What to do in Ohio?

[Kristoffer O]

Hi,

Illwinter is attending Origins. We will meet with other shrapnel folks and developers and have a good time.

So far so good. But what to do after that. We will stay in the states for a week after the convention and we will probably be stuck in the vicinity of Columbus (we will probably rent a car to move around a bit).

So: what is there to do in Ohio?

[Nerfix]

Columbus Museum of Art and Columbus Zoo...

[Endoperez]

double post

[Endoperez]

Well, you could always look around for Bigfoot, Sasquatch, etc. "New World" would make an interesting theme of Pangaea. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Shmonk]

The Center of Science and Industry (COSI) is supposed to be interesting (haven't been there myself, but have family around there who have mentioned it).

[Ygorl]

Columbus is, among other things, a big college town. This means there is a lot of music, a lot of bars, a lot of restaurants... The area near the university should be swimming with such things, if you're interested.
I've never spent time there, only heard about it from a friend, so I don't have any specific recommendations, but this is at least an idea...

[PashaDawg]

I went to college near Cleveland and loved it. But, I was a student and did not venture away from the school often. However, Cleveland has an excellent symphony.

[Alneyan]

Well, Ohio is a very creative state, so you should just keep on working on Dom 3. Don't be a slacker, and stop complaining about those 24 hours shifts. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Nay, no suggestions here (not surprisingly, considering that I have never been anywhere near Ohio).

[RibbonBlue]

Yes, work on Dom3. That is the best thing to do in Ohio.

[Xendarq]

If you like roller coasters, try going to Cedar Point.

[Mindi]

Franklin Park Conservatory- If you like to see exotic plants and really just a beautiful botanical garden, this is the place to go. Right now through September 5th, they have their Blooms and Butterflies exhibit going on. One room has a ton of different types of butterflies flying around. We just went this past weekend and I can't wait to see how my pictures turned out. They also show the different stages of the coccoons and such. They have the Chapungu exhibit going on now as well, which is African stories in stone, very cool but will be gone after July 4th so you may miss it. They have a permanent Chihuly Glass exhibit now at the Conservatory. If you like to see hand blown glass sculptures, these pieces are truly beautiful and one of a kind. Artist Dale Chihuly drew record numbers to the conservatory last year. Can you tell we are members of the Conservatory? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif
http://www.fpconservatory.org/

Columbus Zoo-One of the best zoos in the country, period.
http://www.colszoo.org/

Center of Science and Industry (COSI)- A great place if you are into science and technology. This summer they have a Titanic exhibit going on that is supposed to be like you are actually on the ship as a passenger. They are closed on Monday's and Tuesday's so make sure if you are interested you check out all of the information on the website. They have everything from Nasa and space exploration through the years to a science park where you can lift a car using scientific principles.
http://www.cosi.org/index.asp

Cedar Point-If you are into rollercoasters this is the place to be in Ohio. This amusement park is consistently rated in the top 5 for amusement parks/rollercoasters in the U.S. It's about 2 1/2 hours north of Columbus, but it's well worth it if you are like rollercoasters!
http://www.cedarpoint.com/

Red, White & Boom-Okay, all of us need to make sure we are out of the convention center on Friday night to see Red, White & Boom. It's our July 4th celebration in Columbus down on the waterfront. It's the premiere fireworks display in the midwest. There will be plenty of festival type stuff going on in the area as well. And trust me, there will be a sea of people there waiting for the fireworks show to start. It's also the 25th anniversary of Red, White & Boom, so I imagine it will be extra spectacular.
http://www.nbc4i.com/redwhiteandboom/index.html
http://www.nbc4i.com/redwhiteandboom/4246910/detail.html

Oh and you can always find out more things to do by going to Discover Ohio: http://www.discoverohio.com/home.asp or Experience Columbus: http://www.experiencecolumbus.com/

[Ironhawk]

You might consider going to Cleveland, even without a car? I'm sure there must be a bus route or somesuch from Columbus to there. Its a decent city at any rate and it is right on one of the Great Lakes... Lake Erie, I believe? Worth seeing.

If you don't get to the States often tho, and you have the time, I do suggest that you rent a car and go to Niagra Falls. It's probably about the most interesting natural feature in that area. Mapquest says its about a day's drive from Columbus to Niagra Falls. You could even split that up by driving to Cleveland, spending some time there and then continuing on to Niagra?

[st.patrik]

Mindi had lots of good suggestions. The conservatory is fun, as is the Zoo (Manatees!).

Aside from those suggestions, I would just hang around the various bars and restaurants in German Village and the Short North. Touring Ohio State's campus can be interesting, if you like that kind of thing.

Of course, right now living in Columbus the main thing I want to do is crawl inside my fridge and stay there until September... [the humidity sucks]


*edit* If you want to do something in the great outdoors, you could visit the Hocking Hills region, near Lancaster (where Mindi hails from, one would suppose). It's a little more topographically varied than around Columbus (i.e. not a plain as far as the eye can see).

[Mindi]

Yes, Lancaster is where we currently live and where I grew up. Some great outdoor things in the area to do could be:

Old Man's Cave http://www.oldmanscave.com/
Flint Ridge http://www.ohiohistory.org/places/flint/
Tecumseh Outdoor Drama http://www.tecumsehdrama.com/
Blackhand Gorge http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/dnap/location/blackhand_gorge.htm

[ceremony]

Ironhawk said:
You might consider going to Cleveland, even without a car? I'm sure there must be a bus route or somesuch from Columbus to there.


Cleveland is at least 120 miles from Columbus - even if there were a bus route, I wouldn't recommend it. Renting a car for a weekend is $50 or less - I would make the two hour drive.

Of the things in Columbus the haven't been mentioned, there is the opportunity to see the Columbus Crew professional soccer team. Crew Stadium is very nice, and if you are soccer fans you may enjoy it. Quality of play is equivalent to probably Swedish second division, but the facilities are better.

[Scott Hebert]

Heh. I lived in Columbus, and to give my own advice:

1) The Columbus Zoo is not all that. Someone in this thread said it was 'one of the best in the country'. I certainly hope it's not, because it's not all that good, IMO.

2) COSI, when I went there, was extremely interesting. I was, however, in third grade, and I don't know how many 'adult-oriented' activities they have there.

3) OSU is a rather normal (albeit large) university. You won't really get proper exposure to the 'feel' of it, though, during summer quarter.

4) On a church front, may I suggest that you may want to see the beautiful orthodox cathedral on High St. literally about 2 blocks from the Convention Center? Quite nice, all told. You may also want to check out St.Patrick's, a Catholic church directly east of the Convention Center. Rather small, but probably the most traditional church I know of, offhand.

5) Branching out a bit, I saw the Tecumseh drama, and wasn't all that thrilled by it. If you want to see Native American stuff, the Great Serpent Mound is quite interesting. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

6) When I lived around Dayton (an entirely different time period from when I lived in Columbus), I enjoyed hiking in the Greater and Lesser Miami river valleys. You might want to consider that. Very restful.

[st.patrik]

cosi is definitely more oriented towards kids than adults

[Tominator2]

I live in Columbus. If you want lunch, stand with your back to the Convention Center, cross High St. and walk for half a block. Behind the buildings you'll find http://www.northmarket.com/, which is a nice place to grab some food. If you want some place to go after the con the North Market is near the Arena District and German Village, which are both nice. I'll stop by during the con (how do I sign up to work the booth?) and give more concrete directions. It'll be a shame to drink y'all under the table, but I guess it has to be done.

Tom

[paplan]

Well, clearly the best thing for you to do in Ohio is to work on Dom3.

But, if you get bored with that, here are 2 ideas.

1) The rock and roll hall of fame is in Cleveland. Its pretty cool. Easy to spend 3-5 hours there. I wouldn't recommend much more or less.

2) Kent State University is about 3 hrs away. They have a small museum/reading room based on the Kent State killings. Four KSU students were killed by Us National Guard soldiers during a war protest. The museum really "puts you there". The killings were memorialized in a Neil Young song "Ohio".

[Ryukenden]

Beat up people smaller than you, which is always fun.

Seriously, I have no idea that hasn't been mentioned in this thread that is legal. Don't work on Dominions 3 unless you have nothing better to do, because you should be having a vacation and not a work-away-from-work session.

Have fun in Ohio.

[Scott Hebert]

While I must say North Market is okay... I am somehow disturbed by its... I don't know... it just seems to come across as crass, somehow.

If you're interested in somewhat more exotic cuisine, there are several good Japanese restaurants in Columbus. One is right by the Convention Center, but it is rather heavily commercialized. Better IMO are Otani and Midori. PM me if you want directions. Otani is much easier to get to than Midori.

[november]

Baseball! The Indians are in Cleveland, the Reds in Cincinnati, and the New York Yankees top minor league team is in Columbus.

The best art museum in Ohio is in Cleveland.