Ohio

Ohio may be called the Buckeye State and the Birthplace of Aviation, but it might as well be called the land of transition. Ohio is the doorway from the East Coast, the Northeast, New England, and even parts of the southeast to the Midwest and beyond. Fifty percent of the US population is within a day's drive of Ohio, so no matter where you are starting from, it's worth the trip. Ohio has farmlands and rural landscapes but also cities and an urban feel. It's often connected to the east politically, socially and economically, but also has ties to the south and is considered to be part of the Midwest. Cincinnati is as much a part of Kentucky as it is of Ohio, no matter what you used to see on "WKRP." There's a little of everything in Ohio. Whether you're interested in attending professional sporting events in Cincinnati, Cleveland or Columbus, riding some of the world's best roller coasters at Cedar Point in Sandusky, visiting COSI, a first class science museum in both Toledo and Columbus, or piloting a raft down the Ohio River, you can find it in Ohio. Interested in exploring history? There are so many different worlds open to you here. Eight US presidents called Ohio home, but then, so did the Wright brothers when they began inventing the airplane. And fans of the series M*A*S*H will remember that Maxwell Q. Klinger hailed from Toledo, home of the Mudhens and Tony Packo's Hungarian Hotdogs – both are still there, waiting for you to visit. Ohio may not be at the center of the greater 48, but it could truly be called the heart of America.