Small world
Last weekend, my family traveled to the bustling metropolis of Mason, Ohio for my nephew’s wedding. It was a lovely ceremony and I wish Jacob and Allie the best of luck for their future together.
For those unfamiliar with urban sprawl in the great state of Ohio, Mason is a suburb of Cincinnati. Interestingly it was established with the intent of being a suburb with civic boosters in the 1850s running ads in Cincinnati newspapers pointing out that with the trains, businessmen could be at their office downtown within one hour of leaving their homes.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about our plans to attend the wedding and questioned what sort of things we would find to do in Mason. Within hours of that column running I was contacted by Jennifer Meissner, vice president and chief marketing officer for Sonder Brewing, pointing out that I forgot to mention them.
“If you are from Central Wisconsin and you are a fan of craft beer, you should check us out. Our Owner and Director of Brewing, Chase Legler came from New Glarus Brewing in Wisconsin and, You Betcha! He makes great beer! And our taproom restaurant serves Wisconsin cheese curds sent all the way from Wisconsin!”
With the promise of beer and fried cheese curds, how could you resist? With family members from New Jersey, Hawaii and elsewhere meeting up in Mason, I mentioned it in the online group chat I have with my siblings. When we noted the brewery’s location was just a two miles from hotel we were all staying at, the plan was to check them out on the Friday night before the wedding.
As plans involving Wilsons often do, this one exploded and rather than my original thought of enjoying a few beers with my brothers, we ended up with a caravan of vehicles and a group of about 25 people showing up to eat and drink.
The beer delivered as promised and the fried cheese curds were a taste of home, even in the muggy air of southern Ohio. If you are into beer and traveling by the Cincinnati area, they are well worth the stop.
The other side trip we made while in the Cincinnati area was to Jungle Jim’s International Market. This is an approximately 200,000 square foot grocery store that goes all-in on its theme with animatronic displays, funky decor and a mind-boggling range of products for culinary tastes from around the world including tanks of live fish so that shoppers can pick the one they want.
It is a good thing that we had limited space in our vehicle which prevented us from overdoing it even if the massive cauldron-like pot that would have fit enough chili for half of Medford would have been awesome to have.
The weirdest part of our weekend adventure came on Sunday afternoon. Our route home took us along interstate 74 in central Illinois. We decided to stop for a late lunch in LeRoy, Ill. We stopped at a small local diner and were finishing our meal when I happened to glance out the window and saw one of the rental vans from Medford Motors drive by.
After leaving the restaurant, we got gas at a nearby service station and the Medford Motors van was there so we pulled up to the pump behind them. It ended up being people we know who were on their way home from a trip to Nashville and who had also picked this random offramp for a pitstop.
I was reminded that it is a small world after all.
Brian Wilson is News Editor at The Star News. Contact Brian at BrianWilson@centralwinews.com.
