Go Ape Treetop Adventure Photo Blog

Who: Any ape-like homo sapiens aged 10 and older
What: Go Ape Treetop Adventure aerial obstacle course
When: Spring & Summer months
Where: Cleveland Metropark's Mill Stream Run Reservation, Strongsville
Why: To test your endurance, balance, strength, and monkey-ish-ness 40 feet above the air
How: Book a time slot online now!

Photos by OHventures

Go Ape With The GoPro!

Thanks to a friend's handy GoPro Camera, I was able to capture some fantastic one-of-a-kind first-person POV shots of the Go Ape Treetop Adventure Course located in Strongsville!

The zip lines were pretty wild, especially since they spun me around and forced me to have a not-so-graceful landing in the wood chips! But, they were also exhilarating, as they served as the grand finales to each of the 5 sections of the aerial obstacle course.

Read more about OHventures' experience at the Go Ape Treetop Adventure Course in Strongsville, and take a look at the fun videos on this post!

Discover Go Ape Treetop Adventure

Photos by OHventures

This past April, the Go Ape Treetop Adventure course opened to the public in the Cleveland Metroparks' Mill Stream Run Reservation. The Strongsville location is one of many courses built in the United States, and the only one that can be found in Ohio (the others are currently located in Tennessee, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and other nearby states).

The Go Ape Treetop Adventure Course challenges participants with an outdoor obstacle course over 3,000 feet in length and is suspended up to 40 feet above ground. It takes between 2-3 hours to complete, depending on your ability and how busy it is. The course gives you the opportunity to see the world from a bird's eye view as you navigate the treetops like a monkey by traversing bridges, zooming on zip lines, and hanging on ropes.

All obstacles are fastened to tree trunks in an environmentally friendly way, using special bolts and cables that adjust themselves as the trees grow larger over the years. The health and well-being of the park is of utmost importance to Go Ape, as a portion of its proceeds and services is given back to the parks.

Safety is the number one rule at Go Ape. When you arrive, you will be strapped in by a harness, and given a 30-minute safety briefing to train and prepare you for the excitement ahead. A series of cables, platforms, pulleys, and ropes will keep you safe as you progress throughout each of the five sections,

I had the pleasure to "Go Ape" in Strongsville, which tested my strength, balance, focus, and endurance in an awesome way. I was in for a treat as I managed to complete 5 zip lines (4 of which took me over a wetland), and 42 obstacles (including a spider's web, cargo nets, wooden planks, and more). 

READ MORE AT DISCOVER OHIO

Running T-Shirt Quilt

Photo by OHventures

As an avid runner, my dresser drawers slowly began to overflow with race t-shirts I have collected over the many years of hitting the pavement. 

At first, it's really cool to get a new t-shirt every time you run - it can serve as a memento of a great accomplishment and fantastic experience had with friends. But, if you do 10, 15, even 20 races a year like I do, then it begins to take over your wardrobe, and your storage! A friend once asked if I had anything other than suits and running t-shirts, because he'd see me wearing them so often. Unacceptable.

So I decided it was time to do something about it. As part of my 30 Things To Do Before (While) I'm 30, I set out to have a quilt made using some old running t-shirts! It was a genius idea that I had seen before on Groupon. But rather than sending shirts off to a random company, I put the call out to my friends on Facebook to see if anyone had any ideas of where or who I could go to for a t-shirt quilt.

Many people stepped up and offered ideas, but one friend of mine, Rick, stepped up in a big way. He said that he had always wanted to try to make a quilt, but never had a reason to. If I trusted him, he said he would be willing to make a quilt for me. Instead of monetary payment, he said he would like to have a sampling of wines I gathered from all of my various wineries I visited across the state. It was a perfect match! 

I had to figure out which shirts I could use. He said he could take 20. There were some that I didn't want to give up because I really enjoy wearing them and they are too cool to give up. And there are some that - let's face it - are so ugly that I didn't even want them on a quilt. I wanted ones that looked good and were from races that had special meaning to me. So, after meticulous planning, I came up with a good mix of shirts. 

The shirts are, as displayed on the quilt:

Row 1 (l-r)

Capital City Quarter Marathon - May 2013, Columbus

Boardman Memorial Mile - May 2013, Boardman

Capital City Half Marathon - May 2012, Columbus (my first half marathon)

Run With The Pack 5K - June 2012, Columbus (first run I did with my dog)

Row 2 (l-r)

World Fit 5K - May 2014, Warren (my brother helped organize this race)

Selfless Elf 5K - December 2013, Akron

Glo Run Columbus - April 2013, Columbus

Arnold Pump & Run 5K 2014 - March 2014, Columbus

Row 3 (l-r)

Hubbard Public Library Zombie Run - October 2012, Hubbard

Oktoberfest Brat Trot 4 Miler - September 2012, Columbus

Warrior Dash Ohio 2014 - August 2014, North Lawrence

Out Of The Darkness Walk - October 2014, North Canton (in honor of my cousin)

Row 4 (l-r)

Team OHventures T-Shirts (a shirt I designed for the blog)

Warren Kiwanis Turkey Trot - November 2012, Warren (started our family tradition)

Funny Bunny 4 Miler - April 2014, Canton (took place on my birthday)

Foam Fest 5K - June 2013, Logan

Row 5 (l-r)

Akron Marathon Relay 2014 - September 2014 Akron

Bike Columbus Festival – July 2012, Columbus (first biking event)

Dirty Dog 5K Run & Wash - July 2013, Avon Lake

Akron Gen. Birthday Bash Dash 5K - August 2014, Stow (I was Race Director)

These shirts were the perfect shirts to have made into a quilt. And, Rick certainly delivered with a high quality and great looking quilt (not too shabby for his first quilt making experience). Having this quilt has transformed a pile of t-shirts shoved in a dresser into a unique, meaningful and timeless piece of art (that also doubles as a comfy blanket). 

I owe a great deal of gratitude to Rick for making this happen. This is an item I will always value. One look at it brings back a flood of memories of friends and stories I have made in my running career that has truly changed my life in a number of ways. It's something you can't put a price tag on. No amount of wine can show my appreciation for this great creation!