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Down to a Tee

Hit ’em long and straight – or try to – at one of the several golf courses located within Clermont County.

For example, the somewhat small community of Loveland, with a population of 11,000, has an impressive total of three golf courses within its city boundaries: Eagles Nest Golf Club, Hickory Woods Golf Club and O’Bannon Creek Golf Club. Meanwhile, Goshen Township is home to Deer Track Golf Club and Fairacres Golf Club, Batavia has the Elks Run Golf Club, and Milford is home to Terrace Park Country Club.

Other golf venues in the county include Hickory Woods, Legendary Run, Stonelick Hills, Lindale, Cedar Trace, Taylor Glen and The Pines.

In addition, a short drive to Cincinnati provides golfers with many extra options.

The Plane Truth

How appropriate: The Tri-State Warbird Museum is located next to Clermont County Airport, at the end of a set of streets named for astronauts Neil Armstrong, Frank Borman and John Glenn.

The Batavia-based museum was founded in 2003 by a group of volunteers dedicated to preserving the memory of those who served to protect our freedom. The 20,000-square-foot facility currently houses six vintage aircraft as well as one that is under restoration. There is also an exhibit area for artifacts highlighting each of the seven planes.

Ho-Ho Hometown

No humbugs here. In fact, the spirit of Christmas past is alive and well in Milford every holiday season.

Twinkling lights, carolers, music, food, gifts and Santa Claus are all part of the festivities during Milford’s annual Hometown Holidays celebration, usually scheduled right after Thanksgiving.

Sponsored by local businesses, horse-drawn carriage rides are free to the public. One-of-a-kind shops – from antiques stores to fine jewelry and toy shops – line Main Street, offering a bustling, old-time shopping experience.

Float Your Boat

Not many boating competitions have a Titanic Award for the vessel that sinks the best, but the Cardboard Boat Regatta does.

The 2007 Regatta will take place Aug. 18 on the Ohio River, with the launch point along Front Street in New Richmond. The event coincides with New Richmond’s annual River Days Festival.

A total of 36 cardboard boats participated in the 2006 Regatta, and races occur along a 200-yard stretch of the Ohio River. All boat hulls must be constructed of cardboard and duct tape only, while the rest of the vessel can be made out of anything. Competitions are in crew, single and youth categories, and the event has taken place since 1991.

Care for Mustard?

Whether customers arrive by land or by air, Sporty’s Pilot Shop at the Clermont County Airport serves them free hot dogs, brats and metts every Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. (For the uninitiated, metts are spicy mettwurst sausages, similar to bratwurst.)

As the world’s largest pilot shop, the fly-in store offers more than lunch for pilots, however. Aviation enthusiasts will find everything from handheld Global Positioning Systems to aircraft rentals. The 45-year-old company is even a certified Cessna dealer. Still, the bulk of Sporty’s business comes from its five different mail-order and online catalogs, which feature aviation-related items in addition to tools, collectibles and men’s accessories. To check out their merchandise, visit sportys.com.

Touchy Subject

Information about Clermont County will soon be at a visitor’s fingertips, thanks to four new visitor information kiosks that are being installed by the Clermont Chamber of Commerce and the Clermont Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Touch screens inform visitors about area hotels, parks and attractions, as well as sites on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Kiosks will be located at the chamber office, Chilo Lock Museum, Starbucks in Eastgate Mall and inside a mobile unit at special events.

Rolling on the River

Here’s a museum idea that holds water.

The Chilo Lock No. 34 Park Visitor Center and Museum gives tourists a look at how working and living on the Ohio River used to be. The museum is located in a three-story powerhouse that once oversaw and managed ship cargo traffic in and out of lock No. 34 in Chilo.

Hundreds of maritime artifacts are on display, and one of the highlights is climbing the steps to an observation deck that offers a panoramic view of the river. Today, thousands of annual visitors also frequent a scenic park that surrounds the old lock site.

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