A bronze bust of football great Jim Thorpe, just one of the many featured football greats.
Canton is home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
a sliver of the USS Arizona salvaged from the wreck at Pearl Harbor and a flag signed by Amelia Earhart in a plaque that was once auctioned off to raise money for the Olympics. There’s also a piece of charred metal from the Hindenburg zeppelin from its 1937 fiery crash in Lakehurst, New Jersey. Canton is also home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, tracing the game’s beginning when the American Professional Football Association was founded in Canton in 1920. It was later renamed the National Football League. Housed in an impressive glass-and-steel- fronted building, the attraction traces football’s roots from legendary Jim Thorpe, when protective gear was only simple pads, to the latest Super Bowl winners in their emblem-emblazoned colors and helmets. A particular highlight is the striking rows of bronze busts of the game’s best through the years, from the Chicago Bears’ Mike Ditka and Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, to name only a few. New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath comes to life in a hologram presentation. Lake Erie Islands Sandusky—a gateway to the Lake Erie Islands—is also just over an hour from Cleveland on Interstate 80/
Interstate 90 West. From there we catch a ferry, first stopping at the colossal Cedar Point Amusement Park, sometimes referred to as the “Roller Coaster Capital of the World”—and for good reason. It’s a cityscape of super-sized roller coasters, their twisting tracks looping up high above the waterline. Located on the tip of a skinny Sandusky peninsula, the park features more than 150 rides, shows and attractions, including 18 world- class roller coasters. When arriving on South Bass Island, I can’t help but notice golf carts crisscrossing island streets as the main means of transportation. And driving them is all part of the fun. Visitors quickly snatch up some of the 1,500 available golf cart rentals—yet trying to find one during busy summer weekends can be a challenge. “On a Tuesday there are two for everybody, and on a Saturday there’s not enough for anybody,” jokes South Bass Island Ambassador Peter Huston with the Put-in- Bay Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center. Put-in-Bay—South Bass’ main village, often used synonymously as the island’s name—is centered with DeRivera Park, named after Joseph DeRivera St. Jurgo, the island’s original owner. It’s a grassy and shaded lakeside stretch of green space with a gazebo and picnic
TRIO OF DESTINATIONS
COAST TO COAST SPRING MAGAZINE 2019
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