Ohio odysseys: come to the Buckeye State for country sights and city lights

Travel America, May-June, 2005 by Mary Quinley

Murals add spark and color to more than 2,000 square feet of flood walls guarding the Ohio River shoreline in Portsmouth. In Dresden, see the world's largest apple basket and tour the factory of the Longaberger Basket Company, famous for its mail-order baskets. The seven-story company headquarters building in Newark is shaped just like one of its signature picnic baskets, complete with handles.

Hungry for a quirky nostalgic experience? Check out Etta's Lunchbox Cafe & General Store in the rustic community of Starr. Hundreds of lunchboxes, some more than a century old, some fastened to fishing line dangling from the ceiling, don the casual quarters that once served as a rollerskating rink, election house, and movie theater.

NORTHEAST

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the world's only museum dedicated to the history of rock and roll, hugs Cleveland's North Coast harbor. Cleveland boasts a bounty of musical entertainment, from opera, ballet, jazz, and blues to a world-renowned symphony orchestra. University Circle embraces the city's cultural center, featuring museums, galleries, parks, and eateries.

Lake County, a coastal region east of Cleveland, beckons travelers to Ohio's longest beach, the country's largest arboretum (Holden Arboretum near Kirtland), and the home of President James A. Garfield in Mentor.

At Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom in Aurora, there's good news for water and amusement park addicts. The park is dropping admission prices by $10 for the 2005 season. In nearby Akron, visitors flock downtown to 120-foot-high storage silos, former mill buildings of the Quaker Oats Co. headquarters that have been converted into a lodging/dining/shopping complex.

Canton is the site of a library, museum, and memorial to our country's 25th president, William McKinley. (Eight United States presidents were either born or raised in Ohio, more than in any other state.) Other worthwhile Canton highlights include the Pro Football Hall of Fame and atmospheric Canton Palace Theatre. The Hoover Historical Center in North Canton, housed in the boyhood home of the founder of the Hoover Co., showcases vintage vacuum cleaners.

Black buggies dot the rural lanes in and around tourist-friendly Millersburg and neighboring Amish towns in Holmes County. Folks are welcome to dine on hearty country food, spend the night at a bed and breakfast, and shop in the heart of the world's largest Amish community.

SOUTHWEST

Everything from aviation and antiques to museums, and palm-sweating thrill rides is tucked into Ohio's southwest corner.

The Dayton area, home base of flying-machine pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright, serves as the heart of aircraft history. At the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, the accomplishments of three men--the Wright brothers and their childhood friend, Paul Laurence Dunbar, the first recognized African-American writer and poet laureate--are honored.

A short jaunt east of Dayton, on the grounds of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, is the National Museum of the United States Air Force, where visitors tour a Presidential jet, marvel at rare WW II-era planes, and experience the sensation of flying in a fighter jet. The world's largest military aviation museum displays more than 300 aircraft and missiles on 17 acres.