The Heart Of It All....

That's my state! Good ole' Ohio. We are also known as the Buckeye State because of the large number of Buckeye Tress.

I am telling you all this because Camp Candid Carrie has been featuring bloggers from her state of Wisconsin all this week, if you haven't checked it out you really should. I have learned alot about Wisconsin this week. Yesterday's featured blogger was Outnumbered 2 to 1 and she did a top ten list of loves and hates of her state. I thought this was an awesome idea so I'm stealing it to give you my top 10 list of things I love about Ohio.

Before I give you my list I want to share some facts about my great state. Ohio means "great river" in Iroquois. On February 19, 1803 Ohio became the 17th state in the union. Our capital is Columbus with over 700,000 people, the state bird is the Cardinal, the state flower is the Red Carnation, and the state tree is the Buckeye. Ohio has also been home to a few famous people like Bob Hope and Clark Gabel as well ask famous astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn. We have had 8 presidents come from our state and some famous inventors like The Wright Brothers and Thomas Edison. Then you have all the professional athletes like Labron James, Eddie George, two time Heisman trophy winner Archie Griffin, and Jack Nicklaus just to name a few. Just for you Mrs. Stuckmann most of the famous athletes played for the Buckeyes.

Ok that's enough fun facts for now it's time for my list of favorite things so without farther ado here it is.

Top 10 things I Love about Ohio

10.) If you like the outdoors there are quite a few state parks including Hocking Hills which is part of Wayne National Forest and it’s one of the largest state parks. You can fish, camp, bike, ride horses, and bird watch but the most common activity in Hocking Hills is probably the hunting. I love Hocking Hills in the fall when all the trees are changing their colors.

9.) I love Lake Erie! At one point many years ago Lake Erie was a very dirty lake that no one wanted to go to but the state has put a lot of money and time into cleaning it up and it’s now one of the cleanest. There are a ton of things to do from boating and fishing to your different Islands like Put-in- Bay which is known for a great party atmosphere. In High School I would go up to Lake Erie with my best friend’s family because they had a boat at a Marina. I got drunk for the first time at Lake Erie and fell off the docks into the lake only to have a very hot 19 year old lifeguard jump in after me. We made out later that night. Oh I should mention I had just turned 15.

8.) I love all the farmers markets that open up in the spring and stay through the fall. My favorite item to buy is hands down the Sweet Corn.






7.) I love the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium. I know that all states have zoos but I really do enjoy the Columbus Zoo. Famous zoologist Jack Hannah came from Columbus and still plays a big role in the zoo.



6.) Ohio is also home to two Amusement Parks that are both awesome. In Cincinnati you have Paramount Kings Island with the best wooden roller coaster. My favorite however is Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio. Cedar Point sits on Lake Erie and has some of the biggest and best roller coasters in the world.





5.) Ohio has been home to 8 U.S. Presidents over the years and I love this. I love politics and I love that Ohio plays such an important role in elections. (President Grant)







4.) I love that in Ohio we have so many options for sporting events. If you want NFL Football we have the Cleveland Browns or the Cincinnati Bengals. Don’t like football well what about Baseball. There is the Cleveland Indian’s or the Cincinnati Reds. Then there are the odd ball kinds of sports with the Columbus Blue Jackets Hockey team or the Columbus Crew Soccer team. Most people in this state are into the college sports but I will touch on that a little later. For us Wilson’s we are Browns and Indian’s supporters. (Browns Blizzard game against teh Bills last December, my brother and sister were at that game)

3.) I love the variety in regions within the state. We have the bigger cities like Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Toledo that offer your more urban activities and atmospheres. We also have a lot of small towns and pure country. In the north there is a large Amish community that is great for antique shopping and awesome homemade foods. In the south you have the hills and begin your entrance into the southern states. I think Ohio has a great mix of urban and rural areas giving you the best of both worlds. (Picture of Columbus skyline)

2.) I love that we have 4 seasons in Ohio; my favorites being summer and fall. I love the heat and humidity of our summers and the Falls are those warm days and cool crisp nights that are perfect for sleeping with the windows open. I like the winter and the snow between Thanksgiving and Christmas then I’m done. The problem with that is we tend to get most of our snow between January and March.

1.) My Absolute favorite thing about Ohio is that we are home to THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY and the BUCKEYE’S. Specifically I love Buckeye football. We also have TBDBITL (the best damn band in the land) the Ohio State University Marching Band. The picture is of the band performing Script Ohio which they do at the begining of every home game. It gives me chills everytime! Go Bucks!!!!!