Joe the Plumber’s Lucas County Ohio: There are decent things to do there. How about a corn maze and Toledo?

When I heard Joe the Plumber, the guy McCain made his personal friend in Wednesday night’s presidential debate, was from Holland, Ohio, my first thought was maybe there’s something to do in Holland–a weekend getaway perhaps?

Not exactly. Not Holland, per se, but, it’s close to Sarah Palin’s corn maze for some fall fun. Whitehouse is also in Lucas County.

Corn, Palin and Joe Plumber aside, this is a part of Ohio has been on my list of places to go for sometime–Toledo, specifically.

Just this month, Toledo won first place in the America in Bloom Awards for cities of 100,001 or more people. The award is given to a city for its beautification efforts. Toledo must be lush with flower gardens. The Toledo Botanical Gardens would be a place to start to see the floral bounty.

For art lovers, the Toledo Museum of Art recently expanded its weekend hours because visitors had requested more access to this gem of a museum.

Two aspects of this art museum I’ve always been drawn to are the extensive events and art classes offered each month. Some are one day experiences.

A weekend trip to Toledo could include one of these. Make sure you arrive in time for It’s Friday. Each Friday the museum is open until 10 PM. Tours, music and glass blowing demonstrations are part of the fare.

Also, not to be missed is the museum’s Glass Pavilion where the museum’s collection of more than 5,000 pieces of glass art pieces are housed. The pavilion won an award in 2007 for being the best designed museum.

Another Toledo high point that achieved fame with the television series M*A*S*H is the eatery Tony Packo’s Café. Jamie Farr who played Corporal Max Klinger is from Toledo.

His first mention of Tony Packo’s during an episode came with the line “If you’re ever in Toledo, Ohio, on the Hungarian side of town, Tony Packo’s got the greatest Hungarian hot dogs. Thirty-five cents…”

Known for its chili dogs and Sweet Hot Pickles, Tony Packo’s has been serving up Hungarian style food since 1932.

So, one of these days I’ll head to Toledo, but probably not before Palin’s maze is browner than brown. Maybe next year when the spring flowers have bloomed. First stop, Tony Packo’s. I’ve wanted one of those chili dogs for years.

Bring mom to flowers for Mother’s Day

Several botanical gardens are having Mother’s Day events this Sunday. One of the advantages of going to a botanical garden, I’ve found, is that they usually have wonderful gift shops that are perfect places for picking up that last minute present.

If you’ve forgotten to buy your mother a gift, when she’s not looking, perhaps, when she’s basking in the fragrance of a floral paradise, slip into the shop to buy her a little something. Since the wedding season is upon us, pick up a wedding gift as well. Here are the first 10 botanical gardens I came across that listed a Mother’s Day happening. Nine are in the U.S. and one is not.

(This photo is from a tribute to redbuds and mothers at the Children’s Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Garden. My mom taught me to love redbuds too, so I thought this fitting.)

  1. Botanical Conservatory, Ft. Wayne, Indiana: Free admission and enjoy the butterflies besides.
  2. Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine: Free admission to moms and there’s a special brunch. While your mom is eating, slip out to buy that gift.
  3. Cleveland Botanical Gardens, Cleveland, Ohio: Like the Web site says, the redbuds are in bloom and they’re gorgeous
  4. Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, Belmont, North Carolina: Moms get in free with a paid admission and the first 250 moms get a potted plant.
  5. Denver Botanical Gardens, Denver, Colorado: The Mother’s Day brunch is sold out but you can bring your own picnic.
  6. Fernwood Botanical Gardens, Niles, Michigan: Enjoy music, food and a plant sale.
  7. Huntsville Botanical Gardens, Huntsville, Alabama: Moms can get a hydrangea, as long as they are available. There’s a dinosaur theme going on, but this has nothing to do with your mother.
  8. Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond, Virginia: Free family photo for moms while supplies last and free plants to the first 500 moms who come.
  9. Tuscon Botanical Gardens, Tuscon, Arizona: Mom might like to learn about the dinosaurs here as well.
  10. And one not in the United States: Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. If you took your mother to Australia for brunch, would she be impressed.

If you take your mother somewhere else on Sunday–or if you are a mom–ask for a discount. I got into a museum for free in Lugang, Taiwan once on Mother’s Day because I could claim motherhood. The museum gave me a rose as well. The one catch is, I think you probably need to have your child with you.

Bahamas tour that doesn’t include Anna Nicole Smith

When I saw the New York Times article “36 Hours in the Nassau, the Bahamas,” I wondered if anything having to do with Anna Nicole Smith would be included. [see previous post] Right after Anna Nicole died, taxi drivers would take folks who wanted to see the pertinent places of her life and death on unofficial tours.

The New York Times article didn’t mention Anna at all. Not a peep. Instead of dabbling in low brow culture, go high brow. In 36 hours you can take in the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, swim with sharks, watch a cricket game, meander through the botanical gardens and more.

When my dad and daughter went to the Bahamas on a quick cruise, my dad wasn’t too impressed with Nassau. If he’d had the itinerary outlined in the article, he probably would have come away with a totally different idea. Still, there’s a lot about going to the Bahamas that sounds like lounging and the beach. He’s not a lounger–and he doesn’t smoke cigars as suggested, but the Poop Deck Restaurant would have been perfect.

Photo of the Day (11/18/06)


The further we slip away into winter I can’t help wanting to migrate to the same places where butterflies land on sweet beautiful flowers. Sure this shot comes from my own collection of flicks taken in Omaha’s botanical gardens during the very early stages of fall, but it seems I couldn’t find a fluttering butterfly these days to save my life. Luckily I’ll have this shot to help pass the time until spring and summer arrive once more or until I see more cheery winter land pictures in the Gadling Flickr pool.

Omaha’s Lauritzen Gardens

Yesterday I finally stepped out of my hotel for a breath of fresh Omaha air. Unlike some of the past couple of days the sun was shining brightly and the temperature was near perfect for exploring. There were many stops along on the way, which I may or not reveal as time moves on, but for now I’ve settled on sharing my precious moments in Omaha’s botanical gardens. (Okay, precious was a bit much, but they were certainly pleasant.) The 100-acre Lauritzen Gardens are the home of many different gardens: the arrival garden, festival garden, rose garden, and one of my personal favorites – the Hitchcock-Kountze Victorian Garden. Within the later garden mentioned both English and Victorian garden styles are combined and architectural remnants are also featured. Spending a good little bit of time in this area; I studied some of pretty perennials and snapped many a photo. I wandered on the walkways checking out the Persian Cornflower and Garden Mum. I walked the pathway to Japanese Sunpu Gate and imagined the future Japanese garden. Many years past I probably wouldn’t have spent much time in a botanical garden, but having been to three (not many, I know) in very diverse regions of the world, I’ve come to gain a new found appreciation for our floral pals.

Having just returned from Tajikistan, where I visited the world’s second highest botanical gardens, I wasn’t blown way by Omaha’s Lauritzen Gardens, but a visit still makes for a nice afternoon activity. Plus Omaha, Nebraska is probably much easier to reach than Tajikistan. If you go to the gardens take a book and relax on one of the benches or your camera for a photo safari. No matter how you choose to spend your time you’re bound to have a good one.

Lauritzen Gardens are located at 100 Bancroft Street, Omaha, NE 68108. Ph. 402.346.4002. The gardens are open year-round except Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Hours of operation are 9 AM to 5 PM. Admission is $6/adult and $3/child (age six to 12).