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Old 04-28-2015, 12:37 PM
 
527 posts, read 2,169,610 times
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Ok so we came to US (again) about 2 months back and now we are sort of settled. We are a family of 3, myself, wife and a soon to be 1 Year old baby boy. We have also purchased a car so mobility is not a problem anymore.
So I am looking for things I can do with my family on weekends and will enlist what we have done till now.
I am located in Sidney, OH since my work location is in this city only. We usually prefer to go out only on saturdays as with a kid and long drives (for us) it sometimes becomes tiring and sundays are usually for local grocery shopping and such.

  • Till now I have made numerous trips to Columbus for car viewing and purchase and also go to Indian store for Indian groceries.
  • Went once to Miami Valley mall in Piqua but this place is pretty boring with very less stores and nothing much to do. Won't be going to a movie with the little one so that is ruled out.
  • Made a day trip to Costco in Dayton with a friend (with membership) as wanted to know what the store is all about.
  • Went to Lima Mall at Lima (40 Miles North of Sidney) and that mall is far better than the one in Piqua.


Planning to Do:


  • Visit IKEA once in Cincinnati, wife is fascinated by the store and previously where we stayed in US (Texas), we had Ikea within half an hour drive.
  • Visit the Indian grocery store in Cincinnati (nearer then columbus for us) for groceries.
  • Visit the Jungle Jim International Market.


Yeah all our trips are either malls or some shopping point. So yes we would like some inputs from people here who can suggest what else we can go and see on saturdays. I am ok with driving like 2 Hours max one way (that means Columbus and Cincinnati come under the radar). Don't really want to drive a lot.
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Old 04-28-2015, 01:56 PM
 
Location: Miami Twp.
164 posts, read 382,107 times
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Nashville, IN / Brown County, IN is in that range and lots of cute shops, scenery, parks, etc.

Hocking Hills is another great outdoors area roughly in that range.

Indianapolis is on the edge of the range and has tons of options for families and such.

Lots of cute small towns closer, too - Yellow Springs, Urbana, Germantown...

Don't forget the amazing USAF Museum, either.
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Old 04-28-2015, 03:00 PM
 
Location: Beavercreek, OH
2,194 posts, read 3,850,853 times
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With the weather breaking and it's finally warmer, I suggest activities in the Yellow Springs area - Young's Jersey Dairy, John Bryan State Park, Clifton Mills.

It really depends on what you want to do. If you and the family are into shopping, I highly recommend Jungle Jim's in Fairfield and would recommend you move that up to the top of the list. It's really something special there.

Also on Saturdays I would recommend Trader's World and Treasure Aisles, in Monroe, off exit 29.
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Old 04-28-2015, 06:27 PM
 
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I'm loving these suggestions! Keep 'em coming!
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Old 04-29-2015, 12:04 PM
 
527 posts, read 2,169,610 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hensleya1 View Post
With the weather breaking and it's finally warmer, I suggest activities in the Yellow Springs area - Young's Jersey Dairy, John Bryan State Park, Clifton Mills.

It really depends on what you want to do. If you and the family are into shopping, I highly recommend Jungle Jim's in Fairfield and would recommend you move that up to the top of the list. It's really something special there.

Also on Saturdays I would recommend Trader's World and Treasure Aisles, in Monroe, off exit 29.
Yes Jungle Jim is on list and infact we are planning to go this weekend on saturday itself. We plan to have lunch at Cici's Pizza there too
Can you tell me more about this place. I know someone (SWOH ??) recommended Jungle Jim to me when I had opened a thread here 2 months back (before I even landed in US). From that time I am curious as why this place is so much suggested. I am checking these things as well.
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Old 04-29-2015, 02:16 PM
 
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Hey rak007,

Sorry about the delayed reply - had a lot to take care of over the past few days.

Jungle Jim's is definitely an experience! It's amazing how you can go time and time again and still keep seeing new stuff (and I'm not just talking about food either....)

Since you're going on the weekend, it will be busy! Very busy. The best advice I can give is to get there early - I would advise you park by Cici's and enter at the door right by the beer/wine section, which is what I normally do now, but that entry doesn't give you the full Jungle Jim's experience. Cici's won't get crowded, so eat there after shopping. There will be plenty in store to tide you over - although I don't think Jungle Jim's normally does free samples. But there's a nice sandwich shop / cafe where you can sit with your family and eat some of the treats you picked up in-store.



As for other suggestions, I will relay you a PM I just sent another forumer about overnight trips in the area. Just as a heads up - it is LONG! And some of it might not necessarily be of your family's interest - I'll bold the stuff that would be IMO the "best fit".


One great aspect of living in Ohio is how close we are to all kinds of neat places. If you draw a circle with a 5-hour driving distance radius around Sidney, it would take you weeks to see all the sights in that circle. And since I have seen most all of those sights myself, I can assure you most all of them would be worth your time if you had it. But you will not.



One easy summer evening trip you should definitely do while you are here is the Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches tour. Overall, if you are going for the most diverse, distinctively NW Ohio experience, this is it. It's a throwback to the area's solidly Catholic heritage, and the churches are very pretty. From Sidney, the tour goes directly to the north, passing through places like Minster. So for the kids it'll be a nice country drive, and a stop at Lake Loramie should put them in good spirits. (I would advise against travelling to Grand Lake St. Mary's right now due to the algae issues).

Here's a couple links:
Pages - Land of The Cross-Tipped Churches
Land of the Cross-Tipped Churches - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Otherwise, definitely spend an afternoon in downtown Piqua. Agreed the mall isn't excellent (you really need to go to the Mall at Fairfield Commons or the Greene in Beavercreek, or Dayton Mall in Miami Twp / Miamisburg for the best the area has to offer), but downtown is nice.

In particular, you MUST take your kids to the library there! It's wonderful. Also has a nice coffeehouse / candy store and restaurant/bar. Here's a link:
Fort Piqua Plaza
And while you are there, grab some bikes and get on the trails! Piqua has a wonderful trail network. In particular the trail to Troy is a favorite of mine.
http://www.piquaoh.org/piqua_parks_a...nal_trails.pdf


Speaking of Troy, it's Ohio's classic small town. There's a nice bookstore, some great restaurants, a lot of shops, and a couple museums downtown. The Strawberry Festival, when it comes in late May/Early June, should not be missed. Park at the Meijer in Troy and a shuttle will take you right to the Levee, where the Strawberry Festival is hosted. Also, great family fun (if you have the time to do it) is Frisbee Golf. Troy has one of the area's best courses at their city park across from Hobart Arena. And for the right frisbees, Hazy Shades in Belmont is the place to go (or if you can't make it down there, I think Dunham's at the Piqua Mall should have a decent variety of discs. They are relatively cheap - $40 should get you a nice collection of discs the entire family can share.)
https://gostrawberries.com/
Around About Books - Home
The Caroline ‹ Classic American Fare
Hamburger Shop Troy, OH - K's Hamburger Shop
Hazy Shade Disc Golf - Home page - Dayton, Ohio 937.256.2690


Last but certainly not least, Tipp City is a very nice small town too. And it has the added benefit of one having the northern Miami Valley's coolest toy store right in town. Live music and other shows at the Roller Mill are family friendly, and this is an ideal place to start a trip in a canoe. Like Piqua and Troy, the bike trail runs right through town and is AWESOME! And if you want a night out with just you and your wife, few restaurants are as romantic or have as much atmosphere as Coldwater Cafe right in downtown Tipp City.
Coldwater Cafe, Tipp City Ohio
Tipp Roller Mill
River Canoe Trips in Dayton, Ohio with Barefoot Canoe - Home
Adventures on the Great Miami - Where every day is an adventure...

As for the next time you go to IKEA, I could certainly do just as long of a write up for the places there but I don't want to bore you or anyone else reading. Instead, I will just recommend you check out the Frontgate Outlet - IMO the best store in Southwest Ohio (if they decided to open an awesome cafe with cheap delicious Swedish food, I'd be in 7th heaven!)
Frontgate - Frontgate Outlet - Frontgate Savings


Good luck! If you ever get bored or just need an idea for where to go, just let me know. I'm sure I can find something for your family to do haha.
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Old 04-29-2015, 02:43 PM
 
11,610 posts, read 10,443,083 times
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Here's a thread that should help you out:

//www.city-data.com/forum/ohio/...kend-trip.html

Here are some other links:

Top 30 things to do in Dayton, OH: Dayton Attractions

Check out similar links for nearby cities of any size. E.g., do a web search for "tripadvisor.com Columbus things to do."

NPS: Explore Nature » NNL » States

Check out Metro (County) Parks for Montgomery County and surrounding parks.

Five Rivers MetroParks - Dayton, Ohio - Conservation, Recreation, Education, Parks & More!

Battelle Darby Creek on the southwest side of Columbus is a large park with even a small bison herd

Battelle Darby Creek - Metro Parks - Central Ohio Park System

Metro Parks - Central Ohio Parks System

Great Parks | Great Parks[search]=parks+map&commit=Go

State parks:

http://parks.ohiodnr.gov/findapark

Other popular area attractions that likely would entertain your son:

https://columbuszoo.org/home/

http://www.entertrainmentjunction.co...e=1&p=39420829

Dayton: Aviation History Mecca of the World - TripAdvisor

Check out festivals and county fairs, especially top ones such as the Circleville Pumpkin Festival.

Ohio Festival Schedule Page | OhioFestivals.net

I don't believe you will be bored!

BTW, Indianapolis has one of the best children's museums in the U.S.

Please come back and provide reviews and your own lists of most fun attractions!
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Old 04-29-2015, 03:27 PM
 
527 posts, read 2,169,610 times
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Woah....that is so much detailed reply there SWOH. Thanks a lot. Thanks others as well for pitching in. I hope to go to Jungle Jim this weekend. Lets see if I get chance. Because just now I got to know that I may have to travel to Indianapolis (work) for 3-4 days starting weekend.
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Old 04-29-2015, 03:33 PM
 
Location: Springfield, Ohio
14,682 posts, read 14,652,852 times
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Troy also has a petting zoo/animal sanctuary where you can feed the mostly exotic animals, and can pet their resident giraffe. It's a bit pricey, but pretty cool for kids:

Idle-Hour Ranch - Home -**(scroll down for details)*

Oops, looks like he passed not long after we saw him last year The rest of the farm is worth it, still.
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Old 04-30-2015, 01:37 PM
 
3,513 posts, read 5,162,738 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rak007 View Post
Woah....that is so much detailed reply there SWOH. Thanks a lot. Thanks others as well for pitching in. I hope to go to Jungle Jim this weekend. Lets see if I get chance. Because just now I got to know that I may have to travel to Indianapolis (work) for 3-4 days starting weekend.
Of course! Very glad it was helpful.

If you do end up in Indy, and you have a few minutes to spare, go downtown and take a walk along the canal. It's a great public space and Indy's best feature. Parking isn't too bad, right below the Eiteljorg Museum is a large parking garage and rates aren't too bad.

With any luck, you can get your employer to let you and whomever you are working with to eat at Ruth Chris' steak house a few blocks away!
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