As mentioned, I am an avid journaller when I travel, but I recently got a new travel journal that allows me to start journalling before my trip. I love it!
When I begin planning a trip I do a ton of research. I cram a lot into each trip I take and want to make sure that I’m making the best use of my time and money, so I usually jot down a few notes here and there as I begin studying ticket prices, the hours different places are open, and where each thing is located. Some of you will probably cringe when you learn that I keep the majority of this information in my head.
Not anymore!
This travel journal designed by Katie Vernon has plenty of space to jot my planning notes in the front section and then write about the experience in the back half of the book. So smart!
I’ll use it as I narrow down the things I want to do in Italy this summer, but until then, I plan to do some exploring in my home state of Ohio and am using the journal AND Ohio Off The Beaten Path to plan some weekend expeditions.
This book has so many great tidbits of information. It is divided into the different regions within Ohio which makes it easy to organize weekend getaways. I live in southwest Ohio and thought I’d seen it all around here, but no — there are some things I’ve missed. One of my first jaunts will likely be to Woodland Cemetery in Dayton. It may be a strange outing for a Saturday morning, but you’ll read why I wanted to go once I write that post.
Many of my Ohio adventures are included in this book: the places I visited in Ohio’s Amish country, the boardwalk and wineries of Geneva-on-the-Lake, the Shawshank tour I took in Mansfield, Ohio, and the
But now I think I’ll plan a weekend up in the northwest corner of the state. Toledo has more to offer than I’d thought and it’s not very far away. I’ve started making my notes and hope to explore many other places in Ohio as I peruse this book.
You never know what you’ll find off-the-beaten path in Ohio. Quirkiness, for sure. For instance, there’s an office building shaped like a basket that used to be Longaberger’s headquarters.
I can’t wait to see what else I’ll discover in Ohio! I’m ready to write about it all already!
What off-the-beaten path attraction is in your neck of the woods?
Browsing The Atlas 
I always bring a notebook on my travels. This looks lovely too. I’m considering a digital notebook to transfer digitally.
Interesting. I’m not sure I could switch to digital. I love having paper and pen. 🙂
this is SO FUN! my mother and brother are doing an Ohio trip this summer and they’re planning to see the basket! : D
That’s awesome!! I’m guessing they’ll hit Amish country on their trip? It’s not far from the Longaberger basket building.
i believe so!! and they’re doing cedar point!! 😱
I can’t wait to see what you visit and take my girl off to visit, too! P.S., before I moved to Ohio from Seattle, you told me if was a good place to live, and especially for families. It has been wonderful for my daughter, and it’s good that we’re closer to our parents. Cohiba and I still love Seattle, but you were right. 🙂
That’s great to hear. Ohio is definitely a good place to call home. I like Seattle a lot, so I don’t discount that, but I feel like Ohio is more family-oriented, if that makes sense.
When I used to sort for UPS I loved getting the Longaberger truck. All of the boxes were super light and uniformly shaped. I felt like a hero! I also loved driving by that building on the way to Blackhand Gorge for biking, in line skating, and canoeing. The old rail tunnel there is awesome but I could never find the Black Hand Rock Formation that was the namesake of the park. Ahh, good times. I used to love camping at Dillon Dam too and always wondered how good the fishing would be if I paddled through the culvert under the railroad tracks into the backwater bay that had no other access point.
No way! I used to sort for UPS, too! I was terrible at it. I feel sorry for whoever drove my truck. 😦
This is cool. I did an Ohio road trip once, but spent most of my time in Cleveland, Columbus, and Berlin (visiting Amish relatives), so didn’t get to see as many of the small towns.
Great Post! I love to explore both the tourist attractions and where the locals go when exploring a place. Probably the closest attraction to here is all about mystical creatures. Either Mickey and Minnie or if really into an adventure the Weeki Wachee Mermaids. Happy Exploring – Enjoy 🙂
Oh! I remember going to Weeki Wachee! What a great Floridian place. 🙂