Columbus, OH

Columbus, OH

 March 5-7, 2010

This is about the trip John and I took over to Columbus to meet my dad and Erin for the weekend at the Arnold Classic. As you can tell I am very behind in writing about it. So here it goes..

We drove in from Dayton on Friday afternoon/evening and headed for the hotel we were staying at. We stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Columbus - Downtown (http://www.hamptoninn.com/en/hp/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=CMHHSHX). The hotel was in the perfect place for attending the Arnold Classic since it is across the street from the Columbus convention center. The hotel itself was very nice and comfortable. The room we had was just a standard room with two queen sized beds along with a TV and dresses. For the amount I paid it was a very nice room to come back and relax in after a long day. 

The pool and hot tub was just a great feature to have. The only downside I had in this area was that the pool water was freezing. You really could not enjoy yourself all too much in it. It was good enough though for my little sister to get in and play around for a few hours so it made everyone happy.

They offered a complimentary breakfast on both Saturday and Sunday. It featured eggs, bacon, sausage, waffle maker, toast, bagels, donuts, fresh fruit, cereal as well as an array of beverages. I do not know if this is always offered or if it is just during there busiest weekends but it was very nice to have that option.

Arnold Classic 2010

This was the first year I have ever attended the Arnold Classic Expo show. Some information for those of you that have no idea what the Arnold Classic is... It features about 700 booths that offer the latest fitness equipment, apparel and nutrition. These also have a stage that features non-stop competitions and entertainment. For more information head to http://www.arnoldsportsfestival.com/. 

I definitely think it's one of those things that you should at least check out once. You might even see some well know celebrities when your there. Obviously Arnold Schwarzenegger was there since the event was started by him. I also saw Sylvester Stallion along with some UFO fighters. We spent almost all day Saturday at the classic walking around looking at the different booths as well as watching some of the stuff up on the stage. We were able to the end of the arm wrestling championship which included Sylvester Stallion handing out the prizes.

 

 This was later in the day when he went to the bodybuilding.com booth to meet with some people. I was able to sneak under some guys arm and get a pretty good picture.

We also got to meet Monica Brant who is a IFBB Pro Athlete and she models. She has a sick body and offers several different fitness camps. For more information about her, check out her site http://www.monicabrant.com/index.shtml.

Monica Brant.

Monica with my dad.

To get a break from the massive crowd we headed to the Europa booth since it was only open inside for those people that have passes. My dad knows some people through Europa that got us the passes to give us a break from the crowd and get some free food and drinks!

Lou Ferrigno aka The Hulk was signing autographs inside the Europa booth!

From the Europa booth I was able to watch some of the body building competition that was happening on the main stage.

While at the Europa booth I also got some great shots of Arnold himself walking by! As I was told by some people around me he does not stop much and talk to people anymore now that he is a governor. 

We also went and watched the end of the children cheer-leading competition they offer.

 Arnold even came out to give away the prizes to all the kids!

All in all it was good weekend in Columbus. I am hoping to head back that way to check out more of the city pretty soon!