Help! Inexpensive Spring Break Ideas-NE Ohio!

[OverplanninJess]

DBF and I will be on "Spring" break next week (it's going to be 26 next Monday according to the weather man!). Basically, we're typical college students (meaning we are low on cash-perpetually-and do not have the funds to fly away to some exotic locale). We want to do something fun while we're off, but we want it to be easy on our budget. We're about an hour south of Cleveland, an hour west of Pittsburgh, and about 2 1/2 hours east of Columbus-basically we're open to anything in NE Ohio/NW PA (heck, probably even the SW corner of NY or the NW corner/"tail" of WVA)

We feel like we've depleted our resources for things to do-we've been to:

*The Cleveland Zoo (I just completed an internship there in Dec-so we've been there A LOT)
*The Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium
*The Columbus Zoo
*The Cleveland Museum of Natural History
*Towers City
*IKEA (that's an outing we repeat many times-but it would end up costing us too much money if we went there!)
*Easton
*Phipps Conservatory
*Stan Hywet (another repeat favorite-but not a lot of fun when it's 26 degrees)
*Great Lakes Science Center
*Numerous State and National Parks
*Amish Country (yes, we were desperate-but it actually was a nice day)
*Ohio Natural History Museum (in C-bus)
*Cabela's
*We like to camp, but not when it's 26 degrees
*Homer Laughlin Factory (they make Fiestaware-which is what we have, so we go for the outlet)
*Legacy Village

So, we need suggestions! We haven't been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but we haven't heard good things. Any and all ideas are greatly appreciated!

 

[Pembo]

Are you waterpark people? Kalahari in Sandusky is very fun even for adults.
IF you like rock and know something about the history, you'd like the museum. Ever been to Frankenmuth MI and Bronners?

 

[OverplanninJess]

We've considered Kalahari, but I don' know if I feel comfortable putting on a bathing suit just yet...I'm working off those good old holiday pounds right now in preparation for summer (if only they wouldn't sneak back up on me in Dec!). As for Frankenmuth-it's one of our absolute favorites (but a bit beyond our price range right now-we're looking for more of a day trip, and we always stay a couple of nights up there). Thank you though!

 

[vsimeone]

Hey Neighbor! I'm in Canton!

How about the Cincinnati area? My brother used to live there but I haven't been in a long while. There is a really cool museum there - I believe it's Union Terminal? They also have a wonderful zoo and of course there's outlet shopping in Jeffersonville on the way.

Possibly look at Detroit too. Just don't go out after dark! I hear the new casinos are fantastic and reasonably priced. There is the Henry Ford museum and Greenfield Village too. Detroit and Toledo both have nice zoos also (at least they USED to!)

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is fun. It's a little on the expensive side but if you live in NE Ohio, you should try it once! Also, the Art Museum in Cleveland is fantastic.

Have a wonderful break and think warm thoughts!

 

[lisajl]

Dayton Air Force museum...it's free!

 

[OverplanninJess]

Not trying to be a spoil sport, and I'm thankful for the suggestions-but Cinci and Dayton are just a bit too far-the same with Detroit and Toledo-we want to try and avoid getting a hotel. We are considering the Cleveland Art Museum though!

vsimeone-We love Belden Village Mall, and Mulligans! Oh and what I would give for some of their french onion soup right about now! Also, I suggested the Football Hall of Fame to DBF-but I'm the sports fan in our house and he wasn't too psyched about that idea.

 

[ADAMANDLISA]

Where in Ohio are you from? I'll be more help that way. Have you ever been to Mountaineer Raceway? You could go play slots or bet on horses.

 

[OverplanninJess]

We're about an hour south of Cleveland, an hour west of Pittsburgh, and about 2 1/2 hours east of Columbus-basically we're open to anything in NE Ohio/NW PA (heck, probably even the SW corner of NY or the NW corner/"tail" of WVA)

To be more precise-we're in Lordstown.

Mountaineer is not for me-way too smokey (and it wouldn't really save us money)! Gee, I think I now know why we've run out of things to do-I'm getting too picky!

 

[ADAMANDLISA]

I'm from Canfield! We live just over the border in Pa now. Have you ever gone to Linesville? I know it's cold out, but feeding the fish is very cheap and strangely grotesque!

 

[OverplanninJess]

The metroparks farm in Canfield is one of my favorite places to go in the Spring! I love seeing all the baby animals! And of course there's the Canfield Fair!

I don't know where/what Linesville is though?

 

[ADAMANDLISA]

Linesville, Pa - over by Pymatuning. I guess there's a fish hatchery, but we've only gone to feed this fish. There is this big walkway overlooking the water. Fish are piled up on top of each other to get the food you feed them. It is the strangest thing you will ever see.

 

[TifffanyD]

It might be cold, but you can do a lunch/dinner cruise on the Nautica Queen in Cleveland or the Gateway Clipper in Pittsburgh.

There's the Warhol museum in Pittsburgh too. They have a discount for students I think (with ID) or Friday nights (after 5) are half price.

 

[CinRell]

Get a cabin in hocking hills or another area in Ohio.... you can get last minute deals pretty good! Many cabins have fireplaces and jacuzzis!!

 

[swea_pea1]

You could try Oglebay in Wheeling WV. It's just about an hour south of Pittsburgh and there are some things to do in the winter, like visiting their zoo or horseback riding. If you like it, put it on your list to go back during the Christmas Season for the Festival of Lights. It's beautiful.

http://www.oglebay-resort.com/index.htm

Or you could try Nemacolin Woodlands, a resort right outside of Pittsburgh. They have dog-sledding, which I personally think would be really cool! No idea of the price, but it might be worth the phone call. Here's their site:

http://www.nemacolin.com/

They're having Ice Wine festivals throughout the Lake Erie Wine regions all through March. If you're going for a day trip, that may not be such a good idea. But Ice Wine is oh so good.

In nearby Ashtabula, OH, they have a ton of covered bridges. The driving tour is here:

http://www.coveredbridgefestival.org/bridges.htm

I'll bet that will make for some beautiful pictures, especially if it's recently snowed. And if you like seafood, stop at Hil-mak's for dinner. I don't do seafood, but my DH does and he loves it there.

Have fun!

 

[minniebeth]

Nemacolin Resort is very nice but NOT budget friendly at all...
Oglebay (in WV just across the Ohio border) is awesome! The rates are decent and there is so much to do!
If you are looking for day trips, there is a book called Ohio With Kids that can be found in any Ohio Borders/Barnes and Noble Store...despite its title, it is just a list of every fun thing to do in Ohio categorized by geographical area.
You can spend an afternoon or evening with a cup of coffee in the store browsing through it jotting down notes of things that may appeal to you.
I'm sure you will find fun things!
Let us know what you ended up doing so we can put it on our list of things to do!

 

[harleyquinn]

The Rock Hall is really cool esp. if you like music and you have no excuse not to go living around here.

The Football Hall of Fame in Canton is kinda cool if you're into football.

But I think the Art and Natural History muesems are the best bet. University circle (where the muesems are) also has the indoor botanical gardens and some other stuff.
There is some type of pass that gets you into mulitple places for cheaper. I think it can be found at http://www.cleveland.com/universitycircleguide/ or just google university circle cleveland for tons more info.

Or what about a Cavs game? We also have a new Arena Football (Cleveland Gladiators)team that played their first game yesterday. And the Lake Erie Monsters are playing too right now (Hockey).

 

[MsLeFever]

Lots to do in the Burgh!

Warhol
Science Museum/IMAX
Natural Science Museum
Lots of Theatre
Aviary
(If you wanted to do a bunch of museums it might be worth it to buy a membership....the Carneige memberships cover the first 3 I mentioned)

I bet you could price line a hotel in Pittsburgh cheap - my brother got a great room for 35 bucks at Christmas.

Have a good break!

 

[harleyquinn]

You could also look through Neil Zurker's one tank trip books. We have them all at the library. (We have the Ohio with Kids books too).

 

[OverplanninJess]

Has anyone gone on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway? It looks like it might be kind of fun. (And for $15/person, right up out alley!)

All of your suggestions are great-and reminded me of other places we have been that I didn't mention (Pittsburgh Science Center, Pittsburgh Natural History Museum-that was pretty recent, I can't believe I forgot!, and the Cleveland Botanical Gardens)

We also were thinking about the Smuckers stuff in Orrville-has anyone been? Is there much to it?

I think the Rock Hall is going to be one of our stops-does it take a whole day to go through?

 

[Leader of the Club]

Are you waterpark people? Kalahari in Sandusky is very fun even for adults.

You do not need to stay at Kalahari to buy a water park pass.

The absolute worst week/vacation/experience of my life was at Kalahari in January. They will never see my money cross their threshold again!