Whistles, Popcorn & Ice Cream

During the summer, finding things to do during the week can sometimes be tricky. The weekends are much easier with festivals, fairs and interesting events. After the normal places like parks, museums and libraries have been exhausted, what is left? Well, Ohio has many amazing businesses with interesting stories and accolades. Some of these businesses offer factory tours or history tours with delicious treats or cool souvenirs at the end.

Last year my nephew and I enjoyed the Anthony Thomas Factory tour. It was quick, informative and cheap. We were given a free chocolate Buckeye at the end and the modestly priced tickets doubled as vouchers that could be applied toward goodies to take home. Of course we took full advantage.

This year my goal was to make this summer with my nephew mostly about new experiences. So the last two weeks we started our adventures touring a few Ohio businesses that we had not before. The thing is, of three businesses visited, we only got one real tour. Here is the breakdown of our experiences.

The American Whistle Corporation

I can't say that this is the most exciting tour unless you have some kind of affinity for whistles but this is an important company not just to Ohio but to the United States. The company is the ONLY company in the United States that produces metal whistles. The competition is all overseas. They create whistles for the Columbus Police department, and bigger police departments like NYPD. They are even responsible for the whistles used in the Super Bowl. 

For $4 you are walked through the process of creating a whistle. The tour guide takes you from machine to machine, explaining how the machine works and holding up the product for each part of the process. If it's hot outside, expect it to be pretty hot in the factory as well. They also have a rule of no photography in the factory. At the end of the tour you are given a company whistle. At the giftshop you can buy accessories like lanyards or the gold whistle like the ones Super Bowl officials and referees receive as gifts.

Al's Delicious Popcorn 

Founded by a man named Al who has since passed away. Family friends took over the brand and have been running the business and developing new flavors ever since. 

At Al's, the tour is more like watching a video, then tasting a bunch of their 60+
popcorn flavors. You don't get to go behind the scenes; they show you the process and go over some of the company history through the video. We stopped being terribly disappointed after we started tasting popcorn. The guide selected several flavors for the group to taste and then allowed us to pick extra flavors to try. There didn't seem to be a cut off. We probably could have tasted everything if we wanted to. Flavors we tasted included, Bubble Gum, Root beer, Jellybean, Pizza, Mango and Columbus Mix (a mix of vanilla butternut and white cheddar). They offer small $1.25 and $1.50 bags if you want to continue your tasting at home. Which we did. Our favorites were kosher dill and butter pecan.

Graeter's Ice Cream 

The Graeter's have been making ice cream
 since 1868. The fourth generation is still very much involved in the business. They pride themselves with producing the ice cream as they did in the beginning, in a French pot. This process produces a denser ice cream whereas newer ways to produce ice cream allows more air in the cream.

If you have the 15 person minimum that gets you a personal tour guide, this guided tour is probably worth checking out. Otherwise, going to this location when you have a Graeter's up the street from you is kind of a waste in my opinion. The production has been shipped off to Cincinnati so the tour doesn't include getting to see anything being produced. It is just a hallway where a video can be viewed, you can read historical facts, view production photos and get a close up of old equipment. It's kind of cool if you are in the area but I can't say it's destination worthy. My nephew and I stopped in after our tour at Al's Delicious Popcorn. I would recommend visiting them both while in the area. Who can't appreciate popcorn and ice cream in the same day?

If you are interested in these tours and need more information, clink on the business name links.

Until next time,
Be blessed! Be free! Be adventurous!
Kris, 

The Cure To Boredom Part III / Exploring My City II

Exploring My City Part II

by Kristin 

The gallery in the Columbus Metropolitan Library

More than a few weeks ago, I posted about my adventures here in Columbus with my nephew. I was put in charge of entertaining and educating my nephew for two days each week while he is on summer break. Since the last post we have checked out a many places and learned many new things. Like a teacher, I created a lesson plan which included a list of places for me and my nephew/student to visit and the days in which we would visit them. After much research this list included the Anthony Thomas Factory, the North Market, the Columbus Metropolitan Library, and some of the traditional places like COSI and the Ohio History Center and Ohio Village. Today I will only cover a few places we visited. These are the places I found to be less covered in all of the sources I found on entertaining kids in the Columbus or entertainment for tourists in general. The sources listed places and ideas but 
sometimes I still had to come up with a way to make things a little more interesting and fun. Check out our latest adventures!



Columbus Metropolitan Library

Well, I know what you are thinking. Educational? Yes! Entertaining? Could be. There are books there and reading for children and adults is a great thing.  It's a library, why is that so special in terms of tourism? Well, it is within the largest 100 libraries in the country, it is a beautiful representation of Greek architecture and they have a beautiful small art gallery upstairs.  All my years of checking out books there and eating muffins from the little café cart, I never knew about the upstairs gallery until this past month. My nephew and I renewed our library cards, checked out a few books then spent some time looking at art in the gallery. The gallery featured some interesting pieces made from glass, book pages and fabric. To make a day of it, we got lunch up the street at Hills Market and ate our lunch behind the library at Topiary Park. 

 

Anthony Thomas Factory

I really loved the chocolate factory tour! The tickets were two dollars for adults and a dollar for my eleven year old nephew. We were given vouchers with those values to use toward a purchase at the end of the tour. There was no photography allowed in the factory because they produce chocolate for well known companies who outsource their work. While we were there, we saw them making Christmas candy for one of the names most of us have known since childhood. Here is a hint, rhymes with sticks! So when you see egg shaped Santa Clause chocolates filled with cookie and caramel this coming December, it was probably made at Anthony Thomas's Factory using the outsourced company's recipe. We walked through a glass catwalk over the workers where we could see everything being produced. The workers who weren't on high demand assembly lines waved and smiled at us as we passed. At the end of our tour we were given a free buckeye chocolate. Then most people strolled through the store to find a way to use their vouchers. No surprise, we were among them. Leaving the place twenty dollars lighter, we were excited about our chocolaty souvenirs.

The North Market

I recently introduced my nephew to the North Market. I grew up visiting the place. It is the place most people go when they can't find an ingredient they need for a recipe anywhere else. In fact it was the place I went to buy a special kind of goat cheese for my French cheese cake I made for a project for French class. I t was also the first place I tasted Jeni's ice cream. It is a great place to meet friends for breakfast, lunch or early dinner. Believe it or not it is also a great place to take kids. It can be a great cultural experience for a child with so many different foods from different countries. Most vendors offer samples.  Often there are large areas dedicated to sampling what the vendors sell. My nephew had a great time sampling salsas, sauces, popcorn and ice cream. Sounds like a stomach ache waiting to happen but it is a good time. After walking around the whole place, we settled on some Polish cuisine for lunch. That was something new for both of us. It was a gamble with us both trying something new but we really enjoyed the meal.

My summer with my favorite little guy is coming to an end. I have two weeks left with him before he goes back to school. Every week I looked forward to a new adventure with him and sometimes it felt like we jumped on a plane and went away for the day. There is so much to do and learn in the city we live in. While I love leaving to explore unknown territory elsewhere, I was surprised to get the same high and satisfaction from participating in activities in our own backyard. This was especially true when the destination or activity was just as new to me as it was to my nephew. There is so much to share and so little time so I will post my favorite places that I haven't covered soon. 

Until next time,
Be Blessed! Be free! Be Adventurous!

The Cure To Boredom Part III/ Exploring My City

Exploring My City

by Kristin

Franklin Park Conservatory Butterfly Garden

I was in New York last September for Fashion Week. My partner, Christina and I were showing a portion of our Spring 2014 Global Gal Collection at an accessory showcase in the city. After the show we went to a late night diner to grab some food with a friend of Christina's who lived in New York. Christina and I were both excited about being back in the city. We were also there together for the very first time. We were discussing the things we wanted to see and do since we were finished with our work. We talked about taking a boat tour that went by Lady Liberty or getting on one of the sightseeing tour buses. We invited Christina's friend to hang out with us and he replied, ''New Yorkers don't do things like that." Christina asked him why and he replied, "We just don't", and shrugged his shoulders. Well I wondered myself why one wouldn't explore a city like that even if they had lived there forever. New York has so much to see and do.That got me thinking about my own city. While I am all over the food scene and have done a few touristy things, I realized I had not been to the State House, the Santa Maria or gone to Columbus Clippers or Columbus Crew game.  Being a crafty person, I  wondered about the Ohio Craft Museum. I love a good ghost story, so I was  interested in visiting Central Ohio Fire Museum. I ride past both of these museums often. I decided it was time for me to take some time to explore the city that I live in.  I was going to stop riding past these places  and actually go inside.  I started exploring some of the places on my hometown list this month with my eleven year old nephew. Welcome to the beginning of our Columbus adventure.

Franklin Park Conservatory & Botanical Gardens

The best thing that could have happened to me this summer was being given the job of entertaining and educating my nephew. I jumped at the opportunity because I love to explore and learn new things. I love spending time with my nephew! I also had plans to take a few days to check out some places in the city on my own but now I would have company. We started our city exploration a couple weeks ago with Franklin Park Conservatory. Though I had been there many times for cocktail parties, I had not had the opportunity to visit the place as a tourist. It was even better exploring it with a young man and seeing things through his eyes. I was more excited because he was excited. I held my first butterfly and found myself more in tune with nature. 

Franklin Park is the perfect combination of natural and man made art. There are plenty of photo opportunities. We took many photos of butterflies, plant life, Chihuly pieces and the Tasha Lewis's Traveling Butterfly Swarm. Our favorite exhibit was the Blooms and Butterflies. We got to release new butterflies into the room and spent time holding them. We also really enjoyed the food at the cafe. It is made with fresh ingredients grown on the grounds when ever possible. I couldn't keep my nephew off my sandwich and it contained no meat. 

Franklin Park Conservatory

Franklin Park Conservatory Blooms and Butterflies

Butterflies breaking out of their cocoons at Franklin Park Conservatory

Franklin Park Conservatory Blooms and Butterflies, Chihuly Glass Art, Plant life in the Botanical Gardens, Food from the on site cafe

The Ohio Statehouse

I was told I had been to the statehouse when I was younger, yet I can not recall the memory. I may not have been interested at the time so it was nothing worth remembering I guess. In this case it was safe to treat the experience like it was brand new because that is how it felt. This time I was interested and surprisingly so was my nephew. We started the guided tour in the map room, a room with a large map of Ohio on the floor containing all 88 of the state's counties. Our tour guide was an elderly woman who walked us from room to room feeding us the history of the building and the contents in it. My favorite place was the house chamber. It is such a beautiful collection of beautiful Greek and ornate details.  The place is definitely worth an hour of your time. It also doesn't hurt that it's free. Don't forget to check out the gardens and statues around the building. I loved the United States and the Ohio state flags created using flowers.

The Ohio Statehouse

The Ohio Statehouse Rotunda

The House Chamber

Greek Architectural Details in The Ohio Statehouse

The Ohio Statehouse Garden

The Central Ohio Fire Museum

I have passed this museum many times and didn't even realize exactly what is was. I learned of it through research and my guy who is into haunted places. This place is said to be one of the most haunted places in the city. Paranormal investigators are often known to show up to try to communicate with the ancient residents.  My nephew and I just wanted to learn a little Ohio firehouse history and brush up on our fire safety information but if we were met with a paranormal experience, well that would have been a welcomed bonus. No ghosts, but we did have a great time. There was more to do than I expected. We had a tour guide who walked us through the whole museum and demoed a few old pieces of fire equipment. My nephew also got to touch and demo a few things which included participating in a practice fire escape plan using the mock bedroom they have set up. The guide instructed him to lay in the bed as if it were his, pretend he smelled fire then get down and crawl on the floor to the door. He instructed him to feel the door with the back of his hand and if it was not hot he could open it and go outside. If it were hot there was a window to escape through. My favorite thing strange enough, was a mock burned bedroom. It showed the worst possible scenario using a kids room. Everything was charred and half melted. There was even an imprint on the bed showing where a child may have laid. This place is a little off the beaten path, so I realize not many know about it. It is worth a trip. Even I learned I was not where I needed to be on my fire safety knowledge. For those with young kids looking for a unique place to have a birthday party, they provide a great option.

The Central Ohio Fire Museum

The Hose Tower at The Central Ohio Fire Museum

A steam fire engine at The Central Ohio Fire Museum

The Burned Bedroom at The Central Ohio Fire Museum

I have many more places in the city still to visit and the rest of the summer to get it done. This is definitely a great start though. I look forward to sharing the adventures of my nephew and I as the weeks go on. This is just the first two weeks of June. Our list goes on and so shall we.

Until next time!
Be blessed! Be free! Be Adventurous!