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

by Jamie Rhein on

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.

American Idol, David Archuleta is in a corn maze too

by Jamie Rhein on

Like Sarah Palin, David Archuleta’s mug is etched in a corn field tribute. It took 14 acres to give Archuleta his due.

Some people get all the luck. You can see Archuleta’s version of corn maze fun at Cornbelly’s Corn Maze and Pumpkin Fest in Lehi, Utah.

At first, a corn maze of Obama and McCain was considered, but Archuleta won out because he’s one of Utah’s own. Plus, with the campaigning going on and on and on and on, Archuleta seemed more fun.

According to this article in the Desert Deseret News, if you visit the maze you can get a chance to win an autographed copy of Archuleta’s album when it come out in November.

Just like Corn Maze at the Butterfly House where Sarah’s face is located, Cornbelly’s is geared for family-style entertainment. Wandering through the head of a person who has captured the public ‘s attention this year is not the only calling card.

Cornbelly’s also has a pumpkin patch, a Halloween themed Fright Night and kid’s activities. There are still a few weeks of fall left for Archuleta and Palin viewing, although by now, I assume they’re turning a yellowish brown.

Both places are open until the beginning of November.

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The Onion: “Palin Brushing Up On Foreign Policy at Epcot”

by Aaron Hotfelder on

It’s been said that, during her recent interview with Katie Couric, Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin looked like “a high schooler trying to BS her way through a book report.” Which, as one Time columnist points out, is “an insult to both high schoolers and BS.”

Apparently recognizing her weakness, Palin has– according to The Onion— traveled to Epcot at Walt Disney World for a quick crash course on the world and international affairs.

The Onion reports: “According to Palin, the trip-her first past Frontierland-will include speaking engagements at Norway’s famous Viking ride, sausages at Germany’s Kaufhaus, and, time permitting, a fact-finding mission to Future World.”

Notice she’s skipping the trip to Russia, which makes sense, because she can already see it from her house.

Whole thing here.

Sarah Palin in a Corn Maze

by Jamie Rhein on

Sarah Palin is in a corn maze. This does not mean that Sarah Palin is actually in a corn maze, but that there is a corn maze made to look like Sarah Palin. You have to be looking down on the maze and not in it in order to see the likeness. And it does look like her–and also Tina Fey.

I heard about this maze on News Update on Saturday Night Live and promptly checked out the story’s validitity. Yep, the maze is in Whitehouse, Ohio not too far from Toledo. Although the maze of Palin is new this year, The Corn Maze at the Butterfly House where it is located is not new.

Each year the Whitehouse Farm turns acres of corn fields into pictures. There is also an amazing intricate butterfly for wandering among the corn stalks. Corn mazes are one way farmers have upped their revenue in an unsure market. Elaborate pictures are not as common. Palin’s took eight hours to make after an artist made a sketch and figured out how to mow it using a GPS system.

Check out the farm’s Web site for a video of Palin’s maze. You can walk through Palin’s head (sort of a borrowed line from Saturday Night Live) Palin’s addition certainly adds something new to the fall line up of Ohio’s corn mazes.

Here is a YouTube video of a news clip of the Palin corn maze. The owner of the Butterfly House, Duke Wheeler explains how the maze was made and what other fun things his farm has planned.

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Paging Sarah Palin: Alaska state senator gets rowdy on flight after denied alcohol

by Jeffrey White on

This is probably not the time for Alaska’s politicians to get rowdy and cause problems.

The Associated Press is reporting that Lesil McGuire, an Alaskan state senator, caused a ruckus on board an Alaska Airlines flight early last month. Apparently, McGuire went so far as throwing a glass of water across the cabin when flight attendants refused to serve her alcohol.

There’s an Anchorage police report from Sept. 4 detailing the confrontation. McGuire was also order to stop using her Blackberry as the Anchorage-bound flight was taxiing to take off in Juneau, but she continued texting away, causing the pilot to actually stop the plane.

McGuire leads Alaska’s state affairs committee.

Police at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport questioned McGuire, but she will not be charged with a crime, authorities say.

Gadling wonders whether somebody put in a call…