On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 16:30:05 +1000, John James wrote:
> After a 5 day conference in Cincinnati I have 2 days free there before
> spending 3 days in Cleveland and 4 days in Columbus (these time periods
> are fixed due to a couple of business commitments which will take up a
> half day each).
>
> Can anyone suggest what I should see while I am in Ohio? I am interested
> in the outdoors and history, old trains and early settlers but not
> really into sport or adventure parks. I will be travelling on my own but
> will have a car so have flexibility in getting around. I would also like
> to see some amateur theatre if there is a production on.
>
> Any suggestions will be much appreciated.
I see you've already gotten some excellent suggestions! Hocking
Hills is very pretty, even though it's a bit of a drive from
Cincinnati. Unfortunately, the outdoor theater "Bluejacket"
production will have ended by the time you visit. In Adams County is
the Serpent Mound, an ancient earthwork that's supposed to be the
largest serpent-shaped one in the U.S.
http://www.ohiohistory.org/places/serpent/
Along similar lines is Dayton's Sunwatch Village, built 800
years ago by the Fort Ancient Indians:
http://www.sunwatch.org
The Ohio Rennaissance festival may still be on at this time
(it ends in late October), and it's a little hokey perhaps, but if
you're at all interested in this kind of stuff, it's a fairly large
festival. There's lots of booths that sell crafts, clothing, and
various free shows. Admission's kind of high, however:
http://www.renfestival.com/
North of Dayton, there's the Ohio Caverns, a privately owned
cave that offers nice tours (http://cavern.com/ohiocaverns). The
cave's not as done up as others are, and it's got lots of stalactite
and stalagmite formations. Nearby is the town of West Liberty, which
has a restaurant that (or so I'm told) serves a great pork tenderloin
sandwich, another Midwestern specialty. :)
If you're a foodie, Jungle Jim's is an interesting place to
poke around. To call it a grocery store doesn't really do it
justice. It's huge, full of ethnic goods from around the world and
also a good place to pick up gourmet picnic supplies and snacks with a
very large wine and beer section. It's in a northern suburb of Cincinnati:
http://www.junglejims.com
Cincinnati's got a good variety of restaurants as well. I
haven't had a chance to try even a small fraction, but they do have
Chinese, Thai, Indian, Mexican, French, Italian, Japanese, Senegalese,
Ethiopian, etc. Also a local food is Cincinnati-style chili, which is
not to everyone's taste. It's a rather comparatively mild chili of
ground beef, maybe with a touch of cinnamon, and it's served over
spaghetti and mixed with your choice of beans, onions and a humongous
mound of frighteningly orange/yellow cheese. This is also served over
a small hotdog, called a "coney".
Mid to late October is usually cooling down in this area a
bit-- highs in the upper 60's/lower 70's, as low as the 40's at night
and it can be rainy at times. We're having an unusually mild summer
though, so it's hard to predict what fall will be like. I'd recommend
a light jacket and clothing that can be layered--and maybe an umbrella
if you have the room for it. It can be so changeable within even a
two-week period. Have fun on your trip! :)
Ariane |
