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The Ohio State Fair will be long over by the time your parents arrive (you might check it out, because it's one of the best in the country), but the Great Geauga County Fair is Labor Day weekend, as is the excellent Cleveland National Air Show, rated as one of the best in the U.S.
The Great Geauga County Fair is Ohio's oldest continuous county fair and you'll see many Amish there as Geauga County has a large Amish population.
Your parents might enjoy the Kirtland Temple and Holden Arboretum in Kirtland, perhaps even Lake Metroparks Farmpark there, one of the best in North America. In nearby Mentor, the National Park Service claims that Lawnfield at the James A. Garfield National Historical Site is its most authentic 19th century Presidential mansion. It has been restored at great expense and 80 percent of its furnishings actually belonged to the Garfields.
In Cleveland, the Cleveland Museum of Art is one of the best in the country and has a large collection of Egyptian and Middle Eastern items. There is no admission charge, so it's very budget friendly. Read about it here:
Check out other attractions for Cleveland such as the U.S.S. Cod, Steamship Mather, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and the West Side Market. Read the dining article to see if Cleveland's famed ethnic and mod ethnic culinary scene would interest your parents.
If your parents enjoy jazz or music, check out the Blossom Music Festival, if they'll be here by Labor Day weekend.
Are you/your parents Muslims or Copts? (Sorry if I left out any other groups.) Muslims and maybe even Copts might get a kick out of that mosque near Toledo you can see from I-75. I wouldn't go out of my way to see it, but if you can use I-75 to get to your destination, such as going to Chicago, then why not?
If you're Coptic, if I remember correctly there is a Coptic Orthodox Church in Lincoln Village. They also have their festival either on the Feast of the Dormition or on Labor Day.
One more thing: Greater Detroit has the largest Arab population in America. I don't know if Egyptians are considered Arab, but that might be some place to check out.
EDIT: Dawes Arboretum - Beman Dawes was one of the founders of Pure Oil and used some of his money to endow this private park in his hometown:
I just moved to Dublin,Oh last month and my parents are coming to visit me from Egypt in September. They will stay for a month and this is their first visit to USA. I want to make it a nice memory for them, yet I am on a budget unfortunately!
I thought about taking them to Niagara Falls for a weekend end, but really don't know where else can I take them!!
I would definitely appreciate your help if you can give me planning tips for their vacation please!!
Thanks in Advance
Do you know the dates that your parents will be in Ohio? Are they seeing anything else in the U.S.?
Wow!, thanks for each and every one of you for your great detailed planning tips, they all sound great! I definitely didn't have a clue of most of them!
Regarding more information about my parents, They are from Cairo, both highly educated and Fluent in english. no problems with communications!
Well since it is their first time visiting USA , I prefer to show them things that they cannot see in Egypt. In Egypt, thee are lots of beaches and diving activities, museums, ancient temples and the Pyramids,of course. Also lots of shopping malls but definitely prices here are much more cheaper, so I also plan on taking them shopping.
Niagara Falls is still a good idea for them, and definitely will consider other sight seeing in Columbus you suggested, as Fairs , the zoo, Halloween party and defiantly parks for the leaves foliage ( we don't have that in Egypt!) . Also i thought about taking them to any of the Broad Way shows here in Columbus, as this is also something impressing for them.
I hope i can also go to Chicago, but depends on our work schedules!The problem is that my husband will be working and can only go for long weekends , if we decide to travel!
I also will try to arrange a stop to New york on their way back home to Egypt. for 2- 3 days since their return flight will have a stop their already( hope this works)
Regarding the dates, they are still in the visa application process, so their arrival might be within the range of first to mid September.
We never did camping before , but I guess they will love the idea if the weather is not to cold for them.
Again thank you so much , and any other suggestions or questions are welcome!
I also will try to arrange a stop to New york on their way back home to Egypt. for 2- 3 days since their return flight will have a stop their already( hope this works)
Washington is only 4 hours from New York by car and there is pretty good train service throughout that Eastern corridor. It might be a good idea to spend a day in Washington.
Washington is only 4 hours from New York by car and there is pretty good train service throughout that Eastern corridor. It might be a good idea to spend a day in Washington.
Thanks for your great suggestion, are their any train services in Columbus to any other city, like Washington or New York?
Thanks for your great suggestion, are their any train services in Columbus to any other city, like Washington or New York?
Columbus doesn't have passenger train service. Check out Megabus and Greyhound bus service.
Don't rule out museums. I doubt if any museum in Egypt (nor but a very few in the U.S.) has the full range of exquisite global artifacts that are in the Cleveland Museum of Art, which also has the most advanced digital technology of any art museum in the U.S., including the largest multi-touch screen in the U.S. As it has no admission charge, it is a great place to visit to see how one of the best encyclopedic American art museums attempts to capture the essence of all human culture.
The CMA was just renovated and very creatively expanded.
"Most of the nation’s big art museums segregate their collections in self-contained departments or treat art history as a straight-line narrative organized according to Western notions of scientific and technological progress, beginning with the ancient past and proceeding up to the present.
At the Cleveland museum, where permanent collection galleries surround a big central atrium, art history now unfolds as a 5,000-year global dialogue among civilizations, without a sense of hierarchy."
There are several other museums close to Columbus that are unique and perhaps would greatly interest your parents.
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton is the largest and oldest aviation museum in the world, and, again, the admission is free. Carillon Historical Park in Dayton is very good, and houses the Wright Flyer III, in actuality, the world's first airplane. Huffman Prairie Flying Field in Dayton is where the Wright brothers perfected the Wright Flyer III, and where mankind first took to the skies in extended flights of controllable heavier-than-air machines.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland is an international attraction.
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati is one of the best U.S. museums explaining American slavery and the efforts involved in smuggling fleeing slaves to Canada before the Civil War.
The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown also has free admission and is one of the best museums of American art and the oldest dedicated exclusively to American art.
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh is one of the best in the U.S., if your parents want to skip one of its few peers, likely available to them only in NYC, Washington or Chicago.
Chicago also has one of the best aquariums in the U.S., although the Newport Aquarium in the Cincinnati area also is one of the better ones in the U.S.
If your parents enjoy orchestras or classical music, check out the schedule of the Cleveland Orchestra, ranked among the best in the world. It performs in Severance Hall, often considered the most beautiful concert hall in the U.S., and the "Taj Mahal of Cleveland."
Unfortunately, the Cleveland Orchestra will be on tour during much of your parent's visit, but there will be some events at Severance Hall that they could attend and perhaps there would be public tours available.
If interested in Broadway plays, definitely check out PlayhouseSquare events in Cleveland. It offers one of the best theater complexes in the U.S., and it claims the largest subscription base (well over 30,000) for touring Broadway plays in the U.S. As a result it typically gets larger productions of Broadway plays than other cities in the region and its extended runs result in lower ticket prices and earlier runs of newer productions. It also offers $10 smart seats for those that act quickly.
Ohio has some of the best zoos in the U.S. in Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo and Cleveland, and the best one may be in Columbus. However, each of these four zoos have unique attractions, such as a world-class African elephant exhibit and one of the nation's best Rainforest exhibits in Cleveland, and the largest aquarium actually in Ohio in Toledo.
Indianapolis has the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, the largest in the world and likely the best children's museum in the U.S. The Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art is one of the best of its type in the U.S. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hall of Fame Museum is a shrine to American auto racing and the best open-wheel auto racing museum in the world.
If interested in golf, the Jack Nicklaus Museum is in Columbus. The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State is a mecca for fans of that art form. The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame is in Pickerington, just outside of Columbus. COSI in Columbus is an excellent science museum.
Cleveland has two excellent museum ships. The U.S.S. Cod, which closes after September, is often considered the best U.S. WWII fleet submarine museum ship. Visitors must enter and exit using the original hatches and ladders. The Steamship William G. Mather once was the queen of the Great Lakes and now is an ASME Mechanical Engineering Landmark open for tours.
Arriving at The Wilds near Zanesville at its opening on a cool, crisp autumn day in September for an open air bus tour, is an unforgettable experience. Afterwards, perhaps visit the mouth of the Big Muskie (see below) that created The Wilds, or the largest basket in the world, to experience the eccentricity of American culture.
Roadsideamerica.com is a website that likely will entertain you and your parents. Certainly check out attractions in Ohio and nearby states. Most of these attractions are not worth a visit, but some are gems.
The "Y" bridge in Zanesville amuses many visitors. Use the bridge to visit Tom's Ice Cream Bowl, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor little changed in half a century.
Roscoe Village in Coshocton is a restored 1830 canal town. The Kenyon College campus in Gambier was ranked by a panel of experts assembled by Forbes magazine as the most beautiful college campus in the world, topping Oxford and Princeton. It's particularly beautiful during fall colors.
Ohio has some great historical residences. Adena Mansion and Gardens in Chillicothe is Ohio's Monticello. Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens is one of the country's greatest historic residences. The Big House at Malabar Farm State Park is a one-time Hollywood escape and home of perhaps America's leading Renaissance man of the 20th century, and it's frozen in its mid-20th century glory with almost all of its original furnishings; Malabar Farm offers hay rides and other fall activities and is among the most beautiful places in Ohio during fall colors. The National Park Service claims that Lawnfield at the James A. Garfield Historical Site in Mentor is its most authentic 19th century Presidential mansion. It has been extensively restored and 80 percent of its furnishings and fixtures belonged to the Garfields.
Columbus, Indiana, the "Athens of the Prairie," is an architectural wonderland.
As mentioned in an earlier post, The Henry Ford in Dearborn is one of the nation's great history museums and also offers a great factory tour.
If you want to explore America's cultural wars, and visit what some consider as one of America's foremost comedy attractions, check out the Creation Museum.
If you go to Niagara Falls, check out Grove City Premium Outlets near the intersection of I-79 and I-80. It's a regional shopping mecca as PA has no sales tax on clothing and footwear.
The excellent National Aviary also is in Pittsburgh.
If the dates work, your parents might enjoy the Marietta Sternwheel Festival, which I suspect is unlike anything in Cairo. Warning, though: there are probably few hotel rooms left for those dates. http://www.ohioriversternwheelfestival.org/
One great thing about Columbus is how centrally located we are. It's very easy to take day trips to places like:
Cleveland: Terminal Tower, and Euclid Arcades are must sees if you and your parents like "historic" architecture (by US standards obviously, Egypt is on a completely different level of history!). West Side Market is a gem (think North Market and triple it). The Cleveland Museum of Art is free and has a comprehensive collection. The Cleveland Clinic is a world famous medical center. Little Italy along Mayfield is a nice place for dinner.
Dayton: the Air Force Museum is free and an awesome collection of aviation history. In addition, try to visit Huffman Field, which is where The Wright Brothers really learned to control their airplane. Kitty Hawk in North Carolina gets all the fame, but that was just the start. It was actually at Huffman Field that they learned to turn and bank and land...
Cincinnati: the Roebling Bridge across the Ohio River is the template for the more famous Brooklyn Bridge. I've never walked across it, but you get nice views of downtown from the Kentucky side. Lots of museums in Cincy.
Pittsburgh: one of my favorite cities--there's a lot to see in downtown AND the neighborhoods. Downtown is compact and very walkable. I highly recommend taking the Monogehela Incline elevator up to the bluff for an incredible view of the city. If you're ambitious you could walk along the ridge to the Duquesne Incline (which has a museum on inclines). Also, The Oakland neighborhood is home to both Carnegie Mellon University and the Univ of Pittsburgh. The Cathedral of Learning is a very unique skyscraper built in the 1930s in gothic style, with rooms throughout having decor from all sorts of nationalities (I wouldn't be surprised if they had an Egyptian themed room).
Louisville, Indy, Detroit are also decent day trips with lots to see. I also highly recommend smaller towns like Athens, Marrietta, Delaware, plus Amish country and Hocking Hills.
I hope your parents have a good visit!
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