Traveling Teacher Online!: April 2020

My family was sick and tired of our indoor quarantine life, so we took a simple road trip to some of the more interesting and off the beaten path sights in the Dayton – Xenia – Wilmington area. I like to call this the Wild, Weird, and Wonderful Social Distancing Driving Tour! This was our route for sightseeing satisfaction at a socially acceptable distance. Every stop on this tour is free, open at all hours of the day, and provides enough space to keep socially distant from other folks. The route follows a U-shape formation, starting in Enon and ending in Dayton.

Adena Burial Mound

Stop 1: Enon Adena Burial Mound, 400 Mound Cir, Enon, OH 45323.

This conical burial mound is the second tallest in Ohio. The mound is 40 feet high and is thought to be the work of the Adena Native Americans, original settlers of the area. There is a small parking lot, and it’s an easy walk up to and around the mound.

Stop 2: Beavercreek 9/11 Memorial, 1152 N Fairfield Rd, Beavercreek, OH 45432

These 25-feet-tall steel beams came to Beavercreek from the World Trade Center site. This respectful memorial features placards naming all the 9/11 victims from all the crash sites. It’s easy to spend some time here reading and remembering. This stop is at Beavercreek Station, which also provides access for the Creekside recreational trail. When social distancing, this is the most challenging stop as it can be very busy with people accessing the trail. There is a great parking lot, picnic tables, and restrooms, although they were closed while we visited.

Stop 3: Engle Mill Rd. Covered Bridge, 3420 Engle Mill Rd, Xenia, OH 45385

It’s an easy country drive to the Engle Mill Rd. Covered Bridge. Visitors can’t drive across the bridge, but there are places to park on either end to get out and walk. When we visited, it was a lovely day, so we paused to enjoy nature for few moments. Descriptive signs provide the history of this bridge.

Engle Mill Rd. Covered Bridge

Stop 4: Downtown Wilmington wall mural (Corner of Rt. 68 and Main St.), 2 E Main St., Wilmington, OH 45177

It's easy to park across the street from the mural by the county courthouse and have the perfect spot for picture taking. This mural is the work of local artist Jason Morgan and it features images from the Century Farms life in the 1930s.

Stop 5: Frankenstein’s Monster, 1261 W Dalton Rd, Wilmington, OH

Standing guard at the gate of the Wilmington Haunted Hollow Ride, it doesn’t have to be Halloween to snap a picture with this guy! He’s officially the scariest stop on our tour, standing about 15 feet tall with a permanently creepy face. There’s no official parking during the off season, but it’s easy to pull in the driveway long enough to take a photo.

Stop 6: World’s Largest Horseshoe Crab, 7592 OH-124, Hillsboro, OH 45133

World's largest horseshoe crab

This crab is currently sitting in its fourth location having previously lived in Baltimore, the Creation Museum, and Blanchester, Ohio. At 28 feet wide and 68 feet long, it’s affectionately known as “Crabby,” and it’s worth the stop. The crab is large enough to house a picnic table and umbrella inside, although there's really no time for picnicking these days. The parking situation at this site is the most difficult. There is a driveway adjacent to the crab that will work for a quick stop. We missed the driveway, so we pulled across the street to an apartment complex. It's tough to pull off along the side of the road, and there’s no official parking lot.

Stop 7: Large Adirondack Chair, 6945 Hwy 73, Wilmington, Ohio 45177

This larger than life piece of furniture sits at The Wooden Branch business, so if visitors are in the market for a shed, they can kill two birds with one stone at this top. It’s easy to park in the parking lot and take a photo by the chair. Unfortunately, climbing up into the chair is frowned upon.

Stop 8: Tall Stack of Books, 111 West Spring Valley Pike, Centerville, OH

This sculpture can be found at the Washington-Centerville Public Library. Officially called “The Record,” it is 22 feet tall and is made of terracotta. The library parking lot makes for easy parking and access.

Stop 9: Big Apple Made of Flatware, 56 Armor Place, Dayton, OH 45417

This eight-foot-tall apple sculpture is the work of artist Chad Johnson and features thousands of knives, forks, and spoons. It can be found outside the Dayton Foodbank on the south side of their property. The adjacent parking lot makes it easy to visit.

Large apple made of Flatware

When touring during the pandemic, it's smart to pack sandwiches, snacks, and drinks, although we didn’t have trouble finding enough drive thru restaurants to feed us on our journey. Restrooms are harder to come by during the shut down. Gas stations proved to be the best bet. As always, pack hand sanitizer and masks to be prepared for any situation. The total travel time will be 4-6 hours depending on the starting point and how much time is spent at each spot. We had an easy five-hour journey on our travel day.