Looking for Fun and Adventure? Butler County is in your own backyard!

My husband and I went on a weekend trip arranged by the Butler County Visitor’s Bureau in Butler County Ohio. Most of our trip was included. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

I’ve always wanted to go on an adventurous weekend with my husband but never knew where to start. What would we do? Where could we go that would (or could) have everything we wanted to do? Would we be driving all around the state? So, I never made it very far. However, I found out that we not only had plenty of adventure not too far from our house but they have basically something for everyone.

I’m talking about Butler County OH.

Before starting to plan your visit, head to the Butler County Visitors Bureau to see what you can book and where everything is. I mean you can do something as exciting as wake boarding or skydiving. Then, head off to make the artist in your family happy by stopping by a museum. Let’s check out what we did!

First of all, special thank you to AC Hotel by Marriott.  They were awesome when we had any questions, had a pool and hot tub we could relax in and gave us the best room! We were in the room right in the middle of the hotel so we could see all of Liberty Center. It was amazing!

As my husband mentioned in one of his vlogs, we did get woken up the first night because of a fire alarm. It was super easy to get outside and it was taken care of quickly so we could get back to sleep. The staff was great the whole time.

First Stop

Love golf but hate driving ranges or putt-putt? The perfect place to go is Top Golf. Take your friends or family, pick a game and start playing! Is it expensive? Not if you bring a lot of people. You pay per hour, not per person. Each bay starts at $25 per hour for up to 6 players.

My husband and I played the first game: Top Golf. This is a game where the players score points by hitting balls (assigned using our micro chip technology) into any target. My husband plays golf and I don’t so it was much easier for him to get going. I did ok for a novice I think. We did have tons of fun though.

On to the next stop

At first sight, Jungle Jim’s International Market looking like a large grocery store… a large grocery store where you need a map to get around! Jungle Jim’s is home to the most basic things you’d find around but also some of the most exotic things you can find in the world.

We had a personal tour with Jared (who was awesome). He showed us the coolest food and all the international offerings you could ever imagine. We had to stop ourselves from filling a cart to bring things home. I have literally thought about taking the kids down to Jungle Jim’s during the week to check it out when we have nothing else to do. I’m sure they’ll love looking at all the Chinese candy.

We also happened to have been in town during the International Craft Beer Festival hosted by Jungle Jim’s. This was a dream for my husband. They had over 100 breweries showcasing more than 400 beers, including a few unique brews you won’t be able to find at your typical beer festival. I even got to taste some ciders. I’m not a beer person. But Paul was in his element.

Saturday

If you’ve watched any of my husband’s videos, you’d know that we did skydiving first thing in the morning Saturday. We went to Start Skydiving which is located in Middletown OH.

I must say that skydiving was not my idea, it was my husband. However, I didn’t want to be left on the ground. I wasn’t nervous checking in and I wasn’t nervous watching over people jump and cruise back down to the ground. I wasn’t even nervous when I took this picture after I was all strapped in.

I didn’t start to get nervous until we were half way up to the jumping point. Let me tell you though, my instructor and tandem partner (same person) was great. He made me feel at ease. By the time we jumped, I didn’t have time to think about it all. Before I knew it, I was falling, flying, soaring. It was fantastic!

If you think you might want to skydive, don’t think about it, just go! The more you think, the more you’ll talk yourself out of it. Prices start at $129 for Tandem jumping and you can book online!

Then we got our Art on!

After spending some down time walking around the Liberty Center Mall, we headed to the Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum. Pyramid Hill is an outdoor museum focusing on monumental pieces of sculpture in an environment of meadows, forests, and various gardens. Adults are $8 and children are $3. You can also rent an “Art Cart” to get around the grounds starting at $20 (for the first hour).

Paul and I enjoyed the quiet atmosphere. I almost wish we would have brought a picnic basket and had a picnic when we had a chance to.

Most of the sculptures are available to interact with and super cool. Each one has a sign saying what it is called and who made it. You could take an afternoon to just stroll around and check them out. Or take the whole day, bring lunch and make sure you get the chance to see the everything. It is your choice. Either way, it is a great place to think.

Sunday Kayaking

I’ve never been kayaking or canoeing. Yes, I know. I live such a sheltered life. LOL! But Kayaking always sounded so much fun to me. So I was happy that Jim of Jimco’s Riverside Pizza & Kayaking was willing to take a ride with us on the river.

He taught us the basics before we started down the river and guided us back to his building. It took us about 2 hours to get back but it was so much fun the entire time. You quickly learn how to keep yourself from tipping over or turning backward. You have to watch out for rocks and everything but the river is so beautiful.

I’m pretty much an expert now. Seriously, I can’t wait to do that again. We were very lucky because it started raining right after we finished. I’m still a little sad we didn’t have the chance to try out Jim’s Pizza. Soon though, really soon. You can head down to Jimco’s and go Kayaking for a little as $25/person. Enjoy!

I can’t believe everything that we fit into a weekend but we enjoyed it. Make sure you check out Butler County Visitors Bureau to see what you and your family can get into in a weekend. If you haven’t already, check out my husband’s vlogs from the weekend!

• Fun in Butler County OH: Day One
• I can’t believe we did that: Day Two
• First Time Kayaking: Day Three