I was invited to spend a long weekend in Butler County, Ohio, just after they became Wheel The World certified for accessibility. The tourism board wanted me to write about how wheelchair accessible the region is. I hadn’t been there before, and it sounded like an interesting area, so I made plans to go. My trip to Butler County turned out to be one of my most unusual adventures, with new experiences, and a lot of donuts! I brought Teddy and my friend, Heather, along for the ride, about three and a half hours from home. We had a nice welcome basket waiting for us at the hotel. Our home base was the Marriott Cincinnati North in Westerville. I was happy at the start with a flat entrance and automatic doors. They didn’t have any accessible rooms, so we had two connecting rooms. Teddy loved going back and forth between the two rooms. Mine had plenty of space for me to wheel around, a well-equipped desk area I could reach, and a large bathroom with a shower chair. The handheld was...
It was one of those places I had looked forward to returning to soon, but never got around to it.
When I had the chance to cover the first annual Bourbon
& Beyond Festival, I knew it was also a chance to get back to a Kentucky
favorite, which happens to be only a few hours away from my home in Champaign.
Brittany, Jamie, and I headed out first thing on Friday morning,
so we could get to Louisville in time for a full day.
The tourism board had helped
me arrange some fun and unique things to do.
To say that this place makes baseball bats would be a huge
understatement. It is a baseball lover’s must – and I happen to be one.
We had a private tour through the museum and factory as we watched the bats being made from start to finish.
We also learned about the
history of making bats in Louisville, and saw some owned by famous players,
such as Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds, and Kris Bryant.
This Mets fan was especially excited to see the one signed by Mookie Wilson.
In addition to the history and the factory, the Louisville Slugger Museum has some fun and interactive exhibits.
You can try out some real bats in the Batter Up cage, while the younger set can enjoy Big League, Little Bricks.
I enjoyed the Lego recreation of baseball parks around the country.
We left the museum with our own sample bats and headed down the street to the Muhammad Ali Center.
“The Greatest,” as he is frequently referred by, is the what this museum is built around, but you will find so much more here than a tribute to a boxer.
It’s a place you can easily spend the day.
You’ll learn about the history of Cassius Clay and how he
became Muhammad Ali.
It includes everything he did on his spiritual journey,
and the causes and charities he contributed to.
The center also has exhibits that allow you to see if you
can punch the bag as fast as Ali, test out a boxing ring, and work on your footwork.
The Muhammad Ali Center also has films about the champ and a
chance to chose and watch many of his boxing matches.
We left downtown and headed over to Champions Park to pick
up our credentials for the Bourbon & Beyond Festival, stopping for a quick
dinner on the way back.
We then checked into our home for the next three days, the
Marriott Louisville East, ending our day with our first beautiful Kentucky sunset.
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