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TRAVEL Coming next Sunday
HEADLANDS BEACH
SUNDAY JULY 4, 2010
Online
Even with oil, fun
WATCH ON GAS PRICES
Panama City could hold deals F3
Erie park worth the drive
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Dispatch.com/gasprices
NAVY PIER
ABOVE: Navy Pier draws tourists and locals to the lakefront of Chicago.
Ready, set,
C H I C A G O From dino bones to a Ferris wheel, the Windy City has fun for everyone By Susan Glaser | THE PLAIN DEALER
HICAGO — I’m high on Chicago — make that high above Chicago — checking out the skyline from the Navy Pier Ferris wheel. ¶ This is the kind of tourist trap I usually try to avoid — $6 for a single spin around? — yet I can’t stop smiling. I’m a softie for amusement-park rides, and, besides, the sights from up here are terrific. Our entire weekend in Chicago is set out before us. To the south, the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium, where we spent the previous day checking out dinosaur bones
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FIELD MUSEUM
LEFT: A statue adorns the top of the old Montgomery Ward building.
ABOVE: Sue, the T. rex, is celebrating 10 years at the Field Museum.
See CHICAGO Page F2
NAM Y. HUH ASSOCIATED PRESS
TICKET TO WRITE
Following Jefferson’s footsteps through France’s wine country
Aviation museums take flight in Ohio
By Ann Mah NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
When Thomas Jefferson embarked on his grand tour of France in 1787, he claimed that the journey was for his health. A broken wrist sent him 1,200 miles south from Paris to take the mineral waters at Aix-en-Provence, and on the way he planned to fulfill his professional obligations as America’s top envoy to France, researching French architecture, agriculture and engineering projects. But when he chose to begin his three-month journey in the vinecovered slopes of Burgundy, Jefferson’s daughter, Martha, became suspicious. “I am inclined to think that your voyage is rather for your pleasure than for your health,” she teased him in a letter. In fact, Jefferson’s five-day visit to the Cote d’Or — a region famous even in the 18th century for its extraordinary gout de terroir — was not accidental. He was keen to discover the vineyards and cellars of Burgundy, and to study firsthand a winemaking tradition See WINE Page F3
ED ALCOCK THE NEW YORK TIMES
Visitors can still see the vineyards and cellars of the Burgundy region that Thomas Jefferson visited in 1787, a winemaking tradition that stretches back as far as the 11th century.
Paris π
Cote d’Or
FRANCE
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
07-04-2010
The Fourth of July is a great time to pause and give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy. The American military has been defending those freedoms on the land and on the sea for 224 years. And for the past 100 years or so, that defense has also extended to the skies. This summer is a great time for a short drive to one of STEVE the sites in STEPHENS Ohio paying tribute to the men and women who designed, serviced and flew our nation’s aircraft — military and civilian — while opening a new frontier. It’s easy for Ohioans to take the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton for granted. But every time my wife’s sister and her husband — both pilots — visit us from Honolulu, the Air Force museum is the one must-see stop on their Ohio itinerary.
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And each time I visit, I’m reminded of what a fascinating place the museum is — and of the technological brilliance, the beauty and the bravery on display. This summer, the museum is commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean War with a completely renovated Korean War exhibit. The massive 42,000-square-foot exhibit is the largest ever assembled by the museum’s staff. The U.S. Air Force did not become a separate military service until 1947, so it was in its infancy when the Korean War broke out. The exhibit tells the story of the crucial role the young Air Force and its pilots played in the conflict. On display are 14 of the most important aircraft flown in the conflict by both sides, including an F-86 Sabre fighter and a Russian MiG-15 fighter. Also on display is a gargantuan C-124 transport, a plane with a wingspan of 174 feet that weighed about 200,000 pounds when See STEPHENS Page F2
PubDate: 07-04-2010
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THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Travel
SUNDAY, JULY 4, 2010
If you go
CHICAGO
CHICAGO
FROM PAGE F1 and beluga whales. To the north, the Lincoln Park Zoo, a small, walkable space, where we could have watched the charismatic white-cheeked gibbons for hours. To the west, the Chicago River, where we enjoyed a 90-minute architectural tour, craning our necks to see the tops of the city’s tallest buildings. And to the east, glorious Lake Michigan, which we strolled along. An easy six-hour drive, Chicago has world-class museums, renowned shopping and excellent eats. It’s a terrific destination for a couples weekend away, a girls getaway or a few days of fun with the family. Since my last visit in 2006, STEVEN BRUNOT FOR THE PLAIN DEALER a lot has changed, from the The Shedd Aquarium’s new Fantasea show tells the story of a girl on a magical journey. American Girl Place to the Lincoln Park Zoo. us about, among other at a cost of $475 million. Six Place on this trip. I’ve been things, the differences years later, all is forgiven. there, done that in both New First stop: the Shedd between mammoths, mastoMy kids loved Cloud Gate, York and Chicago, and I Trying to beat the crowds, dons and elephants; and the aka the Bean, the giant didn’t feel the need to make most likely reasons they kidney-bean-shaped mirwe scheduled the Shedd another call to this dollbecame extinct (all but the rored sculpture that offers Aquarium as our first stop apalooza, where the parting elephants, anyway, and endless amusing reflections of money from mom (any Friday morning. It’s a strategy that worked until about they’re headed in that direc- and has become perhaps the mom) is a near certainty. tion). city’s most photographed 11 a.m., when the busloads But my girls weren’t leavThere were also sparring landmark. Also great fun: the ing Chicago without a quick of kids on field trips started tusks to play with, an ox pelt Crown Fountain, with giant arriving. look-see, and I agreed, if to touch and a match-theelectronic faces spitting out only because the store has But by then, we had seen most of the 422,000-square- species-to-its-habitat game. water at nearby waders. relocated since our last visit. The centerpiece of the For more outdoor time, foot water wonder, including In 2008, the store moved exhibit is a 40,000-year-old we hopped on a 5 p.m. the show Fantasea, which across the street, to Water preserved baby mammoth architectural tour of the made its debut last year. Tower Place, occupying two discovered by a reindeer Chicago River, sponsored by floors in this Michigan AveMy kids (ages 9 and 11) the Chicago Architecture loved the show, which tracks herder in 2007 frozen in nue landmark. mud in Siberia. The month- Foundation. My girls got a a girl “chosen” from the Honestly, the new digs bit glassy-eyed after the audience who embarks on a old female (and this one is look a lot like the old ones, confirmed female) was umpteenth description of 25-minute magical journey, though this new space no yet another Mies van der encountering beluga whales, named after the herder’s longer houses a theater for wife, Lyuba (Russian for Rohe-inspired skyscraper, penguins, hawks and dollive performances (a shame, love). but my husband and I found because the shows were phins. I thought the show After our mammoth eduthe 90-minute tour fascinat- pretty good). There’s still a was a bit heavy on special cation, we took a whirlwind ing. effects and too light on anirestaurant (the food’s not This was also where we mal encounters, but, judging tour of life on Earth during bad), a hair salon (for dolls), the past 4 billion years. discovered why the Chicago a hospital (for dolls) and by the audience reaction, I It’s all laid out in chronRiver flows backward, away was in the minority. hundreds of opportunities ological order in the Field’s from Lake Michigan. More We also got a look at the for indulgent parents to, Evolving Planet exhibit, than a century ago, when recently renovated Oceanwell, indulge their children. which traces the evolution of the sewage-laden river was arium, which houses the (And, yes, of course, I did.) life from the world’s earliest polluting the lake (and aquarium’s large-mammal The view from above populations, including eight fossils to the first dinosaurs, therefore, Chicago’s drinkmammals and, finally, man. ing water), the city decided beluga whales and three The sky was overcast for Among many sobering to divert the river to the dolphins. New features most of our visit, so we include the Polar Play Zone, realities, the exhibit outlines Mississippi River basin, via a scrapped plans to go up in Earth’s six mass extinctions new canal. That canal, the an area for younger kids the Willis Tower (formerly Chicago Sanitary and Ship where they can dress up like — including the one we’re known as Sears Tower) and part of today, when an aver- Canal, was controversial an otter, climb on a rocky see the cityscape from the penguin habitat and explore age of four species disappear then — and still is today, tallest building in the United every hour. because it’s the path for the States. a submarine. The museum’s recently dreaded Asian carp into the Several of the older areas We headed to Navy Pier expanded Genius Hall of Great Lakes. of the Shedd proved enterinstead. The 3,300-foottaining as well, including the Dinosaurs is the highlight of stretch of concrete is home South Side science lesson to restaurants, bars, boat the exhibit, a huge space Wild Reef, which explores filled with more than a the coastal habitat of the The science lesson contin- tours, the Chicago Childozen life-size beasts repre- ued Saturday morning at the dren’s Museum, the Chicago Philippines, with an oversenting every major dinohead shark tank that will Shakespeare Theater, twiceMuseum of Science and make you feel as if you’re in saur group, from a 72-footIndustry, the nation’s oldest weekly fireworks, amusethe water with these impos- long Apatosaurus to the ment-park rides and more. science museum and still birdlike raptor Deinonychus. one of the best. ing creatures. It’s Chicago’s top tourist Birthday girl Sue, however, draw and worth a stroll for New this year is “Science Next up: the Field on display in the museum’s Storms,” a massive twothe people-watching alone. main entry hall, remains the story exhibit that explores Built as a cargo pier for After lunch — a ChicagoField’s primary prehistoric lake freighters in 1916, it was the science behind tornastyle hot dog from a stand used by the Navy during does and tsunamis, lightoutside the aquarium — we princess. World War II and the Unining and sunlight. walked the few steps from A walk in the park versity of Illinois in the 1950s Here, I stepped inside a the Shedd to the Field Muand early ’60s. It fell into wind tunnel to feel an 80 seum, the city’s venerable After a full day inside, we mph gust, pretended I was a disrepair in the 1970s and natural history museum, needed some sunshine. So was redeveloped in the storm chaser helping track which this year is celebratwe walked from the mu1990s. tornadic activity in Kansas, ing the 10th anniversary of seum campus — on the Among its signature atthe public unveiling of Sue, southern edge of downtown and created my own tsunatractions is the 240-pasthe famous T. rex discovered and home to the Adler Plan- mi in a 30-foot-long wave senger Ferris wheel, pool. in South Dakota in 1990. etarium as well as the Field Also new in the past year: modeled after the very first We paid homage to the and the Shedd — along the one, which was introduced “YOU! The Experience,” great dame (who, incidenlake, through Grant Park, which focuses on the human at the World’s Columbian tally, isn’t necessarily a past Buckingham Fountain Exposition, the world’s fair body, personal health and dame — she’s named after and all the way to Millenniheld on the South Side of wellness. Get your heart the paleontologist, Sue Hen- um Park. Chicago in 1893. pumping and see it prodrickson, who found her) This compact space, The current Ferris wheel, jected 13 feet high on the but spent most of our time 24 acres in the northwest at 150 feet tall, is considscreen in front of you. touring the new exhibit corner of Grant Park, is the erably smaller than the origThen test your ability to “Mammoths and Mastocity’s new hot spot, second inal, which stretched unwind with a game of dons: Titans of the Ice Age,” only to Navy Pier as a top 250 feet into the air and held Mindball, in which an elecwhich will be at the museum tourist attraction. Come tronic headband reads your more than 2,000 passengers. through Labor Day. here to take in a show or Tickets on the original cost brain activity and moves a This is a terrific space for throw a Frisbee, to have small ball away from you as 50 cents for a single revolukids (and adults) who get lunch or have your picture tion — even higher, relayou relax. When it reaches easily bored with the static taken, to people-watch or tively speaking, than the $6 your opponent, you win. exhibits traditionally found walk through the gardens. price for a spin today. in history museums. Videos Never mind that the park, From dolls to the zoo Chances are, if I were alive — featuring young narrators which was scheduled to back then, I probably would translating scientific-speak open in 2000 and cost Truth is, I was hoping to have ridden that one, too. — did a good job educating $150 million, opened in 2004 avoid the American Girl
STEPHENS FROM PAGE F1 fully loaded. Many of the planes are accompanied by interactive touch-screens telling about the aircraft and their pilots. The exhibit is on permanent display. For information about the museum, call 937-255-1283 or visit www.national museum.af.mil. While in the area, aviation buffs might also want to
HOW TO REACH US TRAVEL EDITOR Cindy Decker .......614-461-5027 cdecker@dispatch.com Fax ......................614-559-1754
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stop by the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park, which tells the story of the Wright brothers and their historic flight and careers. Call 937-225-7705 or visit www.nps.gov/daav. Dayton isn’t the only place in Ohio to see aviation history. The International Women’s Air & Space Museum at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland has unveiled a new exhibit marking 100th years of American women in flight. “100 Ohio Women in Air & Space” tells the story of female pilots beginning with Blanche Stuart Scott, who became the first American woman to fly an airplane in 1910. The exhibit features more than 50 artifacts, including a NASA spacesuit;
the uniform worn by Thelma Miller, a Norwalk resident who flew with the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during World War II; and a flight suit from the 1930s Akron women aviators’ group known as “the Squadron of Death” — you have to like that. Also featured are female aviators of today working at the NASA Glenn Research Center, for the U.S. military and as air-traffic controllers. Call 216-623-1111 or visit www.iwasm.org for more information. And Akron is home to the Military Aircraft Preservation Museum, or MAPS. The all-volunteer MAPS Museum is located at the AkronCanton Airport. On display are more than two dozen historic military aircraft that
07-04-2010
have been or are being restored. For information, call 330-896-6332 or visit www.mapsairmuseum.org. Steve Stephens is the Dispatch travel writer. He can be reached at 614-461-5201 or by e-mail. sstephens@dispatch.com
LAKEFRONT TOURS to Wheeling Island Casino
Pay $15.00 and get $25.00 $15.00 Bonus Back It’s like going for FREE! Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
For Res.
1-800-852-2642 ext. 301
PAGE F2
The city is less than a six-hour drive from Columbus. We parked our car for the duration and let the Chicago Transit Authority (and our feet) take us everywhere. We hoped to take the L train somewhere, but the museums and tourist sites on our agenda were more easily reached by bus. The only problem with buses: They get stuck in traffic just like cars. KEY ATTRACTIONS The Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Dr., has a slew of activities planned to celebrate the 10th anniversary of T. rex Sue’s arrival in Chicago. Call 312-922-9410 or visit www.fieldmuseum.org. The Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S. Lake Shore Dr. has a new show, Fantasea. Call 312-939-
2438 or visit www.shedd aquarium.org. The Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. Lake Shore Dr., is about 5 miles south of downtown in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Call 773-6841414 or visit www.msi chicago.org. Lincoln Park Zoo, 2001 N. Clark St., is open daily and is free. Call 312-742-2000 or visit www.lpzoo.com. American Girl Place, 835 N. Michigan Ave., has dolls galore. Reserve ahead for weekend meals at the American Girl Cafe. Call 1-877-247-5223 or visit www.americangirl.com. LEARNING MORE For more information about Chicago, call 1-877-244-2246 or visit www.explorechicago. org.
Going Somewhere?
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Reynolds Travel has just introduced their 2010 Ohio State Football Away schedule and they will be offering motorcoach trips to Illinois , Wisconsin and Iowa and both a flying and motorcoach option to Minnesota. All of the trips are listed on the web site. Reynolds Travel will also be offering a Shopping, Shows and Sightseeing Trip to New for the Christmas period for Dec. 2-5, 2010 including Radio City Music Hall Rockettes performance and Jersey Boys. See the web site for more info. We sell all travel world-wide and specialize in Europe. Call us if you need us.
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