Then and now: Seeing Ohio at 5 mph

Ohio grew from a wild, frontier state to a commercial hub during the 1840s thanks to the building of the Ohio & Erie Canal from Lake Erie at Cleveland to Portsmouth on the Ohio River. The earlier creation of the Erie Canal in upstate New York made it possible to ship goods from the Atlantic the west (at that time Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois) quicker and cheaper. Goods then could flow from the west down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic.

Akron, Massillon, Newark, Chillicothe and Portsmouth all became hubs of activity and grew by leaps and bounds thanks to the canal system. Today when many drive through some of these towns, or other smaller ones, and wonder "why is this city here" or "why are there so many century homes in this town" it is very likely due in part to the canals. Mills especially thrived along the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers that fed the canals. (see left, click to enlarge)

The superhighway of its time, traveling the canal wasn't exactly like driving with the top down in a roadster clipping along at 7o mph with the wind whipping through your hair. Canal travel topped out at about 5 mph as your mule or horse pulled you through still water along the towpath. But unlike travel elsewhere over land, this was flat, continuous movement.

Today Ohio has been blessed with several organizations and societies (Ohio & Erie Canalway, Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition, Nation Heritage Corridor, Visitor's Guide) that have preserved and reworked canal sections and opened them for tourism and recreation. One of the popular destinations in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park is the Towpath trail (see below, click to enlarge), that follows the old Ohio & Erie Canal. Hikers and Bikers hit the trail in large numbers to take in sun, shade, wildlife, plantlife and a lot of history. Those walking the trail are not far removed from the "speedy" 5 mph pace of days of yore.

The Ohio & Erie Towpath is a stretch of over 100 miles of crushed limestone, asphalt or even at times wood planked boardwalk from Cleveland to New Philadelphia (map of trail, detailed towpath descriptions). As of 2009 there are small sections that are incomplete or require sharing the road with automobiles, but for the most part you can travel a protected and scenic trail the entire route (towpath construction updates here).

Many of the old locks, which were used to elevate a boat to the next canal level, still exist in some form (see left, click to enlarge). Most are identified and have a learning station with historic photos included. At many locks one can walk on, around and between the thick, chiseled rock walls of the lock. Some are 10-15 feet tall, others are massive structures of 30 feet or more high.



At Peninsula, the Cuyahoga River actually passes below the canal. What may seem odd today, they actually built aqueducts to carry the canal over rivers, and the sharp turn the river makes at the remants of Lock 29 clearly show the labor and materials needed. One can walk deep inside this tall lock and marvel and the cut stone and even read at learning station that masons would mark their stones for quality assurance, in this case with Roman numerals. (see right, click to enlarge)

Lock 29 in Peninsula is a popular jumping on point to canal towpath. Located on Route 303, it is a short drive from either State Route 8 or I-271 to reach the historic town of Richfield (map) and Peninsula. Bikes can be rented here for a towpath ride. Along the towpath you also can see the mode of transportation that made the Age of Canals short lived. A major rail line mirrors the canal and is used by the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway for historic and picturesque tours of the valley. On weekends bike riders can hop on the train with their bikes for a few dollars and ride back to their starting point.

Heading north from Lock 29 towards Cleveland, a few miles walk or pedal will bring you below two massive bridges that span the valley as they carry vehicular traffic on the Ohio Turnpike and I-271. For those with a love of architecture, the towpath offers many different bridges to marvel at. Beyond the two recently rebuilt bridges over the valley, there is also a large span on Route 82 near Brecksville that is near the Rock Bridge trailhead in southern Cuyahoga County. An iron bridge carries foot and bike traffic from the trailhead parking to the towpath. (see left, click to enlarge)

Further towards Cleveland, two suspension bridges were built to safely move towpath travelers over busy roads in Valley View (see left, click to enlarge). All along the towpath, great care and forethought was made to keep the towpath protected. Along the Akron stretch two bridges have been built, one a steel span that crossed the busy innerbelt highway system and another south of town is a floating Brazilian wood deck that resolved the issue of purchasing private right-of-way along Summit Lake. In southern Stark County, near Bolivar, a bridge was built to carry towpath traffic over I-77.

For the visitor who wants to learn more of the history of the canal, there are four important stops to make along the towpath in each of the three most northern counties of the canal. Just south of Downtown Cleveland, the Canalway Visitor center (see right, click to enlarge) is a trailhead and two-room museum to Canal, the Cuyahoga River and the economic history both had in Northeast Ohio. A short video loop is informative and the exhibits are very family-friendly.

In Summit County two stops are easily accessible in one day for the moderate biker. Both are general stores and likely stops on different days during the canal era. Today they are about 10 miles apart and both offer a restored look at history.

Just a stone's throw from the Boston Mills ski area, the Boston Store (see left, click to enlarge) serves as a rest break along the towpath but offers a small museum to the canal era. The back of a canal boat has been constructed in cut-away style to show the size and the inner workings of the stern. Hands on exhibits allow you to build the ribs of the boat and a diorama gives a realistic vision of a busy lock area. Next door is a mid 20th Century garage and gas station that today serves as an art gallery. Ice cream and natural snacks can be found across the street.

Just outside of downtown Akron is Mustill's General Store (see right, click to enlarge). While serving as another trailhead for the towpath, this store has been carefully restored to it's 1840s look when it was a thriving business (see related news story). The sharp rise in the geography from the Cuyahoga Valley to the "summit" in Akron led to a series of over 20 locks. Making your way through Akron would take some time and hence the growth of Akron resulted from overnight stops and general shopping while waiting to traverse the locks. Mustills also offers interactive exhibits and photos of the thriving general store business during the height of the canals.

To see how a town was impacted by the rise and fall of the canals, visit Canal Fulton in northern Stark County. Many historic buildings still exist and there is a small town, historic charm to the main street along the canal. But it is also evident to see how a community changed once a town was bypassed after the canal era ended. Canal Fulton is a popular trailhead, there is a small museum here as well, plus a picnic, park and top-notch ice cream parlor open during warm weather months.


A mile south from this trailhead along the towpath is Lock 4 (see above, click to enlarge), which may be the best location along the canal today to see what a typical lock would look like. While not operational, the gates for the lock have been rebuilt and the lockkeepers station house, a well-built brick building, still stands. While empty with no plans evident for the historic building, Lock 4 is a trailhead with a well-manicured park and Ohio historic marker explaining the canal system.

One can take a ride on a reproduction canal "packet" boat -- one used primarily to haul freight -- on a two-mile round trip down the canal that begins in Canal Fulton and turns around here at Lock 4. The boat, the St. Helena III (see right, click to enlarge), is at times is pulled by pair of horses and at times by a large motorized farm tractor. The St. Helena sometimes has difficulty navigating the canal as plant life growing in the water make it hard for the animals to pull. The State of Ohio is responsible for maintaining waterways and the one-mile stretch of canal is not top priority.

While the rapid growth of the rail system in the 1850's impacted the value of the canal, it was still in use until 1913, when massive flooding in Northeast Ohio rendered the canal economically impractical to restore. Along the towpath you can see the remnants of the many hours of manual labor, and where the still water allows for wildlife to take refuge.

One wonders if the during the 1830's while sections of the canal were being carved from the soil, if the low-paid, unskilled, primarily immigrant labor pool would have envisioned thousands of hikers and bikers each year traveling along the canal for fun and fitness? At 5 mph, it's not a bad way to see Ohio.

- J.

"Hi-Jacked" at the Zoo!

The Columbus Zoo is not your ordinary zoo. At what other zoo in America can you run into a TV celebrity near the front entrance and holler "Hi Jack" and have him stop for photos, hand shakes and little kid hugs? If you are Jack Hanna, this is just another day at the office (see left, click to enlarge). While no longer the day to day director of the zoo, his celebrity status has him on the run often, he does manage to be visible and friendly when at the zoo. We have come across him at the zoo on several occasions.

Over the past decade, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has grown from one of nation's great family-oriented zoos to perhaps what could someday be one of the nation's top family tourist stops. After acquiring the neighboring Wyandot Lake several years ago, the zoo engulfed the land and re-designed the amusement park portion to thematically mesh with the zoo. Zoombezi is the name for this area and is the instant eye candy when you pull into the expansive parking lot.

As with other zoos, the Columbus zoo is zoned into habitat areas that match the wildlife. But in each area there kid-friendly activities to thrill just about any age.

North America's habitat features a petting zoo, pony rides (see left, click to enlarge) and a mock-steam engine train that circles the animals in this area. A favorite stop is the prairie dog area where little ones can pop under a cave and look at the under-ground dwelling of the animals. (see right, click to enlarge)

The Asia section is home to the elephants, and one of the most popular places to visit. A baby elephant was born this past Spring and viewing lines were 30-minutes deep. The indoor habitat has video feeds so that all can watch even if you cannot get to the front-row glass. (see left, click to enlarge)




Both indoor and outdoor, you can get amazingly close to the animals. One can also walk through an aviary and get up close to tiger, zebras and giraffes. A great photo op is the large tiger statue that children pose on as if riding on the back of the dangerous animal.

One of the challenges that the zoo has met is how to expand when geography isn't easily accommodated. A large part the zoo is on the other side of a very busy 4-lane road. A tunnel connects to the far side of the zoo that features Primates of Africa, Australia and the aquarium part of the zoo. A touch-tank and 2-story tank where divers feed fish by hand are two of the aquarium features.




But the major focus of the aquarium section is a massive manatee exhibit. Completely housed in side, the exhibit looks and feels like the coast of Florida (see above left, click to enlarge). Six inch (at least) plexiglass allow a great view of the manatees swimming, floating and dining in a tank filled with manta rays, turtles and other fish (see right, click to enlarge). Youngsters pause for quite a while here to watch these massive animals repeatedly surface and sink.

Beyond the aquarium feel free to travel back in time on an authentic carousel. Uniquely housed in a structure with garage-like doors that open or close in relation to the weather, the carousel allows for year round fun. (see left, click to enlarge)

Further up the path from the carousel is a massive "bug" structure playground for little ones and a private party areas used for corporate events. In this section of the park is the food court, where one needs to be mindful of timing or the lunch rush will really slow you down.

The big draw in the African section are the gorillas. The outdoor structure gives plenty of great viewing lines to watch the gorillas play with each other -- and the spectators. Playfully a gorilla will come up to a windowed viewing area and slap the glass, much to the thrill and screeches of little ones. (see left, click to enlarge)

The indoor viewing is just as ample, and while one family is usually outside another gorilla group is inside. There are usually juveniles, both human and primate (see right, click to enlarge), who have more fun than imaginable at the indoor section of this exhibit.

The Australian area has a wallaby walk around, where all that separates human and kangaroo is a simple rope. The animals were trained in such a way to not be frightened by, or to interact with, people as they walk through. Staff is on hand to be sure neither human nor animal violate each other's space. There is also a lorikeet exhibit where the birds land on you and nip a little nectar from a cup you hold. A boat ride takes you around Australia and through parts of the Southeast Asia exhibit and offers a nice break from the walking.

Fun is around every curve, even non-animals get into the act. The zoo is now bringing in performers just like you see at amusement parks. Whether a school-group jump-rope team or a come-to-life child's soldier toy (see right, click to enlarge), there is something to see in just about every nook and cranny on the grounds.

It is nearly impossible to get it all in on one visit, especially if taking in the water and ride attractions at the Zoombezi addition new for 2009. But with all the other attractions in Columbus, it can certainly be the centerpiece of a weekend -- or extended weekend -- getaway.

-J.

Putting all your Eggs in one Basket

Easter weekend proved an ideal time to visit one of those "why is this here?" spots in Ohio. A place where you can truly put your eggs in one, or many, baskets. One of the most renown makers of woven basket is the Longaberger Company and they have created a tourist destination (see right, click to enlarge) not far from the company's beginnings in Dresden, Ohio (map, web). Situated less than an hour east of Columbus or about 90 minutes from Canton, Longaberger's Homestead offers tours, ambiance, food, and a taste of home the likes of Martha Stewart Living or Pottery Barn style.

Located on Ohio State Route 16 east of Newark, it is now quickly accessible thanks to investment by the State of Ohio in upgrading the route from a 2-lane road to a limited-access highway. Long-range plans are to link Columbus and Pittsburgh via 4-lane highways. Currently 65-mph divided highway can get you from Columbus to Newark, minus about six miles of reduced speed 2-lane driving, then to just north of Dresden again via 4-lane highway travel.

Coming east from Newark, you can get a hint of what's to come, as you pass Longaberger's corporate headquarters, a multi-story office building in the shape of a basket about 20 minutes east of the Longaberger site via highway (see right, click to enlarge). It is one of the most intriguing buildings anywhere. This place makes multiple web-hits for unique roadside attractions in America. It seems whenever I pass through Newark it is raining, and my ability to get a good picture of
the Longaberger building yields awful results.


Longaberger built a tourist destination out of Newark and Dresden during the economic boom of the region in the 1990s. A refurbished hotel in "downtown" Newark (map, web) serves as an overnight stop for touring not just Longaberger's attractions but the region as well. Too, golf opportunites exist through Longaberger's own country club. Traveling east from Newark you are escorted along the road by a uniquely styled wooden fence that continues all the way until you reach the Longaberger facility in Frazeyburg.

Greeting you as you enter the Homestead complex is a huge basket of apples... that is to say, a two-story basket with apples the size of a golf cart (see left, click to enlarge). Longaberger Baskets are primarily sold the route of Avon, Pampered Chef and PartyLite, through the hostess, party-in-your-house method. They are of high quality and not moderately priced. The baskets are hand-woven in the factory located on the grounds of The Homestead, which was built well after the factory expanded beyond its Dresden origins.

Upon entering the visitor center you can witness a worker weaving together the trademark baskets while you obtain information to plan your visit, purchase tour tickets, freshen up in the facilities, or grab a snack. Browsing the grounds, The Homestead shops -- all in one large building complex (see left, click to enlarge) -- or Crawford Barn (for discounted merchandise) are free. The architecture, both of the structures and the landscape are worth the stroll on a nice day.

The lobby is the focal point of the Homestead shops entrance (see above, click to enlarge). Wrapping around the second floor is a balcony and grand staircase. Stenciled along the edges of balcony on the hardwood flooring is a leaf motif. From either floor, the store spreads out east and west with different shopping themes ranging from clothing and furniture to housewares and toys.

The western side of the Homestead stores end with some housewares but sprouts a large tree that has the look of having grown right through the ceiling to the 2nd floor and roof. Peering up (see left, click to enlarge) you can see kids gear on the floor above. Climbing the steps brings you to toys, collectibles, clothes and other home accoutrements for the children. The rope-strewn balcony lends a playful air to the room and is inviting for children to roam and seek.

The stuffed giraffes beckon you towards what looks like a tunnel carved out of a tree. Stepping through the "tree" leads you to more shops, and one of the most unique rooms you will find anywhere (see right, click to enlarge). Imagination appears to be the main ingredient used to cook up the design of this wing of the series of shops.


The shop with lots of goodies for decorating a child's room is itself a child's dream of a room. The ceiling is decorated as a puffy partly cloudy day against a beautiful blue sky, but gazing down at the floor gives a heightened sensation. The hardwood floor has been stunningly painted to look like farmer's fields as seen from thousands of feet above in the air (see right, click to enlarge). The whisps of thin clouds painted along the floor lend an airy feeling of soaring above the world in a room where imaginations could also take wing. It can only be imagined how many children run to their parents in delight pleading for their room to be made over like this one!

The Crawford Barn stands majestically at the eastern edge of the Homestead complex (see right, click to enlarge). It was painstakingly restored and is as impressive a structure as the other buildings on the property. It houses discounted merchandise and a cafe and snack bar. While the $7 pulled pork is a bit pricey for a small meal, it is well above the quality of other pricey tourist destination meals at other attractions around the state and country. A nice sized playground will help the little ones to unwind if tagging along with the grown-ups have turned them into, well, basket cases.

Tours of the basket making facility are available and worth the time and cost. Longaberger baskets are hand-woven and a process that is intriguing to view. A shuttle will take tourists from the visitor center to the factory. While it is "on the grounds" it is not exactly a quick walk to the production center.

Included on-site is also a sit-down restaurant and between the tour, the restaurant, the Homestead shops and the soon-to-open Yankee Candle outlet in a Victorian style home built on the grounds, this is a site where you can truly relax and spend considerable time. On the day I visited there were three tourist busses parked in the lot but barely a crowd inside the Homestead. Between the factory tour, Crawford Barn and Homestead shops, there is so much available that hundreds of people can be on site and it would not feel crowded.

A tiskit, a taskit, don't forget your Longaberger basket!

- J.

Interactive Science on the Lakefront

Cleveland may lack the historical panache of cities like Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. or Baltimore and may fall short of the artistic and economic giants of New York City or Chicago. But what the meager lesser skyline of Cleveland (see right, click to enlarge) may lack between east and midwest, you will be hard pressed to find a better museum dedicated to interactive, hands-on scientific learning and fun. The Great Lakes Science Center, or GLSC, (map, web) scores high on the list of must-see museums anywhere.

COSI in Columbus is nearly a twin-sister to GLSC and is a mere 2 hours down the highway in a growing and expanding metropolitan area. Cleveland's exodus of industry and population over the last few decades have left as a main tourist attraction some fantastic, but also overlooked museums. Wade Oval in the University Circle area east of Cleveland is home to a handful of great family friendly museums, including the diverse big four of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Western Reserve Historical Society (and Crawford Auto/Aviation Museum), Cleveland Art Museum and the Botanical Gardens.

The Great Lakes Science Center (see left, click to enlarge) was brilliantly designed along the downtown waterfront and sits a good 50-yard field goal away from Cleveland Brown's Stadium and adjacent to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Along with the move of the Goodtime III, a lake and river sightseeing cruise, to the 9th Street Pier has made this area a wonder spot for daily museum visits and the occasional festival, such as the Tall Ships gathering of clippers and other sail vessels.

While possible to do in single day, most families will probably not take in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and GLSC the same day. Without blinking an eye, you can easily surpass three hours at GLSC, perhaps even four if you take in one of the thrice daily IMAX offerings. $15 for the center and IMAX for adults ($9 for children) is not out of line in today's economy. Even the $6 (after validation) for the urban parking deck that adjoins the facility is not unreasonable. But the $22/$13 (Adults/Children) admission for the Rock Hall of Fame makes a one-day double dip quite pricey. Too, I'm not sure younger children will get the same out of the Rock Hall that teens and adults will.

Adding to the sites to see on the block, the William Mather Steamship Museum (see left, click to enlarge), housed inside a retired Great Lakes freighter, is open during the summer months and is quite an impressive site in the harbor. If a full day is desired on the lakefront, add in a tour of Cleveland Brown's Stadium. It might possibly be the highlight of the Brown's year during a changeover of coaches and personnel in 2009!


The Great Lakes Science Center is neatly laid out on three floors. You will not have a ton of walking and the floor plan is very open (see right, and below left, click to enlarge). There are permanent and temporary exhibits, all very hands-on and kid friendly. On my visit, the temporary exhibits on robots had many displays and interactive activities including a way to make a "jitterbug" robot using Styrofoam and batteries. You could make one for free and leave it behind, or for a few dollars take your little robotic device home.

The "science" at GLSC varies from the mechanics principals such as simple machines (you can lift a junked car smashed to a block using a lever), investigate the science behind medicine (manipulate a mechanized prosthetic arm), marvel at the physics behind acoustics and light, and shock yourself (literally) with matters of energy and electricity. The lower level brings natural science of the Great Lakes into the museum with weather, water and other elements while you gaze out the windows at Lake Erie.

But GLSC makes the kids the stars of the show. From flying a hang-glider (virtually), to plucking the strings of a LED harp, flying a computerized biplane, and even being subjected to thermal imaging (see right, click to enlarge), kids will find much to their liking. Even the simple (by today's technology) blue-screen broadcasting of the weather puts the younger ones in the spotlight. On a nondescript mid-week day, there were several demonstrations led by GLSC staff, from science of bubbles to magic of matter and exhibit led demonstrations such as the static electric machine that gives a new meaning to the term "bad hair day."

Even the youngest can find science in their pursuit of play. The 7 and under play area is equally hands on and pursues science. The biggest attraction is the padded ball pit, where you can put balls into sand-box pails on a conveyor er belt (moved by hand of course), or stuff balls into a tube that launches them skyward, ultimately falling into a pair of clear scoops that can be opened and closed by little ones, plummeting the collection of balls back to the pit. There are many other play structures including an inflatable "bounce house" (see right, click to enlarge) for tots, preschoolers and even kindergartners to expend their own energy.

So much to take in and do in one day, that easily when leaving the youngest will fall quickly asleep and the older ones begin asking about the next visit. All along a lakefront that 20 years ago featured a nice seafood restaurant, a tepid, if not turbid, stadium that sat at the water's edge and not much else.

- J.

Play Ball!

The two words that "springs" eternal in Ohioans... "Play Ball!" The hope that maybe this year, after 162 games, their team will be playoff bound. For Cincinnati Reds fans, it's been a long time since the days of the "Big Red Machine" in the 1970s and for Cleveland Indians fans, a long drought lasting to 1948 when the Tribe won it all. Opening day in Ohio can be brutal, as witnessed by game time temperature for today's Red's home opener: 40 degrees. Two years ago the Indians home opening series was shifted to Milwaukee's domed stadium due to 12" of snow.

But Ohio is unique, in that you have a lot of baseball within the state lines, at every level from division-contending professional teams through just about all levels of the minor leagues and even independent league teams. On any given summer day you can take in a little league game somewhere. (see right, click to enlarge)


You will not lack for a chance to watch a ball game, at some of America's best venues. Only New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida and California offer professional baseball parks. From April to October, there's lots of baseball to take in.

As I grew up in the '70s, Cleveland's Municipal Stadium wasn't much of a stadium by modern means. But it was all I knew. Nestled along the lake and next to Burke Lakefront Airport, some of my fondest sports memories are here. It was a time when you could get up and close... for cheap. Somewhere in my memorabilia is a faded Polaroid picture of a 10-year old (or there about) sitting on the knee of Jack Brohammer, behind the outfield fence on a picture day promotion (see picture left, click to enlarge -note: it may not be Brohammer pictured!). It was set in a cute gigantic baseball-shaped card with the Indians logo on it.

My children will only know Municipal Stadium from the Western Reserve Historical Society (see left, click to enlarge), which displayed two rows of the seats preserved from the stadium and the gargantuan neon Chief Wahoo that welcomed you to Gate D. (see above right, click to enlarge)



The standing joke was that "today is opening day... and that means the Indians have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs." So you could buy a ticket in the nose-bleed section of the upper deck general admission and by the 4th inning could be sitting behind the dugout. A popular boredom buster those days was for folks to spell things in block letters using the empty seats of the open sections in the outfield upper decks.

But things changed about 15 years ago as Cleveland built one of the gems of modern sports architecture, in what will always in my mind be, Jacobs Field (now renamed for financial purposes, Progressive Field). Modeled in purpose after the retro-style hit, Camden Yards (still one of the top parks in the world), Jacob's Field opened to a team on the rise. It spawned baseball development around Northeast Ohio.

If you plan your week right, you can today catch the Indians and their farm teams on a tour of top flight facilities around the state. Minor league baseball allows you great seats up close to the action for a much smaller price tag. Sure, most of the players you see will not make it to the major leagues, but some of them will. (see right, click to enlarge)



Start with the short-season Class A Mahoning Valley Scrappers (map, web, ballpark). This is where some of the current draft picks and younger players get their feet wet. It's a small park but offers intimacy and is financially friendly. Your next stop is a just over an hour's drive from the Youngstown area to Willoughby/Eastlake and to the longer-season Class A Lake County Captains (map, web, ballpark). Nestled amongst a busy strip of businesses and retail stores, this can be a bustling and busy park depending upon the game you catch.

Another hour's drive down I-271 to Route 8 will land you in Akron, home of the Double A Akron Aeros (map, web). The gorgeous urban stadium is best attended on a Fireworks Friday night, but get your tickets early as they often sell out the 9,000-some seat stadium. At this level you are sure to see some of tomorrow's big league stars in their youth and inexperience. You can easily leave a game thinking "he's supposed to be a big time prospect?"



New in 2009 is the Indians AAA affiliate, the Columbus Clippers. Playing for decades on the west side of Columbus at Cooper Stadium, Clippers recently separated with their parent organization, the New York Yankees and after one short season as the Washington National's highest level farm club, struck a deal with Cleveland. The brand new Huntington Park is another urban gem of a sports stadium, elbow to elbow with downtown stadium brethren Nationwide Arena (home of the NHL Columbus Blue Jackets) and Value City Arena (home to Ohio State University athletics).

Not to be outdone, you can catch other minor league baseball games in Dayton and Toledo. The Mudhens (ballpark), made famous by proud native Jamie Farr through his character in the TV series M*A*S*H, are the AAA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. The Dayton Dragons (ballpark) are the Class A Midwestern League farm team of the Cincinnati Reds.

The Reds played in one of the least attractive stadiums during their glory days in the 1970s, the cookie cutter circular stadium (once known as Riverfront, then corporate-ized as Cinergy Field) that had clones in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and St. Louis. But as the retro-trend of ballparks get steaming through the country in the 1990s, Cincinnati upped the ante with one of America's most unique stadiums. Known as the Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati's history with the river and steamboats plays a central theme in the stadium. Giant steamboat smoke stacks grace the viewing lines towards the river and Kentucky beyond.

Each year, thanks to Interleague Play, the Reds and Indians go head to head in a three game series in each city. A five-hour drive can put you in either city and with a stop in between in Columbus and perhaps an extra day or two beyond in each city's suburban sprawl you can find take in a few minor league games as well.

And if you think you still have what it takes to play the game... there are independent leagues and teams in the area. The Lake Erie Crushers are part of the legendary Frontier League and the Chillicothe Paints (ballpark) a part of the Prospect League while cities such Canton (former Thurman Munson stadium) have hosted teams in this league or minor league baseball in the past and have stadiums that are still active and spacious. Even the smaller venues have fan-friendly promotions. Shoot, even the big league parks let your kids run the bases these days! (see right, click to enlarge)

Buy yourself some peanuts and Cracker Jack at a stadium not far from your spot in Ohio!

- J.

The slow march of madness that is Spring in Ohio

In Ohio we have our own kind of March Madness. It has nothing to do with college hoops. Only in Ohio can you truly appreciate the splendor of Spring. For weeks on end you can see a solid six inches of snow pack from seemingly endless "1-3 inches" daily (see right, click to enlarge). And then suddenly a week of 60 degree weather brings about a burst of Spring.

Those who live here know to savor these days... for another shot of cold and wet is sure to come. We don't plant flowers until Memorial Day. We're not surprised of a June frost.

Spring is the time of rebirth, of renewal.

The grays and browns of the woods and lawns slowly dissolve into greens as the buds burst forth. (see left, click to enlarge)

Except it's not exactly a bursting, but a slow and methodical March madness of our own.

We like to kid that in Ohio, Spring is between 2 and 4 p.m. on a weekday in April. In reality sometimes Spring doesn't really appear at all. There are seasons where winter drags interminably on through March, and even in to April, then swiftly passes the baton on to Summer.

So when a string of 60-degree days comes along, suddenly everyone is out in its midst enjoying what may be the short-lived Spring. You just don't know. So you grab on to it and ride it for all it can. You never know if Spring is going to be bounced out, much like your favorite seed in the NCAA tournament. And much like the first rounds of March Madness, where sports fans are glued to their TV's all day long, too, are many Ohioans outdoors hanging on to the warmth of the sun after a long cold winter.

January of 2009 went down in Northeast Ohio as the second snowiest ever. It came and it came and it came some more. Most winters I don't bother shoveling, as the ebb and flow of temperatures perks up above freezing often enough to melt it off the driveway. But not this season, as witnessed by the half-shoveled mess of my driveway (see left, click to enlarge).

But when Spring finally does arrives, it's anticipation matches that of the at-large, mid-major colleges waiting for their invite to the tournament.



And Spring comes early and hangs around for a while, we feel like it's our Cinderella team making the Sweet 16 (see right, click to enlarge). Either way, madness is an Ohio March.

- J.

Post-script... The NCAA tournament ended on Monday night, April 6th... and a lake effect snow warning was issued the same night. The result of March Madness? More snow in Ohio (see photos below, click to enlarge)