Pay a visit to the Ford Nature Education Center in Youngstown. A beautiful old stone home now serves as headquarters for the park's programs in nature education. The grounds feature wildlife gardens and walking trails. Guided nature walks are available. Call (330) 740-7107, or visit MillCreekMetroParks.com.

For a taste of the local history, visit Century Village in Burton, where 100 years of history is on display for the purposes of education and historic preservation. For details, log on to GeaugaHistorical.org.

For a more modern twist on vacation, take the family for a spin on more than 40 rides at Geauga Lake Family Amusement Park and Wildwater Kingdom in Aurora. Rides and water attractions are geared to please all ages. Glide down Hurricane Mountain, Ohio's tallest waterslide, or check out rides sure to thrill, like the Texas Twister, Ripcord and Dominator.

One admission covers both parks. Children under 48 inches tall get a junior admission rate; kids two and younger get in free. A handy Web site provides details on each ride and a height guide so that parents can know ahead of time which rides their tykes can board. Call (330) 562-7131, or visit GeaugaLake.com.

Football fans won't want to miss a visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. More than seven million visitors have come here since the doors opened in September 1963. Nearly 83,000 square feet of display space are dedicated to tracking the history of the game from 1892 to the present day.

Visit ProFootballhof.com. Or check out the National Inventors Hall of Fame, which celebrates over 150 of the men and women whose inventions have contributed to the American economy and way of life. Inventor's Workshops are offered on site. Visit Invent.org.

If your family has a sweet tooth, be sure to visit the Harry London Chocolate Store in North Canton. The largest such store in the Midwest, it offers over 500 varieties of chocolates and gourmet confectioneries.

Guided forty-five minute tours of the factory include facts about chocolate production -- and samples! Reservations are required for the tours, which are offered Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call 1-800-321-0444, Ext. 119 or e-mail queries to tours@harrylondon.com.

For a birds-eye view of the region, join LTA Aviation for a hot air balloon ride over Geauga County's wildlife areas and farm fields, including the fourth largest Amish community in the country.

Flights last about an hour and are offered mornings and early evenings, seven days a week from mid-May to mid-October. Call (440) 543-7139, or visit ltaaviation.com.

For Ohio fisheries information, visit Ohiodnr.com and select "Fishing." For questions you can't find answered on the Web site, call the Ohio Department of Natural Resources at 1-800-945-3543, or e-mail them at wildinfo@dnr.state.oh.us.

For travel information, you can visit www.discoverohio.com, or contact the Office of Travel and Tourism at 1-800-282-5393.

Find more about Ohio fishing and hunting at: OhioGameandFish.com