Butter cows and other butter sculptures

by Jamie Rhein on

Intelligent Travel recently posted about the Iowa State Fair’s tradition of the butter cow. This is not the only state to boast a life-size cow sculpted out of pounds and pounds of butter. Other fairs have cow and other objects done up in butter as part of their fair traditions.

The Ohio State Fair jumped on the butter cow bandwagon awhile back and has added other butter sculptures to the dairy wow factor. This year, displayed in the same case as the cow and her calf, is Ohio’s version of Mt. Rushmore–the faces of the eight U.S. presidents who were born in Ohio.

I was fortunate enough to visit the display this past Friday. There is a voice recording that blares out butter sculpture facts so that any one within yards of the building can get the scoop on exactly what’s involved in such an endeavor.

I also found the facts in this post by Kathy Lynn Gray who is blogging on the Ohio State Fair. It takes two tons of butter to sculpt 8 presidents and 2 cows. In stick numbers, that’s 8,000 sticks of butter.

If you’d like to try sculpting butter yourself, you’ll need a dairy case that is kept at 46 degrees in which to work, but work fast. You’ll only be able to work in increments of 40 minutes because you’ll get too cold and need to take a break.

In the same building that houses the butter sculptures at the Ohio State Fair, you can buy ice-cream, butter-milk and milk. The milk was a bargain at $1 for a 1/2 pint. If you happen to want ice-cream, the line moves fairly quickly. There are only four flavors: vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and mint chocolate chip. My son shared.

A friend of mine wants to know what happens to the butter after the fair. I’m not sure I’d want to eat any of that butter on toast, even if it is kept cold. For more butter sculpture info, click here.

Ohio’s cinematic spots: An Intelligent Travel report

by Jamie Rhein on

Every time John Ur covers a state via its cinematic hot spots in his series “Cinematic Road Trip” for Intelligent Travel, I look to see which movies I’ve seen and what spots I know. It’s always a pleasure.

This week Ur hit Ohio. Ohio, as he found, is diverse. He did skip over Columbus. I’ll have to think about a movie that may have been filmed there. Columbus is not dull, but can slide under ones radar. Cleveland, however is not easy to miss. Christmas Story, one of Cleveland’s most well known films is one of my favorites and one that Ur covers.

Ur also hits Cincinnati. I am partial to Cincinnati since I grew up going here as a child and I know it well. However, I wasn’t aware that parts of Traffic was filmed here. Or perhaps I noticed this and forgot.

I do know of a couple Ohio locations on the silver screen that Ur missed. One can’t include everything, so this is no slight on Ur. He always does a fine job.

One movie is The Shawshank Redemption. The prison outside of Mansfield, the abandoned Ohio State Reformatory was one of the main locations. A friend of mine’s father was one of the extras.

Another film with Ohio scenes is Rain Man. One of Cincinnati’s most spectacular buildings, at least it’s my favorite, is Union Terminal. Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise spent some time here while looking for alternative transportation to California. The murals you see in the background as they walked through were done as a WPA project. The building is now mostly a museum center.

Another shot in this film is when the pair are in a car going from Cincinnati across the Ohio River on the Roebling Bridge. The bridge, also known as “The Singing Bridge” because of the sound it makes when cars go across, leads to Covington, Kentucky.

Busabout: another way to tour Europe

by Jamie Rhein on

I’ve done the Eurail pass travel frenzy for a month and similar rail pass travel in Japan–that time for one week. They were great for making a lot of ground without spending the extra money once I paid for the passes, but they weren’t particularly cheap. There’s another way to go city to city in Europe if you’re on a budget and a backpacker.

“I Want Adventure” and “I Want to Hop-On Hop Off” pops up on the Busabout’s splash page. Designed for the “independent traveler,” Busabout bus trips allow riders to tailor trips to what they want to see with 10 country, 30 city options, and in the time frame they want. You can travel to all countries or just a few. Unlike a train where you’re left to your own devices, Busabout trips have tour guides that point out the good stuff along the way and give you tips on what to see when you get off. When you head out for some exploring, you can also leave your gear on the bus, depending on which option you’ve picked.

The Web site is equipped with Lonely Planet online guides to help you plan your journey. You can start anywhere you want in the network and break your trip up into sections. Depending on the trip options, whether you choose from the Busabout Explorer, Eastern Trekker or Busabout Adventures, you could travel for a few days or months. (Go to each one to see what’s offered.) From the pictures of travelers, it also looks like this would be a terrific way to meet folks. One group is clinking beer glasses. Another is on bikes. Busabout recommends that you book as much of your journey ahead, but you can change your booking if needed. Cancellations need to be within 24 hours for a full refund. There is also help with finding accommodations and a system where you can book ahead while you are on the bus.

A technology feature I find interesting, particularly for parents who have high school age students or sons and daughters in college who are heading off alone, the Busabout system keeps track of where people get on and off the bus. If you haven’t heard from Junior or Juniorita for awhile, the company may be able to give a possible location. Last place seen–Paris.

Thanks to Intelligent Travel for pointing this company out. Spend some time poking around Busabout’s Web site and you’ll be imagining all sorts of possibilities. If this company comes up with trips for families, I say they are REALLY onto something.

World Heritage and the Gadling connection

by Jamie Rhein on

In November, Grant, Catherine and I had a grand time participating in a conference call with various folks interested in travel and preserving those things that make the world a wonderful place to be. Friends of World Heritage, an initiative in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, Expedia.com and World Heritage Center at UNESCO, orchestrated the call to promote a dialog among us and create a network that fosters public interest and involvement in the work of Friends of World Heritage. The aim of the organization is to ensure UNESCO’s World Heritage sites continue to gain public recognition and support as valuable places worthy of honor and preservation. TurtlefeetSurfersBeat, Intelligent Travel (blog for National Geographic Traveler) and National Parks Traveler joined in on the chat.

Catherine, Grant and I were happy to be included among the group of knowledgeable and engaged folks who are interested in the world and preserving its natural and cultural heritage. (All Gadling bloggers are included in those interested in the world. Catherine, Grant and I are the ones who were able to participate in the call.) Since World Heritage sites are among those places that ensure that our natural world and cultural history stay intact, this conversation was a perfect interaction of interests.

We’ve continued to stay engaged with Friends of World Heritage since then. Our hope is that we can further the cause of Friends of World Heritage by letting Gadling readers know about the latest happenings in the World Heritage arena and highlighting those must see places that are must see because of their distinctive characteristics.

One of the latest happenings in the World Heritage arena is that 14 places in the United States have been named as contenders for the distinction of becoming an official World Heritage site. These 14 are on the new “Tentative List.” We are using February as a month to highlight the bounty. In the month of love, these are places to love.

Naming the sites on this “Tentative List” is the end of the beginning of the process. These 14 sites, the first to be considered in the U.S. in 12 years, have been picked by the Department of the Interior (in conjunction with the National Park Service) for consideration. The places on the Tentative List won’t be able to be considered as official World Heritage Sites until 2009. The rules state that a place has to be on a list for a year. A site can be on a list for a long, long time as there is a lot of competition. This is my understanding from the press release we received from the U.S. Department of Interior via Friends of World Heritage.

Stay tuned for a post on the “Tentative List” this afternoon and Gadling’s coverage of the 14 sites throughout this month. You can help us decide who we think should win an official spot as a World Heritage Site. The photo is of the map of World Heritage sites. We’ll let you in on how to get one of those too.