I think folks assume Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky are just full of bland, blue collar working-class towns, and might not necessarily plan a road trip here, but let me tell you, they are very exciting places to visit chock full of really fun and interesting things to explore and do. Yvonne, Jacob and Abigail were along for the ride once again and could not wait to explore as we hit the road. Our theme for this region was Industrialization on the American Waterways and we learned how this area was transformed during the American industrial revolution and boomed because of its location close to the Great lakes.
We learned about American innovators like the Wright Brothers who were based in Dayton and Henry Ford in Detroit. We learned how the assembly line transformed American manufacturing and watched it in action at the Ford Rouge Factory as Ford F-150 pickup trucks moved down the line. We watched the same concept at the Louisville Slugger factory as baseball bats came off the factory line to be used to play America’s famous pastime. I think this region is one that so many folks take for granted unaware of the cultural richness, but scratch the surface, and you’ll be awed at what you find here-like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Motown, car culture at the Henry Ford Museum and the Indy 500 Motor Speedway, and all about horses in the rolling pasturelands of Kentucky known as the Derby region. We were surrounded by all American ideas and creativity turned into reality and it made all of us proud to be Americans.
And while so much on our trip was exciting, exploring innovative ideas, there was painful history here as well. Ironically our loop started and stopped at the Ohio River that was the dividing line between slavery and freedom. We were truly moved at the Freedom Center located on the banks of the river in the Cincinnati that was the final destination for many on the Underground Railroad. It was there that we experienced the inside of an authentic slave pen that was recovered less than 60 miles away in Kentucky. As impartial tourists from California, there is no doubt in my mind that the cultural divide between north and south still hangs in the air in these parts.
I love that we are discovering all of America, her most innovative ideas that have changed the world and the saddest chapters in her long and storied history.
States Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky
| Theme Industrialization on the American Waterways | Duration 13 Days | Map |
Day 1
 | • Fly to Cincinnati • Wake Nation |
Day 2
 | • William Howard Taft Historic Site • Cincinnati History Museum • Lunch at Gold Star Chili • The Freedom Center-the Underground Railroad Museum • Drive to Dayton • The Wright Cycle Company Complex • Drive to Columbus • Ohio State Capitol Building • Overnight in Columbus |
Day 3
 | • Drive to Velvet Ice Cream Factory, Utica • Drive to Cleveland • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame • Dinner at Melt |
Day 4
 | • Drive to Vermillion • Inland Seas Museum • Drive to Sandusky • Cedar Point Amusement Park • Drive to Toledo • Overnight in Toledo |
Day 5
 | • Toledo Museum of Art-Glass Pavillion • Drive to Detroit • Motown-Hitsville USA • Detroit Historical Museum • Overnight in Dearborn |
Day 6
 | • Ford Rouge Factory Tour • The Henry Ford Museum • Pewabic Pottery • Dinner at BD’s Mongolian Grill • Overnight in Dearborn |
Day 7
 | • Drive to Pt. Huron • Thomas Edison Train Depot Museum • Drive to Lansing • Michigan Historical Center • Michigan State Capitol Building • Overnight in Lansing |
Day 8
 | • Drive to Indianapolis • Indiana State Capitol Building • Indianapolis motor speedway hall of fame • Overnight in Indianapolis |
Day 9
 | • Indiana History Center • Conner Prairie history Park • Drive to Louisville Kentucky • Churchill Downs and Kentucky Derby Museum • Overnight in Louisville |
Day 10
 | • Louisville Slugger Museum • Louisville Glass works • Overnight in Louisville |
Day 11
 | • Drive to Frankfort • Kentucky State Capitol Building • Kentucky History Center • Rebecca Ruth Candy Factory Tour • Drive to Lexington • Harness Racing at the Red Mile • Overnight in Lexington |
Day 12
 | • Kentucky Horse Park • Drive to Cincinnati • Overnight in Cincinnati |
Day 13
• Fly home
