Top 10 OHventures of 2014

Out of any other year, I feel that 2014 put the most miles on my odometer. I drove to every corner of the state - Toledo to Athens to Geneva to Cincinnati visiting friends, attending weddings, working, and of course adventuring. In doing so, I definitely had a year full of unique experiences. As with every year (see 2012 and 2013), I give to you the Top 10 OHventures of 2014. There were many to choose from, but if you needed to see the best of the best, here they are (in no particular order)!

Use this list to start planning some awesome bucket list items to do in 2015.

1. The Lodge At Geneva-On-The-Lake: The romanticism of Ohio's Lake Erie shoreline is encapsulated to perfection at the upscale yet affordable Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake. I stayed here for a weekend in June and saw for myself all the fantastic pleasures that can be unearthed while staying at this hot vacation spot.

2. Mohican Tree House Cabins: Halfway between Cleveland and Columbus is an adventurer's paradise, an outdoorsman's dream, and one of the most unique attractions found in all of Ohio: The Mohican Treehouse Cabins. I stayed overnight in these AWESOME accommodations!

3. Bon Appetit Appalachia!: I had the privilege to witness a glimpse (and sample a taste) of this innovative farm-to-fork concept on a visit to Athens - the setting for a large number of these culinary destinations in the state. Follow me as I eat - and drink - my way through Appalachia!

4. Tree Frog Canopy Tours: Another year where a zipline locale makes the list! This time, we made our way BACK to Mohican Country for the tallest, fastest, and longest zip line in all of Ohio! Pictures say 1,000 words.

5. Tough Mudder Ohio: If you think that a 3-mile obstacle course like Warrior Dash is crazy, then you ain't seen nothing yet! The Tough Mudder was 12 miles of muddy mayhem in Mansfield, trumping anything I've ever done before! And how can I EVER forget the arctic enema and the electroshock therapy?! I must be a masochist.

6. Akron Birthday Bash Dash 5K: This was a very special 5K walk/run for me, because it was the first time ever that - instead of running the course -  I ran the ENTIRE event as the race director! The 5K in Stow was a TON of work, but proved to be a success, raising money for Muffins For Mammograms & celebrating the 100th "birthday" of the health system. 

7. Columbus Pedal Wagon: My family & friends hopped aboard this contraption that required us to use our man-power to wheel the wagon from bar to bar to bar in the streets of the Short North one football Saturday in October. Check it out in Cincinnati as well.

8. Kayak The Bay at PIB: Between drinking wine and barhopping on 4th of July weekend in Put-In-Bay, a group of college friends decided to get a workout in and kayak the beautiful waters of Lake Erie surrounding South Bass Island. 

9. Polar Plunge: A polar plunge (also known as a polar bear jump) is for the bravest of brave and the craziest of crazy! I participated in the Polar Plunge at Mosquito Lake State Park in Cortland on January 18 as a benefit for the Special Olympics of Ohio. Even the photos make me shiver.

10. Dragon Boat Festival at Portage Lakes: I competed with my friends Chelsie and Craig in the annual Dragon Boat Festival at Portage Lakes on July 12 in Summit County. We learned just how hard it is for 20 people to paddle in unison to power a dragon boat - but Team Morgan Stanley made it to the FINALS!

Dragon Boat Festival at Portage Lakes

Photos by OHventures

When I was asked to compete in the annual Dragon Boat Festival at Portage Lakes on July 12 in Summit County, I blindly and excitedly agreed. I had no clue as to what I was getting myself into, but I knew that it would be a challenge I couldn't turn down! My good friend Chelsie was recruiting friends and family to join her corporate team, Morgan Stanley, in the competition. My fellow coworker Craig happens to be Chelsie's husband, and the two of us proudly joined Team Morgan Stanley.

What I soon learned was that the Dragon Boat Festival consisted of teams of twenty individuals (including at least 8 females in this particular event) who all sit facing forward in pairs within a single dragon boat, which is a long, sleek lightweight watercraft decorated with a dragon head and dragon tail. Team members each use a single oar on the side of the boat in which they are seated and paddle in unison in order to power the boat. 

One additional teammate sits at the head of the boat on a small chair and serves as the drummer, who keeps rowers in pace with one another by beating on it in a rhythmic fashion. There is a non-team member who stands at the back of the boat and steers the vessel when needed (for instance, when the team needs to make their way to the starting line).

A circle of breast cancer survivors gathering on Turkeyfoot Beach

This particular dragon boat race - officially dubbed the Dragons On The Lake Dragon Boat Festival - was for an amazing cause. The event is hosted by the Dragon Dream Team, Ohio's first all breast cancer survivor dragon boat team. Through paddling and other activities, the members embrace the motto of celebrating life after breast cancer. Through the Boatloads of Hope Community Outreach Program, the Dragon Dream Team delivers a silk pashmina, along with a powerful message of hope to other breast cancer survivors. This program currently exists in 7 area hospitals. 

There were 3 classifications of teams at the Dragon Boat Festival: survivor teams (made up completely of breast cancer survivors), community teams, and corporate teams.

With our Morgan Stanley Team Captain Chelsie

As a corporate team, we would be going up against 12 other corporate teams. Since not all of us actually work at Morgan Stanley, we had our first opportunity to meet our fellow rowers at our very first practice, which took place a couple of weeks before the actual event.

At practice (and the day of the race), we found that this was a rather technical and high-skill water sport that relies heavily on teamwork and synchronicity. Some tips we discovered were:

1. Keep your hips as close to the gully as possible. Do NOT lean out of the boat.
2. Keep your oar straight up and down, and close to the side of the boat when paddling.
3. Paddle in sync with the rest of your team. Do so by putting the oar in the water each time the drum strikes. Keep your eyes on the person up 2 and to the left.
4. Lean your body forward and dig your oar deep into the water.
5. Count out loud along with the rest of the team to keep together.

It is a lot easier than it looks or sounds! On race day, our team met for the very first time as a whole unit, which was a major disadvantage. But the team captain, Chelsie, was full of encouragement and enthusiasm that helped our morale. When we found our spot on Turkeyfoot Beach, we practiced counting and moving in sync while on land. 

Me and my teammate Craig taking a break with a game of cornhole.

Then, at 8:00 AM, the festival began and the first heat (out of three heats total) took place. The heats were made up of three boats (not necessarily all of the same category). We paddle to the "starting line" where we all have to reach alignment. Once alignment is achieved, the horn blows, and you fly out of the gates as fast as possible! Our first heat was less than stellar, as the front of the boat was way out of sync with the back of the boat. However, we still managed to get 2nd place out of the 3 teams and cross the finish buoys with a respectable time.

In each heat, we took what went wrong and remedied it so that we could do better in the next heat. Our three times were approximately 1 minute 15 seconds, 1 minute 13 seconds, and 1 minute 12 seconds. After much anticipation, it was revealed that these times were enough to take us to the FINALS!

Team Morgan Stanley ready to take on the competition!

The final round in the corporate division consisted of our team (Morgan Stanley) versus Vorys Legal Counsel and Merrill Lynch (who happened to be our friendly rivals the whole day!). The final round took place at 3:30 PM. We lined up and paddled our asses off! Unfortunately, Merrill Lynch smoked our boat. But we came neck and neck with Vorys. The final times were soon announced, and we sadly lost to Vorys by only 0.12 seconds! The good news is, we improved our time once again with a time of 1 minute 11 seconds. And, even though we took home the bronze, we were just happy to have made it as far as we did.

It was exhilerating to take part in such a different kind of race than I am used to, to meet lots of new people, and to help the fight against breast cancer.

Find a dragon boat festival near you: Columbus Dragon Boat Festival, Cleveland Dragon Boat Festival, Akron/Canton Dragon Boat Festival, Toledo Dragon Boat Festival, Cincinnati Dragon Fest at Paddle Fest,  MOV'n Dragons (Mid-Ohio Valley),