My son had a conference in Akron so decided to take the family along. Mamma got invited to serve as a tour guide/baby sitter during the day for his wife and 3 sons ages 4, 7, and 10.

Day 1 Tuesday

I left home about 2 pm to drive to my son’s house and join the family. We arrived in Akron about 7 pm after stopping for supper in New Philadelphia at Pizza Hut.

Cambria Suites off exit 118 was to be our home base for the next several days. I was a little worried about the 6 of us staying together but the room/s provided ample space. One part had two queen beds, an open bench/shelf, a closet, a small dresser, and a flat screen TV. The other part was sectioned off with a room divider. It had a couch that made into a bed, a chair, a desk, a flat screen wall TV and a curved like bar that contained the refrigerator and microwave, as well as some space for storage. The bathroom had an ultra modern look with a beautiful sink perched on top of the open cabinetry.

The hotel had a wonderful breakfast bar for $9.50 for adults, $4.75 for children. The staff was helpful and very friendly any time we came in contact with them.

There was an indoor heated pool that was small but wonderful! The temperature was perfect. They provided large pool towels and very comfortable chairs for lounging. There was also a hot tub and an outside lounge area.

After a quick swim to relax, we just watched TV and made plans for the rest of the week.

Day 2 Wednesday

After sleeping a little late and eating breakfast we headed for downtown Akron where we boarded the Cuyahoga Scenic Railroad. It was the first time the boys had been on a train of any type so that was fun for them. The seats faced each other. Three of us were in one section and two in the other. For a while we doubled up and rode together as the 4 year old fit nicely between us, but the two older boys were jockeying for foot space so we ended up separating about halfway through the trip. Cuyahoga is an urban national park so much of the time was spent going through town-like areas. Although the park has wild animals we didn’t see anything. Probably too hot!

We got off in the little tourist town of Peninsula. It has art museums, shops, and a couple of restaurants. We ate lunch at a neat little restaurant with some character called “The Winking Lizard”. The boys got pizza (again), while I had chicken quesadillas with black beans and a salad and their mom got a barbeque sandwich, fries and a salad. The food was good and the service fine. The restaurant was about a fourth of the way full with tourists and train visitors like us.

After lunch we walked around town and visited some of the shops and museums and walked a while on the canal towpath. The boys also spent some time “walking the rails” as their mom used to live by train tracks and would walk them often.

Later in the afternoon we boarded the train back to Akron. The National Park Service has volunteers that talk about the park’s wildlife so one came to our car and the boys got a wonderful lesson about beavers and coyotes. They also got to feel and “wear” the pelts of each animal.

We picked up their dad later and returned to the hotel to swim for a couple of hours. Later we rented a movie and a cartoon for the 4 year old.

Day 3 Thursday

We ate breakfast at McDonalds across the street after another lazy morning, and then headed downtown to see the Akron Zoo. Although not too large, it turned out to be the perfect size for the heat we encountered…93 degrees. The zoo basically has 3 areas…Tiger Valley, Legends of the Wild and Wild Prairie.

We like Wild Prairie the least. It had river otters in hiding, coatis, parrots, armadillos, eagles and various ducks. There was a petting area but we didn’t go in.

Legends of the wild had Sika deer, flamingos, lemurs, pythons, llamas, jaguar, capybara, macaws, several kinds of bats, Tahrs, penguins, and snow leopards.

Tiger Valley had tigers, lions, Sun bears, red pandas, cranes, and barking deer. There was also an indoor area that had a special jelly fish exhibit. There were all sorts of interesting jellyfish. There was an area where the children could touch the jellyfish and starfish. There were komodo dragons, Galapagos tortoises and stingrays. The building also had a small climbing wall that the boys just loved. They wall didn’t go very high but it was long with lots of space so they could climb as long as they wanted.

The nice thing about this zoo is that you get so close to the animals. At one point there were literally 6 inches and a piece of glass between the boys and the lion.

While we were in the Komodo Kingdom the park experienced a blackout. It is a little scary being in a room with more than a hundred people and have everything go pitch black. We stayed calm for the kids but it was a little unnerving. Everyone started to get our their cell phones for light, then the generators came on and we had enough light to get out. We decided this would be a good time to eat, although you could only eat what was “on the shelf” and they started pulling all the perishables about the time we went through. I think the kids ended up with chicken nuggets, fries, fruit cups, and we adults got a wrap & a salad.

All in all I found the zoo experience to be somewhat disturbing. I don’t want wild animals suffering for our entertainment or our education. I felt somewhat better when the keepers discussed that less than 20% of some of these animals survive in the wild, or when they were “rescued” & would not have survived, etc. Still, it was difficult to see

such magnificent creatures in captivity.

After leaving the zoo we went back to University of Akron to pick up their dad. His conference was in an area called Quaker Square. There is a silo there where the Quaker Oats company stored grain, but the whole area was turned into shops and then purchased by UA. Nearby was a Wonder Bread factory. Each evening when we went to pick up their dad we could smell the fresh bread so we decided to stop in the factory store and pick up fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast or snacks. They were yummy.

Later my son and the two older boys went to the Canton Football Hall of Fame which they thought was awesome. Their mom, the youngest one and I went to Quiznos for soup and sandwiches and came back to the pool to relax some more.

Day 4 Friday

We slept late, and then lingered over breakfast before heading out to the MAPS air museum. The tour began in the hangar where the guide told us about all the various planes that were there…everything from early 1900s Wright Brothers styles to at least Viet Nam. The highlight for the boys was getting to climb into the cockpit of a Meig-17 Russian fighter jet! There were two more display areas with various interesting stories. One area also had an anti-aircraft gun mounted on the floor. The boys got to sit in the seats and crank the handles to turn the gun left/right or up/down. They even had a little plane on the wall so that there was something to aim at. The boys loved all the interactive things but weren’t too thrilled with the displays and stories. I enjoyed it all and think is a wonderful museum. We drove to Burger King for a late lunch and then headed back into town to pick up their father.

Back at the hotel we swam for a short while and then drove to Panchos Southwestern Grille for supper. The food was superb. The two parents split a 1 pound steak fajita with double rice and beans; I had a salad, veggie burrito (squash, zucchini, onions and sweet peppers), refried beans and rice. Two of the kids had quesadillas and 1 had a big bowl of macaroni & cheese. The atmosphere of the restaurant was good. My daughter-in-law called it an upscale Chi-chi’s.

We headed downtown to the stadium then to take in an Aeros baseball game. They were playing the Sea wolves (I think from Cleveland.) We lost 3-2. There were lots of cute contests going on during the game. Afterwards there were wonderful fireworks. I liked the fireworks, but also enjoyed watching the 4 year old watching them. It was a good evening, despite the heat.

Day 5 Saturday

We all slept late and left the hotel around 11 am. We stopped in Canton to shop for Bible School supplies and decorations and had lunch there. We had hoped to eat at Carrabbas but it didn’t open until 3, so just stopped at the Chick-fil-A and had chicken sandwiches & salads while the younger set chose chicken strips & waffle fries. We got home about four pm.

I would never have picked Akron for a mini-vacation spot but we found plenty to do and had a great time!