June 2006 Issue
Buckeye Beauty
We Ohioans will be the first to agree that our state is a natural wonder of varying seasons, stunning landscapes and pristine flora and fauna. Starting this month, "Ohio's Natural Landscapes: A Photographic Journey of the Buckeye State" offers evidence this isn't merely local sentiment. "We wanted to promote the natural wonders of Ohio," says exhibit director David FitzSimmons, owner of FitzSimmons Photography in Bellville. When nature photography is the subject, many people tend to think of work that c... Fast Tracks
Darkness begins to fall over Eldora Speedway in Rossburg. Huge stadium lights flicker on, flooding the half-mile clay oval track in Darke County and illuminating the way for the evening's sprint cars. From high atop the bleachers, fans watch the pit area inside the track begin to glow. It looks like a small city viewed from a hillside, as the lighted trailers that brought the race cars to the track open their back doors to free their screaming machines. Eldora Speedway can seat 24,000 people, representi... Flower Children
It is entirely appropriate that your nose is the first thing to enter this pleasant suburban home in northern Portage County. Following it leads to an atmosphere of pure fragrance. It's not perfume; it's not food. It certainly isn't a plug-in air-freshener. Welcome to DayBreak Lavender Farm, the love child of Jody Byrne and husband, Michael Slyker. The aromas - it would be an insult to call this an odor - rise from the basement heart of this cottage industry, where the couple and their employees design,... Getting Hitched in Hocking Hills
Mary Boksan of Hilliard, Ohio, knew where she would get married almost an entire year before she knew whom she would marry. While surfing the Internet, she came across A Georgian Manner, a romantic southern-style mansion located on the shores of Lake Logan in the Hocking Hills. Later, when Boksan became engaged to Benjamin Cooley, the couple traveled to the Hocking Hills to see the mansion firsthand. "We went down in the fall when the leaves were turning," she says. "It was so beautiful, and we both kne... Indiana: Hitting the Hoosier Hot Spots
How many reasons are there to visit Indiana? At least 500 or so. Indiana is a state of plains, trains and automobiles. Besides the famed Indy 500, there's a world-class children's museum in Indianapolis - the state's No. 1 tourist attraction not counting that little motor jaunt around an oval track - a nifty set of ski slopes in Lawrenceburg, and a world-class amusement park in the town of Santa Claus (yes, there is such a burg). Also among Indiana's top tourist attractions are the riverboat casinos tha... One Last Chance
Stoli, a month-old draft horse mix, offers a welcoming whinny from her tiny stall as the trailer transporting 11 other foals pulls into the Last Chance Corral in Athens on a sunny April afternoon. Although very young, she's at least two weeks older than most of the arrivals. She seems the picture of health with her strong build and bright eyes, but she's still recovering from a recent battle with blood poisoning. Like all the horses and foals that arrive at Last Chance Corral, she's been given a second ... Seeing Purple
When the Purple People Bridge Climb opens this month on the Ohio River, theme park veteran Dennis Speigel will truly have gone "over the top." "It's going to be a very entertaining, exciting kind of tourist attraction, the first one of its kind in the Northern Hemisphere," boasts the energetic Speigel of his unusual venture. Speigel and his company, International Theme Park Services, are using an existing landmark - the Purple People Bridge linking the Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati to Kentucky'... The Force is With You
It's been nearly 30 years since moviegoers slouched down in the dark and discovered what it meant to jump into hyperspace and enter "a galaxy far, far away." And since that first "Star Wars" movie in 1977, dozens of questions have lingered through the decades: How did Luke Skywalker keep his claptrap Landspeeder idling inches off the ground, thumbing its blunt little nose at gravity? Who made R2-D2 out of a garbage can, and how did C-3PO speak every language known to alien and android? Where did Darth V... Western Pennsylvania/Western New York: All-Star Lineup
Throughout the winter, Ohioans rush to western New York's Holiday Valley to hit the slopes. And western Pennsylvania is always a prime destination for football fans come fall, regardless of your feelings about the team that calls Pittsburgh home. Fortunately, the fun doesn't stop after the snow melts and time runs out on another football season. Ohio's neighbors to the east also know how to do summer, and the '06 version is filled with festivals, fabulous food and America's favorite pastime. Star-studde... |
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