From the wonderful lakefront communities of the northeast like Geneva-on-the-Lake to the tiny Lake Erie islands like Put-In Bay, and from the bright lights of Cleveland to the natural wonders of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, there is a lot to do in Northern Ohio. The three big mega-attractions, though, are definitely the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, and Canton’s Pro Football Hall of Fame. I visited all three during my time in the area and thought I would jot down some thoughts on them for anyone who might come for a visit to one or more of these attractions in the future.
First and foremost, there are a lot of different ways to get tickets to these attractions, and the worst possible way seemed to be buying them at the ticket-window. Navigating the ticket buying process is a bit of a nightmare, but you definitely need to figure out how to buy your tickets in advance which will save you a considerable amount of money..
Cuyahoga Valley National Park, located in north-central Ohio between Cleveland and Akron, is a wonderful place to visit. There are several beautiful natural areas to see including The Ledges, a series of moss covered rock cliffs, and the Beaver Marsh, a restored wetland teeming with wildlife. Several beautiful waterfalls can be found within the park boundaries, most notably powerful Brandywine Falls and graceful Blue Hen Falls. Cuyahoga Valley National Park also preserves some wonderful history with a restored section of the Erie and Ohio Canal and excellent interpretations of canal life and travel. Some of the surrounding towns are full of charming buildings and make pleasant detours.
A friend of mine recently passed through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and commented to me that it wasn’t worthy of the National Park title. At first glance, I might have agreed with him but I really warmed up to the area during the two days I spent there. Having grown up in an east coast city…
It’s been a fairly quiet week out here on the road this week. After leading an exciting tour for my old tour company, I needed a little bit of time to relax and get back into the swing of things as I prepare for a busy fall season. It’s cooling down and I’m looking forward to fall colors and apple cider. While I spent a few days out in and around Sandusky, my week started and ended in the greater Cleveland area. Cleveland is definitely a city of neighborhoods, and while it hasn’t struck me as hard as Cincinnati did, it has grown on me. It seems there are little hidden secrets around every corner and I’ve only scratched the surface of what the city has to offer.
I started my week with an evening in Chagrin Falls. Chagrin Falls is a charming village on the far outskirts of the Cleveland suburbs. It gets its name from the small but pleasant waterfall which flows right through the center of town. Surrounded by quaint shops and restaurants, I just enjoyed wandering around town and taking some photos…
South Bass Island is a tiny little 3.7 mile by 1.5 mile island which sits 3 miles off the coast of mainland Ohio and is surrounded by Lake Erie. I love islands and have lived on several in my life, and am particularly fond of those not connected by road. They are neat little pockets of culture and I always enjoy visiting them. Accessible by boat or air, South Bass Island is often called Put-In Bay, and has been referred to as the “Key West of Lake Erie”. While that may be a bit of a stretch, it is a really neat place with some great bars and restaurants and some interesting history. I enjoyed visiting the fascinating Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, which commemorates the naval battle for Lake Erie during the War of 1812. While I was there in the off-season and on a chilly and rainy Monday, I still had a really great time on the island and wanted to share these photos from my trip. While not as off-the-beaten-path as the trip you may remember I took to Daufuskie Island in South Carolina (read that story HERE), Put-In Bay is a really cool place and definitely one you should visit if you are in the area.
Geneva-on-the-Lake is a wonderful little resort town on the shores of Lake Erie in north-central Ohio. Local legend tells of early 20th century camping trips to the area by John D. Rockefeller, Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford, but tourism had come to the area almost a century earlier. As industry started to spread along Lake Erie after Ohio became a state in 1803, a small fishing resort called Sturgeon Point House opened, catering to the local workers and to travelers passing through. Soon after the Civil War ended, a descendant of the founder of Sturgeon Point House opened a small picnic area overlooking the lake with a horse-drawn carousel as its main attraction. Soon, people were camping there too, and primitive cottages began to spring up. Originally catering mostly to the upper class, Geneva-on-the-Lake would transform into an affordable getaway for everyone in the first half of the 20th century with the spread of the automobile. Although the area declined in the seventies and eighties, it bounced back in the nineties and seemed to be doing really well when I visited recently. I loved the historic trail through town which told scandalous stories from yesteryear
Whew, I'm taking a deep breath. Sorry for the lack of content over the last few weeks. I've been out guiding a quick tour from New York to Miami for my old tour company. I had planned on getting a bunch of work done as I went, but running a tour is just always so all-consuming. Even with 12 years experience and being in a region I'm really comfortable and familiar with, there's just so much to do behind the scenes to keep a tour running smoothly and keep up with all the paperwork etc. And that's not even mentioning the 5,000+ miles I've driven in the last few weeks. It was awesome to be back in the driver's seat though, and it was a really good tour all around. But it's also good to be back on my own and back with my Shadow Catcher.
I met my group in Newark on a rainy Sunday morning and we set off to historic Philadelphia. Despite the rain, they kept their spirits up as I gave them a quick tour through Independence National Historical Park, pointing out some of the more important buildings and recounting stories of our Founding Fathers and their lives. We stopped into Carpenter's Hall, site of the First Continental Congress and also in to see the Liberty Bell. From there we headed out for cheesesteaks at Reading Terminal Market and a quick run up the "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphis Museum of Art before departing the City of Brotherly Love…
This has been an interesting week for me out here on the road. Not only have I covered a reasonable amount of ground and seen some great places, but I also spent time in the hometown of my grandfather (and his father). He died when I was just 3 years old, so I never really knew him or much about that side of my family, so it was fascinating to visit tiny Dillonvale, Ohio and walk where he walked and learn about where he grew up. I also visited my great-grandparents' grave while I was there and introduced myself. The week brought me from Columbus all the way back to the Ohio river, north to Lake Erie and down into Cleveland. The weather is turning cooler and overall, it's been a great week out here as usual.
Washington Court House is a quiet town in Fayette County in central Ohio. From what I've read and heard, it's always been a quiet town - always, that is, except for one night in October of 1894. That night, a mob formed outside the courthouse in an attempt to lynch a prisoner being held there. Shots were fired and five men were killed. This incident has come to be known as the Washington Court House Riot of 1894.
It's been another busy but wonderful week out here in Western Ohio. I started the week in Dayton, returned briefly to Cincinnati and then made my way out to Columbus, Ohio's capital city. I've met some great people, taken some sweet photos, learned some interesting history and attended some great events. The weather has turned pretty hot and some amazing Midwestern thunderstorms have passed overhead, but I'm keeping cool and dry and really enjoying my time in the Buckeye State. As I've been driving, I've been enjoying a great podcast called Ohio V. The World. It is an interesting , in depth look at some of the history of the state and it's really given me some great background as I travel. This week has brought me into some of the flat, farm filled landscapes Ohio is most known for, but even these are dotted with cool old farm buildings and Rockwell-esque small towns. It's been another great week exploring all the great things America and Ohio have to offer…
I love baseball. I couldn't quote batting averages off the top of my head nor could I tell you who's won every World Series, I simply love the game. I love the sight of a ball field with its crisp white lines, the call of "cold beer, peanuts, crackerjacks" from the vendors climbing the bleachers and the sound of a well hit ball as it leaves the bat headed for the outfield. I love the history and tradition of the game and how it has often marched alongside, and evolved with, the history of the country. You can probably imagine my excitement then, when, while visiting the city where professional baseball began, I was able to also view the largest private collection of baseball memorabilia in the world.
The Green Diamond Gallery, in suburban Cincinnati, is a magical place filled to bursting with some of the most awesome mementos to the history of the baseball. While it's not a massive place, I spent three hours there trying to take it all in…
The National Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio houses a massive collection of aircraft ranging from the very earliest flyers to space-age satellites. Highlights include Boxcar, the plane which dropped the atomic bomb Fat Man on Nagasaki in 1945 and the newly restored legend Memphis Belle. Also on display are all of the retired planes which have carried United States Presidents throughout history. You can go inside the plane which carried John F. Kennedy's body home from Dallas while Lyndon Johnson was being sworn into office on-board. The museum is free and open 7 days a week. While touring the museum, my eyes were drawn to my favorite aspect of old planes: the nose and tail art which was often hand-painted by the airmen themselves. These are often telling of the men who painted them and the situations in which they found themselves, many of them as far from home as they had ever been. Here are some of my favorites from my recent visit to the museum.
As I've traveled the country, I've visited a lot of small towns. Some are thriving, some are faltering, and some are just plain crumbling. When the Plaza Theater sat empty for almost 15 years in downtown Miamisburg, Ohio, it was symbolic of the latter two. When it opened in 1919, the 700 seat Plaza was the heart of a thriving downtown. People came downtown to do their shopping, catch up on the gossip and see a show. The theater closed its doors in 1968, but the building lived on as the new home of Sor-rel's Western Wear, a successful apparel and equipment store. After a solid 26 year run where the business thrived, the Sorrel family sold their store off in 1994. Eight years later, it was closed and the theater-turned-western-store would sit empty right in the middle of a struggling Main Street. Downtown Miamisburg, like so many small towns, had ceded its business to strip malls and chain stores outside the city limits…
