Tag Archives: Factory Tours

Fun in South Bend, Indiana

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FUN FACTS

South Bend Chocolate
  • The University of Notre Dame’s Main Building has 1,250 thin strips of 8 oz. 23-karat gold, 3 microns thick. http://tour.nd.edu/locations/eck-visitors-center/ (pg 93 of Kids Love Indiana)
  • The University of Notre Dame has the oldest continuously existing college band in the nation. When Notre Dame played football for the first time against Michigan in 1887, the Notre Dame Marching Band was already celebrating its 41st birthday.
  • The South Bend Chocolate Company produces more than 3,000 pounds of chocolate daily at its South Bend, Ind. factory. They invite you to “take a dip” literally – paid tours get to make a chocolate golden spoon! (pg 99 of Kids Love Indiana). www.sbchocolate.com
  • South Bend’s East Race Waterway was the first artificial whitewater course built in North America and opened in 1984.
  • The St. Joseph River flows north from South Bend into Lake Michigan. Several great walking/biking paths loop around the bends of the river. (you will cross it upteen times as you wander the city and surrounding suburbs)
  • South Bend Cubs single A baseball team is an affliate for the Chicago Cubs. www.southbendcubs.com. They play at Four Winds Field. The night we were there they had fireworks after the game. New are the Splash Pad water play area right behind Lawn Seating (only $6.00 for lawn seats) and the Tiki Bar, where parents can linger while their kids play in the Fun Zone.

MIDWEST HOMESCHOOL CONVENTION in Cincinnati is hosting a workshop about Family Field Trips on a Budget

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COME TO booth #1621 – KIDS LOVE TRAVEL at the Midwest Homeschool Convention and check out our books and show specials. (http://midwesthomeschoolconvention.com ).

ONE of the authors will be there so think of a QUESTION or two to get a JUMPSTART on your next trip!

AND, take a fun break and listen in on one of our convention workshops:

Kids Love Travel – Let’s Plan an Affordable Family Day Trip!

Family Field Trips with kids can be a delight or a disaster. Two things that make a homeschool trip great: low-cost and educational fun.

INSIDE SCOOPS. What are some secrets to get the most value for your money. Where to sit to get best value? what to bring? why to get there early? Examples: on Tours-why standing in the first two rows is beneficial. What about having a picnic at a castle? Why go early to outdoor dramas?

EDUCATORS? There’s suggestions for finding FREE lesson plans embedded in many listings as helpful notes for educators.

Marriage of guidebook and the Internet.

Guidebook= organic – highlight it, dog ear pages, write notes, already organized and filtered for kids, unbiased (no fee), and accessible without a wireless connection.
Internet=  the newest discounts, web updates, extra insights can be found at the links provided on every page.

KIDS LOVE TRAVEL GUIDES can save you $$ in just 20 minutes reading just one chapter in one book! We can save you dozens of hours on the internet, too.

FACTORY TOUR UPDATE: PHOENIX BATS

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The Phoenix Bat Company is a specialized wooden-bat creator and manufacturer located just outside of Columbus, Ohio, in Plain City.  The company produces premium rock maple and northern white ash baseball and softball bats. Combining premium grade woods with the most advanced, state of the art lathe in the bat manufacturing industry, Phoenix Bats delivers high quality wooden bats consistently to major league players and little leaguers alike.  Ohio made and Pro approved! 

And the best part, they offer tours! Open tours are available on Tuesdays at 6pm and Thursdays and Fridays at 1:30pm. No reservation required – just show up.

Tours are $10.00 per person and include a custom engraved mini bat to commemorate your visit.

During the one hour tour you’ll learn about how the business got started with vintage baseball players and a man who liked to make wood spindles. Next, they highlight which MLB pros use the bats and show samples of their specially ordered bats. Names like Ordonez, Carerra and Ramirez perked the boys’ ears.

We next moved into the computer corner to see how the bat is generated on a graphics program first, then sent into the factory to be produced. Good job if you love to take measurements again, and again.

The computer generated model is now fed into the humongous Italian lathe that takes a large dowel of wood and in one slow back and forth motion forms and sands the baseball bat into shape!

The finishing process is messy. Lots of dipping (and dripping stations) abound in a separate temperature controlled room. Finally, you watch the engraver embed a special logo or message into each bat. That same engraver is used to specialize your personal mini-bat tour souvenir.

They have birthday packages, too, combining the wood bat tour with time in the batting cages.

We took the tour offered on Tuesday night. We also allowed for time in the batting cages as a few from our group of baseball players were interested in trying out wood bats to purchase as their practice bats. Watching them smile when they hit the ball on that special “sweet spot” exclusive to each wood bat was a thrill (and seeing them whimper when it stung on the “not so sweet spot” – not so sweet).

Admittedly, I am a factory touraholic. This tour was especially exciting because it combined my family (and friends) love of baseball while supporting an American-made product (made close to home).

Phoenix Bat Company
7801 Corporate Blvd
Suite E
Plain City OH 43064		By phone:
Local: 614.873.7776
Toll free: 877.598.BATS (2287)
Fax: 614.873.7796
Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday 9:00am-5:30pm

For other ideas for Columbus, Ohio (Central Ohio) area KIDS LOVE TRAVEL tested attractions, lodging and dining visit: http://www.kidslovetravel.com/kids_love_ohio.htm.

Watching the World Series? Want to See How a Baseball Bat is Made? Take a Tour…

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WHICH BAT DOES YOUR FAVORITE MVP USE?

Maybe one of these – go see…

CENTRAL OHIO – PHOENIX BATS. Phoenix Bat Company. 7801 Corporate Blvd, Suite E. Plain City OH 43064. 614.873.7776 or www.phoenixbats.com. Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday 9:00am-5:00pm. Interested in booking a tour to see how a bat is made from start to finish? Tours are conducted by appointment and are $10 per person. This includes a custom engraved mini bat to commemorate your visit. To schedule a tour please contact tours@phoenixbats.com or call.

CENTRAL WEST PENNSYLVANIA – BWP BATS. Brookville. www.bwpbats.com. Welcome to the Home of the handmade professional Bats.  All bats are precision kiln dried and double dipped for maximum hardness. We have free factory tours 8:00am thru 4:00pm at the Factory Outlet, Exit 86 on I-80 Pennsylvania.

KIDS LOVE INDIANA fans – can you find a baseball bat company tour in your book?

KIDS LOVE KENTUCKY fans know well (as do most Americans) about the most famous bat company – Louisville Slugger. 

Got kids? Become a fan on Facebook and we’ll keep you posted on more factory tour updates. http://bit.ly/kidslovetravelfan