Why I love to travel Ohio

Being from Ohio has its advantages; I know many excellent places to visit. I will tell you about those places and will place websites later on in the blog.

If you like the big cities Ohio has several of them with the best being Columbus. Columbus is now the 15th largest city in the nation. Columbus has a diverse population including people of German and Italian decent. While in Columbus some things that you should not miss are THE OHIO THEATER which first opened on March 17, 1928. Many great acts have performed inside this beautiful structure. You can still see performances there today. THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY is on of many universities in the city. One must me crazy to not see a football game at the Horseshoe. German Village is another location that is a must see while in Columbus. The beautiful brick buildings along with great Restaurants Make this location a must see. My favorite restaurant there has to be Schmidt's Sausage Haus and Restaurant.

Heading out of Columbus I would head up state route 23 to Delaware where the Little Brown Jug horse race is held. Continue heading up state route 42 and Cardington is there (also my hometown). Cardington was hit by a Tornado in 1981 which destroyed pretty much all of Main Street.

Next head to Interstate 71 and go north to Mansfield. Mansfield is the site of The Mansfield Reformitory. This is the prison that was featured in The Shaw shank Redemption and is reported to be haunted. Also, the Mid Ohio Race Track is nearby. The Nascar Truck Series also races near the Mid Ohio track.

Continue North on 71 until you get to Cleveland. Cleveland is on the rise and includes attractions such as the Cleveland Indians, Cavs, and Browns. You can't miss going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum that has many interactive activities. Don't miss going to Lake Erie while visiting Cleveland.

After Cleveland get on interstate south 77 until you get to Akron the Home of Goodyear tires. Go see the blimp if it is at the airfield, perhaps you may see it crossing the sky. Continue Down interstate 77 and Head into Canton and Visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The next part of Ohio is like going back in time. To get there continue south on 77 until you get to New Philadelphia. Take state route 39 west out of New Philadelphia and you will be smack dab in the middle of Amish Country. The Amish Community embraces the old ways and live without electricity or cars. The welcome guests to the area and have many attractions and fine restaurants.

Continue on state route 39 west until you get to state route 60 south. This road will take you through some of Ohio's most beautiful scenery. While on state route 60 you will go through several small towns and villages each with something to offer. Continue on 60 and you will enter Dresden which is the home of Longaberger Basket Company that has nearby tours of the factory http://www.longaberger.com/homestead.aspx. Also if you go just a little bit outside of Dresden to the village on Twinway you can see a location that was on TAPS - Prospect Place.

After Dresden you will want to see the Famous Y Bridge in Zanesville. To get there, just continue on state route 60 until you get into Zanesville. Zanesville used to be the home to McCoy pottery and is a typical small Ohio city.

For a bit of Nature and Relaxation continue down 60 south until you get to State Route 78. Head west until you get to Nelsonville and Hocking Hills State Park. It is absolutely beautiful there.

The next stop on the Ohio trip has to be going to Circleville which has a great Pumpkin Show. To get to Circleville from Nelsonville take US 33 west to sr 22 west. After Circleville you may want to visit Ohio's first capital Chillicothe. Chillicothe is also home to a great outdoor theater that shows Tecumseh a true account of a great Indian chief set in an outdoor theater...

The next big city on the tour is Cincinnati, home of Major League Baseball's first team the Reds, and home of the Bengals NFL team. To get from Chillicothe take state route 28 west across the farm lands of Ohio.

From Cincinnati head north on interstate 75 until you get to Dayton which hosts opening round games for the NCAA men's Basketball Tournament. Also just north of Dayton is Huber Heights which has the most concentration of brick homes in the world.

Continue up Interstate 75 North past Lima until you get to Finlay which is also home to NFL great Ben Roethlisberger. Also Finlay is considered flag city because many of the nation's flags are made there. From Finlay continue along interstate 75 until you get to Toledo. While in Toledo, visit Mud hen Stadium home to the Toledo Mud hens. One restaurant you can't miss is Tony Packos World Famous Hot Dogs. Jamie Farr (who is a Toledo native) mentioned this restaurant in the MASH television series.

Continue from Toledo down US 23 south until you get to Marion. Which was Home to former President Warren G. Harding? Visit his Home and Memorial while in Marion. Also if it is going on, the popcorn festival can be fun.

The trip is just about over, just continue on US 23 south past Waldo and back through Delaware. You will be back in Columbus where your Journey began.

Here are links for the places I wrote about (you may need to copy and paste)

THE OHIO THEATER
http://www.capa.com/columbus/venues/ohio_about.php

Schmidt's Sausage Haus and Restaurant
http://schmidthaus.com/

Little Brown Jug
http://www.littlebrownjug.com/

The Mansfield Reformatory
http://www.mrps.org/

Mid Ohio
http://www.midohio.com/

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
http://www.rockhall.com/

Pro Football Hall of Fame
http://www.profootballhof.com/.

Amish Country
http://www.visitamishcountry.com/attractions.php.

Hocking Hills
http://www.hockinghills.com/

Circleville Pumpkin Show
http://www.pumpkinshow.com/

Tecumseh
http://www.tecumsehdrama.com/

Tony Packos
http://www.tonypackos.com/index.php

Harding Home
http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/places/c03/index.shtml