me know how it is if you decide to overnight.

There is also a beautiful farmers market in town, that is the other reason I would go to Granville. It is Saturday mornings from May into October. It is not a weekday Day-tripping getaway, but I think we can make an exception!

I just recently saw Granville in a whole new light. The sunny brightness of a Day-Trip. We took off for Day-tripping in Granville Ohio on a Thursday morning, and we followed all the rules for a good day trip. If you are unclear of the rules, check them out here—day tripping.

As Granville is home to Denison University, and as such, there are a few cool things the public can use that are Denisons. For example, we utilized the Denison University Biological Reserve.
It was a wonderful place to hike and talk. There were cool, exciting things to see, from the marsh to several ponds and a 10-acre solar farm.
I love going to the woods. Fantastic bird watching. I don’t get the whole bird thing. They fly away! I am the only one in my family who does not spend money feeding birds to look at birds.
I prefer deer, and there were plenty of those. All around, it was a great place to spend a few hours in nature, especially in the spring when the forest is coming alive.

When done hiking, we headed back into the little town of Granville to grab lunch and shop. There are several options to choose from for food, but I will tell you to get to Day Y Noche. Since moving here from Chicago, I have had some of the best Mexican food and flat out the best Margarita since I would belly up to the bar at Frontera Grill and drink more Rick Bayless margaritas than a human should.

The food is excellent. The Potatoe Tacos were perfect. My partner in day-tripping got stupendous enchiladas! We enjoyed the chips and salsa over a cocktail to start the meal off.

A note about salsa and chips if you are looking to burn your mouth with fire hot salsa, you probably will not like it when I say a particular salsa is excellent. I think a chip dunking salsa, green or red, should be tangy. The heat should never cover the taste of the ingredients, whatever they are, onion, cilantro, tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos, salt pepper. The perfect chip salsa blends all those ingredients with a slight tangy spice. It lets you taste all the layers. Layers of flavor are what makes Mexican food so outstanding.

Let us talk about the Margarita!! Damn, it was great. I opted to add the Pineapple and Cilantro. On the rocks with 1800 Cuervo. There are some expensive and great tequilas out there, but I will stress 1800 Cuervo is perfect for this type of Margarita! If you visit Day Y Noche and drink just one, you have more willpower than I do!

When we finished eating our delicious meal, we headed across the street for Bookstore time! Listen, I love Amazon as much as the next guy they deliver to your door in a day or two. But there is no charm and no smell of books; you can’t touch them and turn the pages. And no one will talk about books with you. Amazon has no personality.

I should warn you there will be many a time Day-Tripping ends in a book store visit. When you are out and about, buy books from small independent book stores. They make for a fun afternoon, and you can find wonderful treasures in bookstores.

There is a time and place for Amazon, but please support small bookstores whenever you can. Enjoy the peace and relaxation of shopping for books locally.

That all said, the bookstore Readers Garden in Granville is cute; they have a selection of new and gently used books. And I left with a book I had wanted to read! Nomadland by Jessica Bruder. (If you don’t have a favorite local books store, click that link and buy the book from Amazon; this would be the time and place). They also have a collection of Chachkies that are book or reading-related. It’s just a neat little store.

We accomplished all that in about 4 hours. It was the perfect weekday escape.

So that is our first Day-Tripping blog, folks. I love day tripping. I will write about it, and I can’t wait to share it.

If you are local and have been to Granville, what are some of your favorite spots?

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