Things to Do in Mansfield

Every summer, the double-decker Good Time I forges connections between mainland Ohioans and their island-dwelling neighbors to the north. En route to Put-in-Bay and Kelleys Island, captains divulge each island’s history and point out popular attractions such as Marblehead Lighthouse and their reflections in the water. To further prime passengers for island revelry, the _Good Time I_’s weekend tours regale guests with live DJs and mixed drinks.

Stretched across 77 acres, the Waco airfield launched in 1997 on the wings of the Waco Historical Society, a nonprofit organization on a mission to tote the Golden Age of Flight safely into the future. Today, continual upgrades and improvements, plus countless hours from volunteers, have packed the site with more information than ever before. Vintage Waco aircraft, displays, and the history of the Waco company pilot museum visitors through time inside the museum hangar, which joins forces with other buildings—such as a 150-year-old barn¬—to bridge the past and the present. An onsite gift shop stocked with mementos helps soup up memorabilia collections, and, instead of trying to squeeze information from the museum's tightlipped biplanes, visitors can attend the historical society's lectures and workshops throughout the year for extra doses of education.

Gravity loses its grip near the shores of Sandusky, Ohio. Here, certified instructors strap customers into a water jetpack's five-point quick-release harness, which uses twin streams of high-pressured water to elevate adventurers up to 30 feet in the air. Attached to a nearby boat, the system's 200-horsepower engine pumps water through a 30-foot hose and churns through a staggering 1,000 gallons per minute. This allows jetpack pilots to run along the water, speed through smooth turns, and dive below the surface. Back on the shore, instructors can remotely control the jetpack's throttle, which allows beginner pilots to stay focused on games of extreme Marco Polo.