Just can’t wait to get on the road again?
By Jennifer Mitchell
Westshore
Published Sept. 6, 2006

Ohio Road Trips By Neil Zurcher 256 pages Gray & Company $13.95.

Labor Day may have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean the road trips have to end. If you’ve have a day, longtime television travel reporter Neil Zurcher has a destination.

As the original host of “One Tank Trips,” the Bay Village resident has logged more than a million miles, and a million memories, by automobile.

“For a quarter of a century, I had the greatest job in television,” Zurcher writes in the introduction to his latest book, “Ohio Road Trips.”

Whether you are new to the state or you’ve lived here all of your life, it’s a pretty safe bet that Zurcher, who shares more than 500 of his stops and what made them worth it, will show you something in Ohio you’ve never seen or heard of.

Zurcher will be at Borders Books and Music, 30121 Detroit Road in Westlake, from 7 to 8 p.m. tomorrow autographing copies of his travel guide.

Whether he’s writing about the “edge of paradise” or the “birthplace of the banana split,” the adventurer recalls personal experiences and anecdotes.

“Nobody paid anything to get in this book,” Zurcher said. “I actually went to every one of these places.”

Among his favorite Ohio stops are the Lake Erie Islands, Amish country, and historic Marietta. Though the beauty and scenery of each are major attractions, it’s the residents, who have made him feel right at home, that truly make the places special, Zurcher said.

Foodies will learn where to find a museum all about chocolate, the best Ohio wines, smoked ribs, ice cream, hot dogs, popcorn pizza, baby Swiss and an array of other edibles.

Shoppers, bargain hunters and collectors can read about flea markets and factory tours across the state.

Underwater adventures, Indian villages and ancient inscriptions also are among Zurcher’s trips.

Neil Zurcher

One of the most unusual, he remembers, is when he decided to follow the flight of the Wright brothers. Visitors to Miamisburg can sign up for a flight in, or technically on, the Wright B Flyer, the closest thing to a replica of the original that aviation regulations allow, Zurcher writes.

“Anybody can do this,” Zurcher said.

He explained that riders sit on an open wing, next to the pilot. A seatbelt holds them in place and goggles protect the eyes.

“It was such an odd feeling,” Zurcher said. He also described it as “a hell of a thrill.”

Whether readers are active or laid back, Zurcher said he’s tried to find something interesting for everyone.

While so much is covered, the book is still an easy and interesting read filled with fascinating little travel tidbits.

Zurcher even takes a page or two to share some travel advice for those who are ready to hit the road.

“Even if you are a seasoned Ohio traveler and think you know where everything is in the state, you may find yourself, like I did once, in the wrong Georgetown late at night looking for a motel that doesn’t exist in the Georgetown you are presently visiting,” Zurcher writes. “It is only then that your discover there are six Georgetowns and that the one you want is at the other end of the state.”

Zurcher’s book is available at Northeast Ohio bookstores and online at Amazon.com.

For more of the author’s locally scheduled book signing dates and locations, visit publishers Gray & Company online at www.grayco.com/events.