Nice easy hike to get here, but it's busy. On weekends and warmer months expect there to be a lot…read moreof people/cars. It's a good hike and young kids can do it too.

Upper falls is one of the first thing you see on the Old Man cave trail .. This trail is one of the…read morevery popular trails and should be the first you start at. especially on a weekend and in the fall the parking lot gets full. If you have a truck or all wheel drive you can park on the side of the road or up on hills. you can go down some stairs to get better view and pose for some pics. Hocking hills in gorgeous and cell service is hit or miss. So if you are counting on service to guide your or meet up with friends ... have a back up plan. taking water and snacks .. is a must. we didnt use sunglasses as the walk is shaded by trees.

The Gates of Hell in north Columbus is one of those eerie local spots that sticks with you. It's an…read moreold, graffiti-covered tunnel that feels straight out of an urban legend--dark, damp, and definitely creepy once you step inside. The echo of footsteps, the dripping water, and the way the light disappears the deeper you go all add to the unsettling vibe. It's not an official attraction, more of a hidden curiosity, but if you're into spooky local history and a little adventure, it's worth checking out. Just be prepared--it definitely earns its name. I was there alone and I got a sketchy vibe from it. Nothing happened, of course, but you always want to be aware of your surroundings. Maybe pick up a rock incase someone there has ill intent.

This is smack dab in the middle of unhoused encampment. Because this is sort of a see at your own…read morerisk it is unkempt. I'm not sure if the storm over the weekend made it worse but we could figure out how to get around the water or if there was a less dangerous way of seeing it.

I highly recommend CSA shares to anyone who wants to eat more local foods, learn more about how…read moretheir foods are grown, and try a greater variety of produce. (What is a CSA? Visit www.localharvest.org/csa). I found Bird's Haven Farms through localharvest.org, a website that allows you to search for local farmers, markets, and CSAs. From the very first day I picked up my share from Bird's Haven Farms, I was in love. This year, I signed up for the 2012 CSA subscription the day the email hit my inbox. What's great about Bird's Haven? First off, I can pick up at the Westerville Farmers' Market, a smaller weeknight market where I don't have to fight the Saturday crowds at Worthington or Clintonville. Second, the cost is very reasonable considering the amazing quantity of vegetables that we receive over the season. I took pictures every week last summer so I could truly assess how much we got. It was 22 weeks of insane bounty! Third, the extras were just phenomenal. The first week we went to pick up, we got a hanging basket of flowers. Other weeks, we'd occasionally get strawberries or fresh-picked flowers or some other addition to our vegetables that made the day special. Fourth, and this is the best part, they don't pre-box the CSA. They post a list of what's included that week and how many you can take, and you get to pick from big boxes of produce. That means that if you're first to get to the market that day, you get your pick of the harvest. If you're a big family, you can pick out the baseball-bat sized zucchini. If you're not cooking tonight, you can pick out the tomatoes that need a day to ripen so they'll be perfect for tomorrow's dinner. You get to pick what works for you. And finally, I love Bird's Haven for their service. Each week, CSA subscribers receive a recipe for in-season vegetables and a little update on the farm. When I went on vacation, they held back my CSA for a week and let me get double the next week (not all farmers are so understanding). And they're always really friendly!

My husband and I are always looking for short trips out of Columbus on our motorcycle and U-Pick…read morestrawberries at Bird's Haven Farm was today's trip. It is an easy 40 minute ride from Columbus and the second half of the trip was beautiful, rural & idyllic. The small farm is just past the edge of the paved road and is very easy to find. When we got there we were greeted with a smile and a basket for our ripe red gems. The strawberries were early this year, so even though we got to the farm an hour before they closed there were still ripe fruits on the plants. Early in the picking I wanted to make sure it was worth the effort and sampled a strawberry- it was small, but perfectly sweet, ripe and had the most beautiful flavor. It was worth it. They have beautiful plants and fresh veggies you can buy there too and since we missed the farmer's market this morning it was perfect. Their plants were healthy and loved and I can't wait to plant my sage and rosemary. They do take credit cards for those of us who never cary cash. They do recommend calling ahead to make sure the fields have ripe fruit. Make sure you also wear appropriate footwear. They use a black plastic landscape mulching system to cut down on weeds, but the isles are pretty weedy and can get muddy if it has rained. The fields are new this year, so the seasons to come will just be that much better. I can't wait. The Bird family has a wonderful thing going here.

This beautiful labyrinth is located in a peaceful garden in the Lane Avenue section of Chadwick…read moreArboretum. If you enter through the trellis and head to the right, you'll find a cozy, shady area featuring the labyrinth and surrounded by benches. The labyrinth itself has its roots in an 800 year old French medieval one, the Chartres Cathedral Labyrinth. It's so peaceful and relaxing to walk it, and the setting really adds to it. Despite the fact that it is technically between a busy street and a parking lot, the trees and plants obscure these views and give it a great atmosphere. The arboretum designed it as a white blooming garden to minimize distractions and encourage feelings of restfulness and restoration. If you are unfamiliar with a labyrinth, it is a one way path designed for contemplation. You follow the prescribed path to the center and then follow it back out. If you often find your mind wandering during meditation when sitting still, you might find the labyrinth helpful, since you can focus on your breathing and the steps ahead of you to help you achieve the meditative state. I love a good labyrinth walk and enjoy that we have this one. There is a nearby parking lot, though it's campus parking, or you can find parking meters on Fyffe near Howlett Hall and the Learning Gardens section of the arboretum.

I can't believe as many times as I have visited my family nearby this was my first time viewing the…read moreflood wall murals in Portsmouth, Ohio. The 2,000 foot flood wall contains murals sketched by artist depicting the history of Portsmouth. I learned so much on my walk. Such as the nations oldest cycling club was established here in 1893. Steel production started in the area in 1870 and lasted until 1980. Portsmouth had both a major league baseball team and an NFL team. The Spartans were admitted to the NFL in 1930. And the franchise moved to Detroit and became the Lions in 1934. Who knew? Not me lol! If you are in the area I highly recommend taking a step back in time by strolling down Front steet and checking out thse historic murals.

Very nice looking mural/ flood wall in center of town!! I wish I had time to check put all of itread more

Why no trash cans, I bought 50 billion water bottles and I could not throw the water bottles AWAY…read more Also my 21 kids could not fit in the museum

This is a really neat garden that is located just out front of COSI. It features multiple dinosaur…read morefossil sculptures made from metal designed by Dan McCauley. Fossils include several well-known fan favorite species like a triceratops, stegosaurus, a T-rex, and more! Signage is located around the area, which has also been well decorated with plants, rocks, and the like to really feel fitting for the dinos. This is a really fun little sculpture garden!

The title of this mural in Lancaster, Ohio, is apt: It really is a black and white diamond…read morepsychedelic mural. I can't think of a better name, unless that name is "groovy black-and-white painted lines that form a diamond." But I'm not in the business of naming murals, and no one consulted me to name this mural when it was created by artist Liviu Poleuca in 2017, so that's not the name of this mural. If you're walking down Main Street in Lancaster, you can't miss this bit of public art. It's located on the south side of a big wall facing an alley (a building that houses the Fairfield County Democratic Party), but viewable from the sidewalk. I had one of my children pose by this mural so I could take a photo of them in front of it, and I'm glad I did because the photo is really cool. This is a good mural to take selfies in front of.

A small community with a festival named after the High School football team. The somewhat small…read morevillage park is taken over by all things Viking for a weekend. Lots of craft and souvenir vendors. A few interactive venues and rides. Comedians, performers, historical commentary, and many, many workers and visitor getting their Viking spirit on in period finery. And a number of various food vendors to entice us! It's a free admission, but, they ask for a canned food donation for the food pantry. It's a small town event. Fun, cheerful, small enough to see and participate at most any age without exhaustion.

We stayed here All. Day. That says something…read more It's a small to medium size festival, in a small town. I'd heard of it but never gone. Baby K for some reason liked watching a Viking group do mock fights at the Ohio History Center last year, so we made a point to come. She loved it, I liked it, we met friends and family for part of the time, and ended up being here from 1030am-6pm, and they opened at 10am. Mock fights here, too, and you can (pay to) do it yourself as well, with rubber weapons (at least for kids.) There are jousts, other battles in armor, and more. Wandering reenactors plus guests dressed in period clothes. Vendors of old-style gear and art. Food trucks and a dining hall. Bubbles and crafts and games for kids. Dogs everywhere. Magicians, sword swallowers, troubadours. A full schedule of entertainers on half a dozen stages. Held in a nice park, beside a school that has a decent playground. A little parking onsite, most in the surrounding streets; we found some without much trouble. The dining hall food was cheap and decent. Turkey legs, plus pretty standard fair/fundraiser food. More interesting fare at food trucks, including bbq, bourbon chicken, sandwiches, and more. An ice cream truck doing brisk business. A root beer/ginger ale stand. They ask for canned (or boxed) food donations in lieu of admission, at a tent near the middle. There you can get a map and schedule. Park is pretty open so you can wander in anywhere though. Definitely going next year.

Richard Outcault was an American cartoonist who is best known for creating The Yellow Kid and…read moreBuster Brown series, and he was a technical illustrator for Thomas Edison. But he was mostly known for his comic drawings, and is known as the father of the comic strip. He was also a resident of Lancaster, Ohio! The town created a mural of Outcault, which faces Wheeling Street but is technically located on Broad Street. It faces the south side of the building, on an overhang. According to a website that knows much more about Outcault than I do: In 2022, the Society of Professional Journalists and E.W. Scripps School of Journalism recognized Lancaster, Ohio, as an Ohio Historic Site in Journalism for being the birthplace of Richard Outcault. That's really neat!