Columbus

Yesterday was the day that Mark and I went to Columbus. We left my parents' house around 7:00-7:15 AM. It only takes about an hour and a half to get there, but we didn't know what kind of traffic we'd be in and how long it'd take to find a place to park once we got to Ohio State [University]. Well, we got there about an hour early! [The meeting with Capt Rosenthal was scheduled for 10:30, we got there around 9:30.] It was okay though because Capt Rosenthal told us that he had blocked out his whole morning, and he let us have the meeting then. He was very nice and he really informed us about MECEP and other stuff. He was honest, and he said that Mark was a good candidate, but he wouldn't go in that "Definite" pile of applicants right away for MECEP. He said that Mark would be put in the "Maybe" pile, and that there's a slight chance he'd get accepted for MECEP this fall. Mark has a great ACT score and ASVAB score [or whatever it's called], but his PFT is lacking a little bit. Mark can do all of the pull-ups and sit-ups/crunches, but his run isn't as fast as they'd like it. His run isn't that bad, but it's "bad enough" to have him sit in that "Maybe" pile. So after the meeting, Mark and I were talking about MECEP, and we've decided that he'll still try to put in the application this year, and we'll just kind of expect him to not get in. So if he doesn't get in this time around, he'll just apply next year because then they'll know he's serious about going the Officer route, he'll have more time to knock down his run time, he can take some college courses so they'll see he has some continued education, and we'll both know what to expect next year when it comes time to get things in order to turn in the application. If Mark would happen to get accepted this year, we'll be thrilled!! We just wanted to go ahead and come up with a plan in case he doesn't get accepted. I think our plan is a good one.

After the meeting, we walked around Columbus for a few hours. It was AWESOME!! We went to The Shoe first. [That's where the football games are played, in case you didn't know.] We were walking around and I was taking photos, and when we got right by the front gate, a guy that worked there told us that if we wanted, we could around to Gate 23 and come in the stadium and walk around, but we couldn't go on the field!!!! Umm...AWESOME!! So Mark and I had the whole place to ourselves [outside of the people that were working there]!! We spent some time there walking around, looking at stuff, and it was just amazing!! I took so many photos!! It was my first time there, and I just loved every second of it!! Plus, when we were there, I was thinking about Mark's Uncle Chuck who played for Ohio State back in the day. I think it's so cool that my husband has a connection with Ohio State football, because Ohio State football means so much to him!! [I, also, believe that Uncle Chuck had his ashes spread out in the stadium. I'm not 100% positive on that, but I think his ashes were spread there.]

After our time at The Shoe, we had lunch at a place called Varsity Club, went to a store called College Traditions, and walked around Columbus/Ohio State for a while. It was a fun day!! I really enjoyed it!! I will put some photos up either later today or tomorrow. I have to sort through which ones I like the most and want to put on here because I took over 200 photos!! So be on the look-out for those photos - some are pretty cool!!