Dawes Arboretum

Labor Day weekend is always a good time to take a little trip.  Summer is almost over, but the days are still very warm.  Luckily for us, we picked a day to travel that was seventy-degrees and perfect for day outdoors.

I remember looking through old pictures at my parents house and seeing some of me and my parents at Dawes Arboretum.  I was very small, which would mean it was about thirty years ago (!).  I asked my mom about it and all she could remember was that it was hiking trails, it was near Newark, and that there were huge hedges that spelled out the name of the arboretum.  I knew it would be a good day trip to take with my husband.  He and I both enjoy being outdoors and hiking.  I enjoy taking pictures of nature. Should be a good day for both of us.

I did my research and found directions to get there.  According to the Dawes website, there is road construction around where we needed to be.  Uh oh.  Even with a few extra minutes of driving time and with a quick stop to Subway to get some lunch, we should have arrived before noon.  Well, the detour was very confusing and we went though a lot of new towns to get there.  Then, we drove past the road because it looked like it was closed when it really wasn't.  We finally arrived ten minutes til one.  Yikes.  We were already annoyed.

After arguing about the best place to park and finishing our lunches in the car, we finally were ready to check out the arboretum.  If you are a little confused what this place is, I'll break it down.  The arboretum is landscaped nature.  Gardens, plantings, ponds, trails, and thousands of trees.  If you plan to visit, be prepared to walk.

The arboretum is broken in to different sections.  The picture above is the Japanese garden.  There is a pond, big rocks, and shaped trees.  The map we picked up was a little confusing, be we headed into the woods next and hiked a few miles, passing a holly garden.  We came across a cute little log cabin in the woods on the way.  We headed toward the far end of the property to the lookout tower with the huge hedges that spelled out "Dawes Arboretum".  We passed another pond on the way.  By the time we reached the tower, I was exhausted.  We climbed it and took a few pictures.

We looked for the trail markers to take us back to our vehicle.  After almost another mile, we reached the welcome center, near where we parked our car.  I looked inside the visitor center but didn't spend too much time because we were tired and anxious to get home.  Hubby and I had a fun day but he said he never wants to go back.  It mostly had to do with the road construction.  Luckily, he figured out a shorter way to get home and we make it back in record time.  See you in another thirty years, Dawes!

McKinley Monument

Six U.S. presidents were from Ohio and there are many places throughout the state that honor those men.
One of which is the McKinley Monument and Museum, located in Canton, near the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Though you can see a bit of the roof from the highway, the Monument is a bit difficult to find.  You'll know you are close when you see the beautifully manicured lawns.

I have some memories of visiting the museum as a child, but wanted to experience it again as an adult.  The monument itself if very impressive.  Tons of steps to walk up.  Many runners were going up and down the steps, while I felt successful just climbing them once.  Inside the monument are the tombs of the former president and his wife.  Along the back wall are markers for the graves for their two daughters who died as children.

After visiting the monument, it was time to check out the museum.  Tickets were $8 for adults.  The building has two main floors.  Science on the lower level and history on the top level.  There is also a planetarium, but it is only open on weekends, so we missed out on that.  The lower level is dark.  The first thing you see is a dinosaur statue.  It is pretty cool.  Around the main room are Ohio rocks and a few live animals.  Behind the main room is a room of interactive science.  My mom and I checked out almost every one and had a pretty good time.  The coolest was the wind tornado that you can put your hand in.  There was also a cool one that you touched a ball of bright light and it made sounds.

On the second floor was the historical section.  I'm not really a history buff, but it was neat to see Pres. McKinley's furniture and furniture from the era.  Normally, statues of McKinley and his wife are on display, but they were out for repair.  A large section of the upper floor is dedicated to the Street of Shops, which is a replica of a town from McKinley's time.  It was pretty neat to look in all the shops, though some of them were a little creepy.  There is also a fire pole to slide down (I was not brave enough) and a huge train set to see.  So, we were probably only in the museum for an hour, but we had a pretty good time seeing the exhibits.  It is not as impressive as some of the larger museums in Columbus or Cleveland, but it is worth checking out.

A Day in Zoar

Though I have always lived nearby, I have never spent much time in Zoar.  Zoar Village is a historical area in Tuscarawas County that used to be inhabited by German religious separatists who wanted to have their own community.  I have always been a big fan of Roscoe Village in Coshocton, so I also wanted to visit Zoar because it seemed so similar.

While Roscoe has many shops, Zoar is a little different. It has a busy main street due to through traffic, but otherwise it is a quiet little village.  Many of the places are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.  We first stopped in at the visitor's center and gift shop.  It was small, but we looked around a found a few pamphlets to look at.  Next, we walked up and down the streets, taking pictures of some of the historical buildings.  Zoar offers tours of the building for a fee, but I rarely have an interest in that sort of thing.  We found a little bulk food store but did not go inside.  It looked too much like someone's house to just walk in.

Before leaving the village, we took a peek at the centerpiece of the village - gardens.  They are very pretty and well-maintained.  We took a few pictures from the fence and headed back to our car.  Next was a hike at Zoar Woods.  It is pretty close to town, but down a bumpy little road.  There was a dilapidated picnic shelter and a large pond behind it.  Trails are everywhere and I believe some run in to the Towpath Trail.  We took a quick hike in the woods, took some pictures, and headed back before we got eaten up by mosquitoes.

Soon, it was time for lunch.  There are a few restaurants nearby, such as the Zoar Tavern, but luckily they had the menu posted on the door before we walked inside.  It was a lot of German food and it was expensive.  Not much we could have eaten.  Instead, we drove to Dover and ate at Grinders Above and Beyond.  We know we always like the food there.

So really, it was kindof a disappointing day.  We didn't buy anything or try any new restaurants.  We did get some good pictures of the village that I will post later and we did take a nice hike.  But, at least now I can say I have been there and can cross it off the list.

Cleveland Zoo

I like to go to the zoo as often as I can.  For awhile, I went once a year.  The last time I went was Labor Day weekend 2011 and it was to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.  That year, they had just opened the Elephant Encounter - a huge new multi-million dollar (I think?) exhibit for the zoo's four elephants.

This year, I thought it was time to visit the Columbus Zoo.  The last time I went was probably three years ago and they were undergoing construction at the main gate, which is always annoying when you travel from far away only to arrive at a construction mess.

I love going to Columbus in general, but the zoo isn't in Columbus proper, it is in Powell.  So, I did a little research to see how long the drive would be.  Two hours and forty-five minutes from my house.  Yikes.  And, we I got on the website for the zoo, I got more good news.  There is construction around the zoo that could cause delays.  And, ticket prices are now $15 for each adult plus $8 just to park!  Heck no!  Columbus Zoo may be famous and have Jack Hanna's picture all over everything, but hubby and I have limits.  Time for Plan B - Cleveland Zoo.

Don't get me wrong, Cleveland Zoo is not my second choice of the two zoos.  I probably even prefer Cleveland Zoo.  So, I don't understand why Columbus gets all the praise.  Plus, it is an hour closer to my house.  Tickets are also cheaper.  Prices are now $12.25 for adults and free parking.  And that includes the awesome Rainforest exhibit they have.  Yes friends, I highly recommend the Cleveland Zoo.

We went on a Sunday, so the roads weren't super busy, but the drive was still a nightmare.  I am not a confident driver to begin with, but having to get off on so many exits and the confusing road signs is not fun.  It is not driving straight up Rt 77 like I thought.  So, if you ever head up that direction, please be careful.

Anyway, this summer, the zoo has a new exhibit - Dinosaurs!  We definitely wanted to do that.  An extra $3 a person (Columbus Zoo has the same thing this summer for around the same price).  As it turns out, Dinosaurs visit the zoo every couple of years.  Who knew?  I recommend it.  The dinosaurs are really cool and they move and make noise.

One thing that was disappointing about the zoo this time was that we didn't see any shows.  Sometimes those shows are a time waster but you always get to see cool animals.  Every place where they normally have shows was closed.  It was very weird.

My favorite part of the zoo is the Australia section.  I just love kangaroos and wallabies.  You can't get very close to them like you used to.  My mom took a picture of me a few years ago where a kangaroo was about six feet from me.  Good times.  There is a little train you can take to get you a little closer, but we decided not to do that.  Last time we visited this zoo, it was ninety degrees and even though it was about eighty this time, it was still freaking hot.  Better to stay in the shade or keep moving.  Next was the big hill where there are monkeys and fish and all kinds of cool stuff.  There are three ways to get there - the tram from the welcome plaza, the big road (the long way), or the steps through the woods (the short but difficult way).  We were too far from the welcome plaza, so we took the stairs.  It was quicker, but I was huffing and puffing like you wouldn't believe.  We were so excited just to get to the top of the hill and were so tired that I don't think we really enjoyed the exhibits.

We also enjoyed the cool wolf habitat that is near the Northern Trek (those wolves have a lot of space) and the giraffes.  There was a big crowd around the seals, but by then, we were in desperate need of a slushie.  We checked out the rest of the exhibits on the way back and headed toward home after a long, hot day.