Patch Picks: Stay-Cation Ideas

You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on a spring break trip or summer vacation because there are several worthwhile day trips in striking distance from Mentor.

Here are a few ideas and feel free to add your own:

•  – This is a great year to visit Lawnfield, the Mentor home of President James A. Garfield. The national park has several events planned this year to commemorate both Garfield's 180th birthday and the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. Check out its website to see more.
• The wineries of Madison and Geneva – Just east of of Mentor are a bevy of fantastic wineries, including Debonne, Ferrante, Grand River Cellars and more. Visit one or several in a driving tour. (Just make sure not to overindulge.) Many of the wineries also offer tasty food and entertainment on weekend evenings.
• How about some baseball? – The Indians opener against the White Sox is April 1. Yeah, I know you can watch baseball on TV, but I think even the most jaded fan agrees that there's something special about catching a game at Jacob's Fie... I mean the Prog. And if you don't feel like paying for tickets or driving downtown, then you can always support the or teams.
• University Circle  – I confess to being a museum rat. I could probably spend an entire day in the Cleveland Museum of Art (which is still free,) the Cleveland Museum of Natural History or the Botanical Garden. Don't be one of those people who only visits a museum when you're out of town. Come and enjoy what the city has to offer.
• Just a few more weeks – I have two more suggestions, but you'll have to wait another month for them to open. Cedar Point is always premiering the biggest or fastest something-or-another and it's worth an annual pilgrimage to Sandusky. Also, check out The Wilds in Cumberland, OH. You can take a real safari – complete with giraffes, cheetahs and rhinos –  and it's fewer than three hours from Mentor.