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Long for adventure but short on time? Check out a few of our favorite
there-and-back-in-a-day trips.

By Lynne Konstantin

ure, Metro Detroit has
tons of food and fun.
But sometimes, there's
nothing like a little road
trip — even if you only
have one day to do it in.
Grab a friend or your
family, hop in the car
and pack in as much adventure
as a tank of gas can get you. Here,
a few of our off-the-beaten-path
destinations for a day.

•

IS

TOLEDO, OHIO
Drive Time: 1.5 hours

Left to right: Get face-to-face with the residents of the Toledo Zoo. Ride the High Wire Bike at Toledo's Imagination Station. Have fun with Oobleck,
a non-Newtonian substance, at Imagination Station.

Culture, nature, science, food and fun — Toledo really
has something awesome for everyone. If you've got kids
in tow, a must-stop is the TOLEDO ZOO (toledozoo.
org), voted Best Zoo in the U.S. by USA Today. Get up-
close viewings, indoors and out, and experience loads of
interactive exhibits of animals from Africa to the Arctic:
Walk through the Penguin Beach, help brush African
pygmy goats, see a flamboyance of flamingos, hand-
feed parakeets, schedule behind-the-scenes tours, view
animal feedings and more.
Next stop: IMAGINATION STATION
(imaginationstationtoledo.org), one of our favorite
hands-on science centers around, offers play-based

learning for all ages. Ride the High Wire Cycle or the
Simulator Theater Ride, take part in puzzling workshops
and step inside a giant wind tunnel. Through Sept. 7,
check out NASA Science On a Sphere, where visitors
can gaze upon the Earth as they are "suspended" in
orbit 22,000 miles above its surface; and, through
Sept. 21, walk through room re-creations of the world's
largest ship in Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition, where
more than 150 artifacts recovered from the ocean floor,
like bottles of perfume and the ship's own china, will
commemorate the tragic sinking in 1912.
Check out the TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART
(toledomuseum.org), known for its world-class collection

of American and European art, as well glass, sculpture,
modern and contemporary works. Current temporary
exhibitions include The Art of Video Games and The
Great War, including works by Max Beckmann, Childe
Hassam and Ernst Kirchner.
WHILE YOU'RE THERE: Stroll THE DOCKS, a
restaurant complex on the banks of the Maumee River
before choosing between a fresh catch and raw oyster
bar at Real Seafood Company and Tony Packo's, home of
the Hungarian Hot Dog and a 1976 shout-out from Cpl.
Klinger on MA.S.H. and many more.

BELLE ISLE PARK
Drive time: 45 minutes

See what's been happening at one of Detroit's re-emerg-
ing jewels. Once home to the Ottawa and Chippewa
Indians, BF] .LE ISLE PARK (belleisleconservancy.
org), the largest island park in the U.S., has seen English
royalty, local lawmakers and rattlesnakes alike try to stake
their claim on it (no worries: They're long gone). The
987-acre park is now home to a golf-practice facility, a
maritime museum, picnic areas, a conservatory, green-
houses, a half-mile-long swimming beach with water-
slide and the only marble lighthouse in the U.S. (built in
1930).
Belle Isle also features the recently re-opened (in 2012) Albert Kahn-designed, Beaux Arts-style
Aquarium and the Belle Isle Nature Zoo, three acres of protected forest and wetland that features an
outdoor butterfly garden, Deer Encounter with deer feedings and the Blue Heron Lagoon nature walk
— all amid the backdrop of the Detroit cityscape.
WHILE YOU'RE THERE: Pack a dinner and take advantage of the cabanas and grills available for
public use.

Above: The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory, designed by Albert Kahn, peeks through perennial gardens, a rose garden and lily pond garden at Belle Isle. Above right:The Belle Isle
Aquarium re-opened in 2012.

32 August 20141

RED THREAD

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