Sights from a day at the Lorain County Fair

It's Fair Week here in Lorain County. Here are a few scenes from Tuesday. 

Food

Wood-fired pizza by Lorenzo's "The Beautiful Flame"

Animals

Midway

Displays and Attractions

Hauntville/Spooky Ranch display

Come out and see us in building 23 at the Fairgrounds. We'll be here all week!

Farewell to the Lorain County Funductors!

Melody (left) and Kaitlin

This summer has flown by! We got to experience so many fun local things while trying to show others how great our county is. Together Melody and I explored Lorain County this summer. We documented our travels here for you, now it is time for us to say goodbye...

Kaitlin

I think that we definitely got the best internship! This summer has been a blast! I think by far my favorite thing was our paddle boarding experience and the blog. I went along on a location scouting session which was awesome! It was great to get to see the kids so excited about paddle boarding and I love the photographs I got from that session. The photo opportunities I've gotten for the blogs really helped me stay in practice! I was so happy to be able to incorporate it into the blogs. I've learned so much about Lorain County in the past three months. It's amazing how much my own hometown has to offer that I didn't know about. The two coolest events that I had no idea we had are the Lorain Lighthouse tours and the Wellington Hot Air Balloon Festival. I regret to say I haven't gotten a chance to experience either of these events but they're both definitely on my bucket list now! I'm sad that the summer is over already and I have to say goodbye to all of the great ladies at Visit Lorain County but I'm so grateful for this awesome opportunity.

Melody

I honestly could not have asked for a better internship. I got the opportunity to do so much! I've sat in on meetings, represented Lorain County at the Ohio State Fair, and done some really fun stuff to write all about in this blog! As excited as I am to go back to The Ohio State University, I'll really miss everyone in this office and all the fun I've had through VLC this summer. It's crazy to me that so much stuff amazing stuff was right under my nose. I hope we've inspired you to get out and see it all for yourself!

To wrap things up, Lorain County is a great place to explore. It doesn't matter if you're a local looking for some new adventure, or seeking a vacation spot. We've got plenty to offer to anyone!

Follow the Fish!

This week Kaitlin and I were out and about in Lorain County, just running a few errands for the office, and it ended up being a really exciting day thanks to Follow the Fish Art and Adventure Trails! This was the first fish we ran across as we were walking in downtown Oberlin. It's right in front of the Oberlin Business Partnership.

Driving through Lorain we came across another fish. This one was quite a bit bigger than the first one of the day, and a lot more colorful! It's right by a stoplight, so when I saw it I excitedly scrambled for a camera from the passenger seat to get a quick picture while we were stopped. Check it and other great Lorain County sights on out Instagram page!

Later as we were making our way down Broadway we were lucky enough to spot the Follow the Fish store front, and a few of their neighbors have fish on display as well! It's such a unique experience to be driving through a city and see a piece of one of a kind locally made artwork directing you towards an awesome local business you may not have otherwise seen!

Our next stop was back to the VLC office where we were greeted by our own fishy friend. He's been hanging out here all summer!

You really never know where you'll come across one of these fish, whether you seek them out or just happen to bump into one like Kaitlin and I did this week or when we were out writing this blog post. We've only shown you a handful of the fish, so you'd better get out there and find some for yourself! You can find the locations online, or stop in to our tourist information center at 8025 Leavitt Road, Amherst OH to pick up a copy of the Follow the Fish Art and Adventure Trail guide.

Where have you been seeing fish around the county? Let us know in the comment section!

~Melody

Spotlight on Amherst, Ohio

Melody, Allie, and I spent a day exploring Amherst during the last week of July. Amherst is a great place to spend time in for a day or a week! There are so many things to do from shopping, to dining, to things for the kids.

Who can resist Kiedrowski's baked goods!

We started our day out right, with doughnuts! I love doughnuts and baked goods so I was very excited about this first stop. We stopped at Kiedrowski's Bakery to hear polka music and check out their freshly baked goods. Melody and I got doughnuts and Allie got one of their famous Snoogles. Kiedrowski's specializes in Polish baked goods and their patented Snoogle.

Allie loves these flipflops!

 After spending some time in the bakery we were re-energized and ready for shopping! We made our way to downtown Amherst to check out some local shopping. Our first stop was The Mermaid's Tale, an adorable boutique that offers unique jewelry and gifts and a great Vera Bradley selection. We had our sights set on the purse selection the boutique has, one can never have too many! We browsed around while I snapped pictures of our finds. Another great place to stop is Ridgehill Collectibles. There you will find unique collectibles and products made in America.

Melody celebrating national hotdog day.

It happened to be national hotdog day, so we had to stop at Hot Dog Heaven to celebrate! Hot Dog Heaven is a great spot in town to grab your very own made-to-order hot dog and fries and a delicious dessert! Located near downtown, it's an easy walk or drive after shopping around. They have dollar dog hours daily and their fries are delicious with a little chili powder on them. I would also recommend trying their funnel cake fries, they're a great way to end any meal!

The chalk wall at the new Mercy playground.

After our delicious lunch we went to check out the new playground at the Mercy Health and Recreation Center. This new playground was specially built for children with handicaps that would not normally be able to play on a playground. There is an awesome tree house and a swing that are wheel chair accessible. The playground includes slides, a giant sandbox, a pond for fishing, and a group of teepees that offer fun educational activities inside. I thought the new playground was really cool, being at the age to play in it again would be awesome!

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Amherst.

 On our way to the Sandstone Village we stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Amherst. It remembers the 98 people from Lorain County who gave their lives during the Vietnam War. This beautiful monument is located within walking distance of a local park. It's a great place to stop at on your daily walk.

Cheap gas at the Sandstone Village.

 The Sandstone Village is part of the Amherst Historical Society. This site has 10 historical buildings. We wandered around the grounds. The historic buildings are beautiful and have quirky details that were often amusing. When looking at the gas station we noticed the price of gas was 44 cents per gallon, I wish gas was still that price! We peeked in the windows of the Harris/Dute House, one of the oldest buildings in that location. There were so many old appliances in the kitchen! The caboose was closed up but while looking through the windows I was surprised to see how roomy it was. It reminded Allie and I of the Boxcar Children series. We also went to see the Blacksmith shop which is sometimes open to the public to see an actual blacksmith at work, and the Octagonal Barn which was used as a carriage house.

Amherst has many things to do any time of year from food to entertainment! The city of Amherst boasts so many great restaurants, I wish we had time to sample them all. Check out Visit Lorain County's dining listings for culinary options.