Columbus: Land of Ohio Treasures

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Columbus is a city made for sharing. 

This tour is designed to showcase the culinary culture of the city’s neighborhoods including Short North, a German Village formed in the 1830’s after a surge of European immigration and is now one of the largest groupings of European restaurants in North America. 

Join us as we unwrap the many treasures of this marvelous, All-American place! 

Day 1 – Home to Bloomington, IL 

Our travel on this first day takes us south, through Iowa, and into Central Illinois where we take our night’s rest. Dinner this evening will be on your own with several restaurants to choose from. 

Hotel: Holiday Inn Express 

Day 2 – Bloomington to Columbus/Grove City, OH 

Breakfast is provided at the hotel before we board the coach and continue to our much anticipated destination. We journey through the heart of Indiana and across the verdant farmlands of Ohio to Columbus Land! Our very comfortable accommodations the next four evenings is the Drury Inn & Suites in Grove City. This hotel has been carefully selected for its attention to customer service, convenience to nearby restaurants, central location to our scheduled events, and the ever popular Managers “Kickback” Reception each evening. 

Included Meals: Breakfast, Manager’s Reception 

Hotel: Drury Inn & Suites (4 Nights) 

Day 3 – Columbus/Grove City 

Drury Inn’s Signature Breakfast Buffet awaits us before we begin our search for adventure. The next few days we will be hosted by our very own expert local step-on guide. We will discover and experience so much about this amazing area that we had no clue even existed before now. So welcome to the ride! Enjoy!! We start off with a tour of the Purple Plains Lavender Farm. Enjoy a brief presentation of the lavender, mushrooms, and hickory syrup process. We’ll sample a delightful herbal lavender tea and taste the sweet and smoky hickory syrup with a bite of warm waffle. There will also be an opportunity to shop at their pop-up farm stand! A departure gift for everyone will send us on our way. Next is touring the Dutch Mill Green House & Leo Berbee Bulb Company. For more than 48 years the Berbee family has been sharing the beauty of their trade by cultivating and distributing millions of flower bulbs across the U.S. and beyond. Just wait until we hear who is all on their customer list! We’ll tour their facility to learn, discover, and take home a pack of inspiration for our own garden. Then we sit back, relax, and let a seasoned guide navigate the pastoral countryside on a tour of the seven covered bridges of Union County. This scenic driving tour includes expansive views of the Big Darby Plains Scenic Byway. For lunch, we’re guests for a truly unique experience of dining on the picturesque Pottersburg Covered Bridge, built around 1868! Complete with delicious cuisine, bluegrass entertainment, and a historical presentation, we’ll be celebrating a slower era in this beautiful setting. After lunch we’ll enjoy a private tour of Gahanna’s beautiful Geroux Herb Garden’s Scented Culinary, Spiritual, and Medicinal Gardens. Then we head to the Ohio Herb Education Center and learn how easy it is to incorporate herbs into everyday life by making our own custom herbal teas. Next we head to the Glass Rooster Cannery & Old Hen Guest House for a tour of the farm, and a visit to the Artisan Food Shop and Arts and Antiques Barns, where we will find unique Ohio-made gifts, including house-made gourmet foods and one-of-a-kind pieces of art. A delicious farm-to-fork dinner buffet is served. We’ll each receive a sweet little gift to take home. After a delightful and enlightening day, we return to our hotel for a well-deserved good night’s rest. 

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Day 4 – Columbus/Grove City 

We start with a great hot breakfast in generous surroundings right at the hotel. Today is All American Day! So put on your Red, White and Blue!! First up is the Motts Military Museum, one of the top 12 military museums in the country. This unique museum encompasses all periods of military history with all countries in which the United States has been involved. See memorabilia from the men and women who served in our military, Hitler’s personal note paper, a jeep that was used during the Vietnam War, personal items from Ohio’s Chalmers Wylie (former United States Congressmen who served in WWII), and Schwarzeneggers’ Tank. Motts Military Museum will become home to the country’s second largest collection of artifacts from the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Next we’ll enjoy special shopping at Der Dutchman followed by a buffet lunch of turkey, roast beef, and all the trimmings, including an all-American apple pie! Following lunch enjoy a really special show with “The Many Faces of Old Glory.” Vane Scott III tells the story of how our flag came to be. He shows twenty-eight beautiful full-sized flags as he regales us with fascinating and often humorous stories. Then we visit the National Veterans Memorial and Museum – created for a unique and specific purpose: to preserve, share and celebrate the personal experiences of our nation’s Veterans. Past and present. From all branches of service. And from all eras of conflict and peacetime service. Their stories shaped a nation. Our freedom is their legacy! Afterwards, we return to the hotel for a time to refresh and enjoy the Kickback beverages and appetizers. But be sure to save room for a fabulous and unique dinner served at the 94th Aero Squadron, located between the runways of the Port Columbus Airport, offering a dramatic view of the arriving and departing air traffic! The old country 1917 French Farmhouse is full of military memorabilia and aviation relics depicting the times of the WWI and WWII era. The interior of the restaurant is cozy and romantic with huge stone fireplaces, wood paneling, and beamed ceilings. We’ll return to our hotel after thoroughly enjoying our All-American Day! 

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Day 5 – Columbus/Grove City 

Breakfast at the hotel gets us started off in a great mood. Today is A Day of Discovery! We’ll start off with a factory tour of The American Whistle Corporation, the only manufacturer of metal whistles in the United States! Touring this thriving, small, American manufacturing plant, we’ll be entertained with interesting information about whistles and fascinating machinery—some state of the art, some dating back to the beginning of the company. Best of all, everyone leaves with a new “American Classic” whistle! If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll be delighted to learn that our next factory tour is at Anthony-Thomas Candy! We’ll learn how chocolates are made and be surprised by some of the company’s well-known customers. Lunch is served at a ‘50s style diner, where we’ll groove to the music, enjoy the memorabilia, and be treated to tasty food. Next we head to the Franklin Park Conservatory for a guided tour of one of the Midwest’s premier botanical landmark and cultural attractions, featuring exceptional plant collections and gardens. The Conservatory, home to the spectacular “Blooms and Butterflies” exhibit, is situated in the lovely 88-acre Franklin Park and features indoor gardens filled with exotic plant life and artwork by Dale Chihuly. Then we visit North Market, Central Ohio’s Historic Public Market, which has been the home to butchers, bakers, fish mongers, greengrocers, and farmers since 1876. Over the years the merchant offerings have expanded to include ethnic food specialties, gourmet groceries and unique gifts. We’ll be given a brief history of the North Market, which is now home to 36 merchants, including Jeni’s Fresh Ice Creams which The New York Times called “worth the drive to Ohio” and Time magazine called “the best in America.” Anyone up for a small scoop of ice cream?! Enjoy the market! For dinner we head to a Columbus institution, Schmidt’s Sausage Haus, for some great German cuisine. Situated in German Village (circa 1850), with its narrow streets and brick sidewalks, it will feel like we are walking into Germany! We’ll be entertained by a singing, strolling accordionist, and will enjoy a buffet meal of Schmidt’s favorites including their world-famous cream puffs!! Returning to our hotel, we’ll reflect on our Day of Discovery and the three adventure packed days in Columbus we’ve experienced! 

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Day 6 – Columbus to Shipshewana 

One more wonderful hearty breakfast at our hotel before a leisurely departure this morning. Our destination is Shipshewana, the crossroads of Amish Country in Indiana. Our travel today takes us through the rich rolling croplands and pristine farmsteads of Western Ohio and Northwest Indiana. We arrive in the village of Shipshewana, a very special place in the heartland of our country, early enough in the afternoon to explore this quaint and interesting community with its countless shops of unequaled homemade and handmade Amish goods. If shopping is not your bag, treat yourself to an Amish buggy tour of the area. The Blue Gate Garden Inn is a truly “make yourself at home – our kind of place” hotel. So enjoy! Dinner this evening is at the incomparable Blue Gate Restaurant where our Amish homemade feast is served family style! What a treat for our final evening together! Then we’re guests at the Blue Gate Performing Arts Center for The Battle of the Big Bands: Glenn Miller vs Tommy Dorsey. The world famous Glenn Miller Orchestra is the most popular and sought after big band in the world today for both concert and swing dance engagements. With its unique jazz sound, the Glenn Miller Orchestra is considered to be one of the greatest bands of all time. The present Glenn Miller Orchestra was formed in 1956 and has been touring consistently since. In Big Band history, Tommy Dorsey’s Orchestra is recognized as one of the best all-around dance bands. It could swing with the best of them, and no other band could come close to Tommy’s when it came to playing ballads. Tommy Dorsey, “The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing,” was a master at creating warm, sentimental, and always musical moods – at superb dancing and listening tempos. What a battle – what a show! We’ll sleep well tonight. 

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner 

Hotel: Blue Gate Garden Inn 

Day 7 – Shipshewana to Home 

Wow – another awesome breakfast! The amazing Blue Gate Inn Amish Breakfast Buffet. A timely departure and travel across Northern Indiana, skirting the Chicago area, and across Wisconsin gets us home later this afternoon with fond memories from the land of Ohio treasures! 

Included Meals: Breakfast