Summer Getaways, Ohio Style
Summer is an orthodontist’s busy season…
Everything needs to be started or ended before school starts. The only thing going out the door faster than braces and Invisalign are school supplies!
And with the parents back in the operatories after Covid, discussions are nonstop on how the summer has been, the great weather, interesting vacations, etc. But the permeating topic has been how fast the summer has gone after the Fourth of July.
Many have lamented the fact that, due to kid’s sports and brutal schedules, a family vacay didn’t happen this summer. Parental guilt, the need to relax, trying to save the summer, etc. has fueled discussions on, “What can we do to get away for a few days and re-bond with the family?”
Summer time is not only good for re-bonding and reconnecting with family members, but internal batteries can be recharged for the new school year and its crazy schedule.
A second-half-of-summer getaway can also be a time of parental counseling and reassurance. Based on my own experience, going into junior high (and later going into high school for the first time) was a scary endeavor and having my mom to lean on was a great help! I have asked many of my transitioning patients over the last few weeks what their thoughts were on moving up to Jr. or Sr. high school; and there was some concern and trepidation, if they were honest.
So getting away is more than just for fun. Dinner chats should softly explore the uncertain feelings of our children’s concerns and reassure them that we are there for them and that they are pretty cool, unique individuals. And that it’s ok to be scared or concerned with change… we’ve all been there.
So with that as an introduction, let me take you on a quick tour of scenic Ohio and some suggestions offered by my parents in the office for getaways less than a tank of gas away. (Mind you, I have visited every one of these over the past 30 years with my family.)
Yes, Vegas, NYC, and Orlando were suggested, but I am a realist and frugal. It is not the location as much as the feasibility and love we share with our family that makes a getaway successful.
We are unique in Northern Ohio. In most parts of the country, if you want to head for an island getaway, you go South. But from Medina, you go Northwest, to the tropical ports of Kellys Island and South Bass Island (or, more commonly called by the port itself, Put-In Bay).
Kellys is quiet and laid back with more natural scenic beauty and glacier grooves.
But recently, it has expanded its restaurants and Bed & Breakfast opportunities and even added a winery. I’ve always enjoyed the Village Pump Restaurant, with amazing perch baskets and Brandy Alexanders by the pitcher.
Dockers and KI Cantina are new arrivals that are sure to please, along with the Kellys Island Wine Company. At the Wine Company, kids will enjoy learning to pitch horseshoes, as I did with friends one afternoon. I have to admit, having never played before, it’s quite relaxing.
Put-In Bay (PIB) is quite different than Kellys, with definitely more adult beverage opportunities.
But if you stay off the square downtown, there is a lot of family fun there as well. My family spent six Fourth of Julys there with grandma and grandpa; and those stories rank right up there with Orlando stories, at a tenth of the cost.
If you go by Millers Ferry, you usually are taking your own vehicle; by Jet Express you will be renting golf carts, but hey, that’s half the fun!
Once on the island, let the kid in you take over and start exploring. The 352-foot Perry’s Peace Monument and accompanying museum is a great place to start. Spend two or three hours running up and down the island’s roads, just taking in the vineyards, airport, quaint shops, and restaurants (all-the-while reminding yourself, you are on an island!).
If you want one of the best seafood lunches this side of Naples Florida, you must try PIB’s creation of the Atlantic Boardwalk, complete with an ornate gridiron entrance and three-story restaurant… you guessed it — The Boardwalk. Not the cheapest shrimp on the planet, but the biggest and tastiest I’ve found! The kids will love the War of 18 holes put-put golf course, one of the most creative in Ohio. And in the same parking lot you can get down, way down, and tour Perry’s cave, along with mining for gems.
If you have left the islands, but you have at least three hours to kill and are sitting in Port Clinton wondering what to do, do I have a Pfister personal favorite!
You must visit Port Clinton’s African Safari Wildlife Park, 100 acres of close-up encounters with more wildlife than you could imagine, seen and fed from your car. (You buy carrots and start driving as every animal… from elk to buffalo to zebra… will try to come through your car or van window to cuddle with you for a snack.) Do not go in a Corvette; and convertibles will give you a new definition of excitement!
My boys’ grandfather nearly died laughing as a buffalo stuck his head in our Sequoia’s driver side window (I was driving) and sneezed all over me and the steering wheel and then got his head stuck as I was driving away! Don’t take a new vehicle! There are outside walk-through exhibits that give you a safer close-up encounter of the real kind. They also have actual camel rides with authentic Moroccan saddles. My boys still talk about that ride! This place is a very interesting destination that truly defies description and is a must for animal lovers.
Are you ready to leave? Where to now?
If you want to keep the animal theme going, my parents took me several times to the Toledo Zoo and Aquarium just 52 minutes further northwest. As Ohio zoos go, I call it a pocket zoo at 51 acres, which makes it bigger than the Akron zoo by one acre! But both of these smaller zoos still house three to ten thousand animals respectfully and can be enjoyed at a leisure pace in one afternoon. I’m sorry, but size isn’t everything. Relaxing and chatting with family (while hydrating, enjoying a pizza, watching lions, and not feeling rushed) ain’t so bad. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Cleveland zoo, but wear comfortable shoes and keep moving, because 183 acres is bigger than you think.
While we are on zoos, the Columbus zoo, with 580 acres and 11,000 animals, is a two-to-three-day safari for most families!
Back from extinction is the Columbus zoo’s dinosaur encounter ride that transports riders 65 million years back to a Jurassic park re-creation, complete with 17 animatronic dinosaurs in actual size, situations, and not-so-gentle of disposition!
Done with the Northwest? Let’s head East on 90 or the Ohio Turnpike until we hit I-71.
We have a decision to make - North to Cleveland or South to Columbus. Let’s pick low hanging fruit that is closest, turn left, and head for Cleveland.
I need to make this brief so as not to totally lose my readers. Downtown Cleveland has a lot to offer with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Science Center, the USS COD Submarine Memorial, and 618-foot restored steam freighter, William G. Mather. The COD and Mather are secrets that really need to be toured to be appreciated. Yes, boys do enjoy these two more than the ladies.
The Cleveland Air Show is coming Labor Day weekend, and a tour of the COD can be combined (since you can park in the same parking lot for both). East of Downtown are my old stomping grounds during grad school, the Wade Oval, with art, history, and automobile museums that rank among the finest in the world. That is no lie, our Cleveland Art Museum ranks right up with the Metropolitan Museum in NYC, and the Louvre in Paris.
Once finishing your museum tour, dinner in Little Italy is only four minutes away and truly not to be missed; but please make reservations at least a week in advance. Maxi’s, La Dolce Vita, and Trattoria on the Hill are top choices for authentic sauce and vino. I truly can’t tell which one I like best.
Let’s get back on I-71 and head South…
Getting off at the Wooster exit, one can head down 83 to Millersburg and Amish country. I don’t believe there is an area in Ohio that has changed more (while trying not to change) in its undergoing of modernization and tourist-friendly amenities, to provide everything from hot tubs in wineries to 300-thousand-dollar treehouses for rent.
My father always said, a basket of apples, chunk of lacey Swiss cheese, hunk of trail bologna, sitting on a blanket, watching a horse plow a field… that was Amish country! Yes, it has changed, but the flavor is still there if you get off the beaten path. Buttered noodles and fried chicken with deep dish apple pie still can’t be beat in my book for a culinary good time. And if you just look a bit, a good time and relaxation can still be found down on the farm.
The Ohio State Fair runs July 27th through August 7th. It is the Godfather of Ohio fairs and one of the largest in America. Entertainment on stage this year runs from Willie Nelson to Foreigner to Ice Cube (and many smaller bands too numerous to mention). While in Columbus, you can shop and stay at Polaris or Easton Centre, and COSI Center of Science and Industry has been a mainstay of family vacations to Columbus for decades. It truly has something for everyone.
Our final destination, as we head down I-71, is Kings Island, home to death-defying speedsters in the form of roller-coasters, with names like the Beast, Banshee, Flight of Fear, and the list goes on. According to Wikipedia, in 1979, the 7,361-foot roller coaster known as the Beast was the tallest, fastest, and longest wooden roller coaster in the world. Times have changed, but the last time I rode it, I felt a strange attachment to the past, like the Blue Streak at Cedar Point. If you get a chance, give Kings Island a shot. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. And do it soon, with the old coasters being replaced by tubular metal versions. Like riding in a 1968 Corvette, it will take you back to a simpler time. Those experiences are getting fewer and further between.
So there are a few suggestions on how to extend the summer just a bit longer and enjoy time with the kids before school kicks into gear!
I didn’t go as far South as Cincinnati. You won’t believe this, but I have never been there. I hear it’s great with a lot to do and it’s on my bucket list. Yes, I have fond memories from Orlando, but any of the above suggestions will also make great memories that will last a lifetime and not take till next summer to pay off. So hurry up, get on the phone, make a few reservations, surprise the kids over dinner, and possibly shock your spouse.
Bless all of you and may the remainder of your summer be meaningful!
Cheers to making memories,
Dr. Pfister