Ohio road trips with our kid.

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My husband and I have been spending the past year making memories with our son. We are at a place now where we can occasionally do fun things. It's not always about the money you spend but the memories you make, and you can make a lot of memories spending barely anything. You'd be amazed how many cheap or awesome things you can find in your own backyard. We live in Ohio and aren't far from the Michigan border or even the Indiana border and we have been finding things nearby to do. In the past year we have gone to dinner in Indiana and Michigan just so our son could experience new states although he has already been to Michigan for scouts for a hiking trip. We took him to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, we went to Lakeview cemetery where we checked out the Garfield Mausoleum in Cleveland along with b.a sweetie candy store. We have gone to Hocking Hills in Logan Ohio and to Athens Ohio where we ate at a really neat restaurant in their downtown. We've been to Vermillion where we ate dinner at a really neat old diner in their downtown. We have been to Sandusky to their Merry-Go-Round Museum, we've checked out the Marblehead lighthouse and museum. We went to Fremont and visited the Hayes Museum. We checked out the Ohio Caverns and went to the Dayton mall where we ate this really cool Anime restaurant and tried Korean corndogs for the first time (they're pretty amazing). We checked out the Mazza Museum in Findlay. A lot of people don't realize how much Ohio has to offer. I joined an Ohio road trip group on Facebook and have gotten a lot of neat ideas from there. Today we spent the day fishing in Grand Rapids Ohio. My son has found he absolutely loves hiking and fishing. We have so many neat nature parks in Ohio and even nearby. My son informed me he finds hiking and fishing calming and he enjoys it. He loves video games and hates going outside at home so it sort of shocked us that he likes being outside when we go do things. He told me it's because he gets bored at home because he has no one to hang out with and we don't have much to do outside at home, and that's a fair point. I think if he knew kids around here he'd probably be out doing more. We don't have a ton of kids around here I'd like him to hang out with. The ones I see out and about are usually ones that cause trouble. Ohio has a lot more to do than I think people realize. NW Ohio is especially isn't seen as a place with much to do but we do have Cedar Point if you're into roller coasters. We also have a lot of different things to do near the lakes and we have a ton of cute small towns. We also have Sauder Village which is a really neat living history museum. It is basically a little village where you can see how people lived back in the day. They have a super neat 1920s downtown they just built within the past five or six years. I love being able to tell people about cool things to do in the area or hearing about cool things to do in different parts of Ohio. I'm just glad to be making memories with my son. I've done so many cool things this past year and they were all within four hours of home. We have done so many cool day trips and have made so many amazing memories. Fort Meigs, Airforce Museum, Mud Hens game, Hocking Hills, Athens, Fishing in Grand Rapids (they also have a canal that we have done before but not this year), Merry Go Round Museum, Marblehead Light House, Ohio Caverns, Anime restaurant, Cleveland, Mazza Museum, Tony Packo's, Huron, Vermillion, Port Clinton, Pemberville, New Ghost Busters movie, Michigan, Indiana, Bryan (Spangler Candy World), Lima. Those are just a handful of the places we have been. We've hiked, we've fished, we've tried different foods, gone to museums. We have made memories. We have packed lunches and tried different pizza places when we wanted to eat out but didn't have money to eat anywhere more expensive. I hope my son remembers this past year with fondness and that we can continue to do things with him that he enjoys. I've learned that if you do day trips you can save a ton of money especially if the things you do are free or cheap. We seldom spend much beyond the price of gas when we do day trips and occasionally we will buy dinner out or find a different pizza place where twenty dollars can feed all three of us and we bring our own drinks in a cooler. There are also quite a few free museums if you look. I remember sharing a list of free things to do in Cleveland with someone. Every other weekend we try and find somewhere we can go that is free or cheap and I'll research things to do that are free or don't cost more than 20 dollars for the three of us to get into. I've actually always found quite a few things. It helps that my son loves hiking and fishing because he can do those things for free. My husband already has his fishing license and my son is young enough to not need one yet. I just find something else to do while they fish. I find people don't like doing things because they say they don't have money but you can do a lot with a little sometimes. You don't need to take your kids to Disney World to make memories. You can find plenty to do in your own backyard. Your kids just want your time. Enjoy the time you have with them while you have it because eventually they won't want to spend time with you. I'm enjoying every moment with my kid while he still enjoys it. Picture is a picture of my son a couple of weeks ago.