Ever heard of Hocking Hills, Ohio? Turns out, Hocking Hills is 250 miles from Detroit as the crow flies - well, as Google maps anyway. Southeast of Columbus, the Hocking Hills area is a little over four hours from Detroit by car.

From what I hear, Hocking Hills promises natural wonders, arts, antiques, recreation opportunity, ghosts, and thrill rides in the form of zip lines, ATVs, and OGO ball rides ("zorbing"). So, I'm planning a trip to check it out. When I get back, I'll add information about it to my list of Weekend Getaways from Detroit.

Have you ever been there?

If so, do you have any tips?

I haven't been to the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum in a lot of years. Frankly, it was eclipsed by Cosi Toledo -- the be all in accessible science for kids. With the demise of Cosi a couple of years ago due to funding issues, me and mine were forced to look closer to home for a science fix.

As it turns out, while my head was turned Ohio's way, both the Detroit Science Center and Ann Arbor Hands On Museum got much bigger and better.

These days, the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum...Read more.

Note: Cosi reopened in Fall of 2009 as The Imagination Station of Toledo.

Labor Day may have come and gone, but don't count summer out quite yet; there are several events planned for the weekend after Labor Day in Metro Detroit. In addition to the ongoing Michigan Renaissance Festival in Holly, there are several big annual events and festivals, including the Art & Apples Festival in Rochester, the Plymouth Community Fall Festival, the Smokin' Jazz & Barbeque Blues Festival in Brighton, and Dally in the Alley in Detroit.

Concerts coming to the Metro-Detroit area this weekend include Billy Idol, Ludacris and Kiss; while The Rocky Horror Show is at the Meadow...Read more

As it turns out, the nation's perception of Detroit is lagging behind the city's economic reality. While many still bemoan the dismal state of Detroit's auto industry, at least one source -- Yahoo Finance! -- lists Ford as the second of 6 Companies Thriving in the Recession. And that's not all! Domino's took the third spot on the list.

So, what's the secret of Ford and Domino's success? Apparently, that change is good.

In Ford's case, the company rehauled the way it did business and its image, while Domino's rehauled its product.