Things to Do in Stow

Inside Legend Lanes, pins scatter across 24 bowling lanes that pave synthetic avenues to legendary scores and equally impressive celebratory high-fives. Leagues, tournaments, families, and friends gather weekly to participate in the pin-pulverizing action, including on Friday and Saturday evenings, when cosmic bowling morphs each frame into an intergalactic experience. Bumpers barricade gutters upon request and, perched throughout the facility, 35 flat-screen TVs flicker with off-the-lane entertainment, ensuring players don’t get stuck talking to a retired ball about its oddly shaped scuffs in between turns. After games, competitors can celebrate real victories or moral victories inside the new Legend Lounge.

Lasers flash across a 4,000-square-foot arena. Bumper boats splash against each other in a 135,000-gallon lake. An elastic EuroBungy harness flings bouncers skyward for death-defying flips. These are just a few of the attractions and activities at Fun 'n' Stuff, where families can also fill their days by racing go-karts, climbing a rock wall, or gliding around a rink on rented roller skates. Guests who want to breathe in fresh air can putt through two 18-hole mini golf courses, whack balls in five hardball and four softball cages, and slide down a 24-foot inflatable slide. The littlest visitors play in a ball pit, whereas the Extreme Looping Bikes send older ones soaring through the air, just like the majestic eagle they rode to their middle-school graduation.

For a quarter of a century, Fun Makers' licensed, FAA-certified pilots have guided thousands of passengers skyward during hot-air-balloon tours of Ohio's lakes, valleys, forests, and rolling plains. Pilots update their training annually to stay informed on ballooning guidelines, and each sendoff begins with a passenger orientation that briefs guests on flight basics, personal safety, and how to deflect dive-bombing ostriches. After touching back down, passengers commemorate their voyage with a champagne toast and a first-flight certificate. In addition to hot-air-balloon rides, Fun Makers' staff travels to large and small events at colleges, festivals, and churches bearing a variety of portable entertainment including rock-climbing walls, bungee trampolines, and mechanical rodeo bulls.

Throughout the 1,500-square-foot indoor playground of Inflatable Insanity, kids surmount air-filled fortresses, only to slide down their slopes or jump on their bouncy interiors. Children under 39 inches retreat to the Tot Lot, and supervisory adults receive free admission to keep an eye on their tykes and make sure they share with their imaginary friends. Party rooms hold groups of up to 20, and hosts can parse out party favors such as self-stuffed teddy bears for an extra fee.

At White Horse Equestrian, riders earn their spurs during lessons, classes, and outings run by the ranch’s corral of coaches. Students learn horsemanship and riding techniques according to their existing skillset, whether acquiring advanced communication skills or fundamentals, such as where in the saddle to store a pony's sunglasses on cloudy days. Casual visitors can board rented steeds for trail rides, attend themed summer camps, or use the idyllic grounds to host a birthday party featuring games, crafts, and instructional trots.

Amid the uncertainty and complex nature of the aviation industry in the early 2000s, Denise and Mike decided to buck opposition and follow their dreams. The husband-and-wife team kept their dream relatively simple: move to northeast Ohio, secure season tickets for the Indians and Browns, and open up the world of flight to others. They soon took Mike's 35 years experience as an entrepreneur and Denise's time as a commercial pilot and turned it into American Winds Flight Academy. Today, their flight academy preps prospective pilots with FAA-approved ground courses and hands-on instruction in their fleet of Piper and Cessna airplanes and accommodating pterodactyls. The duo's 15-plus flight-training courses and fast-track program include everything from advanced flight-simulator instruction to commercial-pilot certification.