We have spend the past few weeks planning on a trip to the Ohio Caverns, but things kept getting in the way, like laziness and laziness. Today we woke up early anyway to Shelby June's baby glee noises emanating from downstairs, and since we were up, it was a perfect day for getting out and gettin' our Ohio on.
The drive was quite similar to our last trip to Wapakoneta, only a bit shorter. The drive up 33 makes me happy, its so hilly and green, very familiar from numerous trips to Indian Lake as a kid. Before we knew it, we were off the highway and headed through narrow country roads. I thought for a moment that the GPS was trying to take us into the middle of nowhere to kill us.
But soon we reached the cute little gift shop where we were surrounded by excited children, friendly employees, and even an ornery old lady. In a matter of minutes, our tour began and we descended 3 flights of stairs into the caverns. I learned today that a cavern is an underground area to which an
entrance must be made, as opposed to a cave, which has a natural entrance. Yay fun fact.The tour began through a series of narrow tunnels. We had a fairly large tour group but we were right near the front (perfect for insider information). We toured, saw some bats fly about as girly screams ensued, we even got to touch a piece of stalactite which was designated for contact. It felt weirdly waxy.
I quite enjoyed the moment of complete darkness during the trip. It sounds, well not that exciting, but as you reach the middle of the tour, the guide turns off the spotlights. It is like utterly and completely dark, and along with the cool and moist air down there, for a moment I wished I could sleep down there nightly.
Toward the end of the tour you go through several rooms which have beautiful views of crystals, including the famous pump formation and the crystal king. Its an almost surreal space, and its easy to forget that all the crystals have occurred naturally and that you are not waiting in line in an amusement park decorated to look like a magical phallic-al alien landscape.
Even by the end of the tour there is plenty to see. Well, first you have to climb your booty back up 60 stairs... not an easy task. Luckily, I was momentarily distracted by the snuggling itty bitty bats that were chillin' in the stairwell.
I am a rather big fan of gift shops, and The Ohio Caverns has quite the spread. Everything from a $10,000 dollar, 6 foot tall crystal formation, to toothpick holders inscribed with the name. A large selection of clothes, knickknacks, jewelery, useless crap... but even the useless crap was fun to look at. There was even a display case of re-collected old items from the gift shop which was quite interesting. As the so-called oldest tourist attraction in Ohio, there is more history in this place than just the crystals. I got myself another smooshed penny for my collection, and even picked up a handy dandy book/case to hold and display them.
STAYCATION RATING:
Funness: ***** - You'll be too awestruck to ever get bored.
Educationalness: ***** - Lots of interesting information is provided by the tour, such as the discovery of the caverns, and the history of tours within it.
Cheapness: *** - Gotta shell out some cash ($12.50 per person) but the price is pretty worth it.
Journeyness: **** - An easy drive, with pretty scenery. You will prolly see some horses, cows, and goats on the drive, maybe even an alpaca or two.
Busyness *** - It was busy, but we did go on Labor Day.
Overall **** - Right up my alley, I loved it.
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