Day One - and a little twist...

Hey!
So - today was day one. Remember - no DRIVING on Broad - I *can* cross over it - but no actual driving on Broad Street.

I went to Church - UALC, Mill Run. As I drove, I explained to my children the rules of the challenge. They got REALLY excited and asked me for all the details of the trip.

We left Home Base, took Sullivant to Wilson to 70W to 270N. Easy Peasy!
We went to lunch afterwards at the Cracker Barrel off Rome Hilliard with Syed - the issuer of this little challenge....

Talk quickly turned to the challenge...and I *might* have been shooting my mouth off a little and said "HA! A week - it's SO easy!! Heck - I'm really only going to have 2 days this week to worry about!"...

Somehow or another, I found myself encouraging Syed to increase the challenge....

And I've found myself NOW committed to a FULL month of not driving on Broad.

Yikes. What in the world did I get myself into?

A week - that was nothing. NO sweat.

But a MONTH!?

Ugh.

But - I did decide on what I win....Syed will have to fold and put away ALL of the laundry at my house once a week for a solid month.

Let me tell you - My two little rockstars and I - we can make some SERIOUS laundry.

Syed has yet to come up with a consequence if I fail....Heck - maybe he's seen the light and realizes that I'm going to make it.... HA!

So - after lunch, it was off to the Flower Factory on Clime...Normally I'd take Hilliard Rome to Broad to Georgesville.

This time I just hopped on 70 to 270 to Georgesville to Clime. And a quick trip to Walmart followed - right on Georgesville.

There wasn't really a chance for any Broad Street action.

Day 1 = SUCCESS!

Day 2 shouldn't be a concern either....I don't even have to go near the ol' Rte. 40!

Feel free to follow me on Twitter...or tease me, as some of my friends have begun doing - by bragging about their trips down Broad.

www.twitter.com/Laura317

~Laura

The Challenge...

Hey - I'm Laura. I was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. I've recently found myself living very close to where I grew up and I've noticed something...every time I give someone directions to my new house, the directions somehow include "Broad Street".
Don't get me wrong - I don't have anything against Braod Street - you know - Route 40...The National Highway...It's great. It's FINE.
But seriously? There are other ways to get where you need to be that don't include "Take Broad to _____."

I tease my dad relentlessly about his travels down Broad to get wherever he needs to go. Heck - my grandma, rest in peace, would take Broad Street from Central Avenue all the way to Pataskala to visit her sister.

My best friend has even fallen prey to the Broad Street directions - so much so that he feels he needs to take the Broad Street exit from 70 to get ANYWHERE on the West Side of the CBus.

I understand that for some people, Broad Street is comfortable. They know where the speed limit changes from 45 to 35 to 30. It's like Macaroni & Cheese. They know where you need to change lanes to avoid having to get on 270. And where York Steakhouse is. And where K-Mart used to be. And how you need to angle to turn from Broad into the Spaghetti Warehouse parking lot.

But for me - Broad Street is a LONG drawn out road with too many slow drivers and too many traffic lights.

I get annoyed with the directions of taking Broad places.

So...
After listening to my incessant whining and watching me roll my eyes at the mere mention of Broad Street - My best friend has issued a challenge....

"I bet you can't go a week without getting on Broad Street."

I'm not really one to back down from a challenge...Heck - I live for them.

So - I agreed.

HA! I can make it - a week without driving on Broad - EASY.

Or is it as easy as I think it is??

There are some ground rules - I have to commit to being TOTALLY honest and not cheating. Heck - I'm even getting my kids in on the action - They just *love* the chance to bust me out. They get to ask me at any turn, at any stoplight, and at any chance they want the name of the street I'm on. My oldest has crossed the threshhold and can finally proficiently read street signs and such, so he'll keep me honest.

If (HA! More like WHEN!) I complete this challenge, I'll be expecting a really incredible reward - so feel free to leave me ideas of what Syed can do for me.

And if (HA! FAT CHANCE!) I fail - I'll certainly need to pay up.

So - welcome to my week.

A week without Broad.

The challenge begins on Sunday 4/18/10 and ends Saturday 4/24/10.

~Laura