We will be leaving Baltimore on Fri. at about 10:00 am. Projected travel time is 7 hours, which will put us in Columbus at about 5:00 pm. We will be returning home Sun. night.
Tickets to the Arnold Fitness Expo and ASC Men's BB Prejudging were purchased on 12/14/08. They should be mailed to us. Re. the Finals, only nosebleed seats are available at the $50 price. I expect (even) these seats to sell out soon, and most prob. by Feb. they'll be gone. We could get better seats (about as good as what we have for Prejudging) for the $75 price. These more expensive seats may or may not sell out by March. But at this point I don't see the need to spend more money (+$25+) to see the same competitors that will be at Prejudging (less those that are eliminated.)
I had a great time! The Arnold Expo was awesome--I have never seen so many hot, buff guys in one place. :p If you go allow yourself at least a whole day, maybe even three, to see all the events, exhibits and Expo booths. Get a copy of the program to help you choose what to see. The Expo alone takes most of the day to see.
On to the bodybuilding contest. I only went to the prejudging and skipped the evening show to save money. All the competitors looked awesome. How the judges pick just one winner I don't know.
On to gay bars and clubs. I went to Q Bar on Sat. night--this is a video bar with an outside patio and a game loft. Nice but pretty quiet when I was there. I was also at Axis nightclub--there were quite a few hot guys there, some shirtless, :p and it looked like a pretty mixed crowd with some women and a few straight-seeming guys. Axis was 'off the hook' with great music. I will be going back next time I am in Columbus! I also spent some time walking around the Short North neighborhood--very Haight-Ashbury! :)
Lastly, the Columbus Gatehouse Inn is not super-easy to find since it is tucked back on an access road off S. Hamilton and Groves Rd, next to an abandoned motel. It is a nice hotel with well-apportioned suites--and the bed pillows were so fluffy! :)
I didn't get to see much of what I wanted to see outside of Columbus--the Indian Caverns were still closed for the season. I should have allowed an extra day. At least I got to see the Indian Mounds in Newark, OH. That's like a 10-15 min. activity/photo opportunity. Oh well....
Projected travel time is 7 hours, which will put us in Columbus at about 5:00 pm. We will be returning home Sun. night.
Re. the Finals, only nosebleed seats are available at the $50 price. I expect (even) these seats to sell out soon, and most prob. by Feb. they'll be gone. We could get better seats (about as good as what we have for Prejudging) for the $75 price. These more expensive seats may or may not sell out by March. But at this point I don't see the need to spend more money (+$25+) to see the same competitors that will be at Prejudging (less those that are eliminated.)
On to the bodybuilding contest. I only went to the prejudging and skipped the evening show to save money. All the competitors looked awesome. How the judges pick just one winner I don't know.
On to gay bars and clubs. I went to Q Bar on Sat. night--this is a video bar with an outside patio and a game loft. Nice but pretty quiet when I was there. I was also at Axis nightclub--there were quite a few hot guys there, some shirtless, :p and it looked like a pretty mixed crowd with some women and a few straight-seeming guys. Axis was 'off the hook' with great music. I will be going back next time I am in Columbus! I also spent some time walking around the Short North neighborhood--very Haight-Ashbury! :)
Lastly, the Columbus Gatehouse Inn is not super-easy to find since it is tucked back on an access road off S. Hamilton and Groves Rd, next to an abandoned motel. It is a nice hotel with well-apportioned suites--and the bed pillows were so fluffy! :)