Round on Both Ends

What's round on both ends and high in the middle? Ohio, of course! Ohio has become our favorite little getaway place over the past eight years. While many people head for Lancaster, PA or upstate New York or even New England at this time of year, Mike and I can be found sneaking off to eastern Ohio, a mere two hour drive.

We pass on the bed and breakfast spots, opting for the local Hampton Inn (our favorite), with it's inviting hot breakfasts and indoor pool and whirlpool. We rely heavily on the literature stocked in the hotel lobby and plan our course based on one of the local maps. With almost guilty pleasure, we traipse around the Amish countryside, putzing along behind horse drawn buggies and young'uns on bicycles, oblivious to the mileage we're racking up (I think we did an almost sixty mile loop yesterday). We love exploring places such as Roscoe Village and New Philadelphia and discovering little gems of restaurants tucked away off the beaten path. When in doubt, I agree with Rachel Ray: ask the locals!

I think what keeps me coming back here are the town scenes, with their white-sided houses neatly lined up behind sidewalks, shops you can walk to and folks out on the front porches being neighborly and all. Mike on the other hand always has his eyes open for good fishing spots (and good restaurants)! Between the two of us, we manage to get our money's worth out of a few days in a simple place. Our visits usually coincide with our anniversary and my birthday and so are an extra gift we give ourselves.