Metropolis IL – Less Beaten Paths of America Travel Blog

April 15, 2018April 15, 2018

A Grab Bag from America’s Back Roads – The M Things #AtoZChallenge

In 2018 I will feature a random (yet alphabetical) selection of photos I have taken from my nearly 20 years of back roads travel in the United States and Canada. I may even throw in a few random shots from other trips to Japan, Mexico and the Philippines. My theme is called America’s Back Roads: A Grab Bag of Places in Pictures.

Mystic Pizza – Mystic, Connecticut

Mystic Pizza in Mystic, CT with my sweet wife

Moon Township, PA

Muscovy Duck – Damascus, Virginia

A unique Muscovy duck in the river in Damascus

Mammy’s Cupboard – Natchez, Mississippi

Mammy’s Cupboard Dining Room – Much bigger than it looks on the outside

Mail Pouch Barns – Brinkhaven, Ohio; Friendly, West Virginia; Hargett, Kentucky

A rare Mail Pouch barn sighting in Hargett, KY

Billy Tripp’s Mindfield – Brownsville, Tennessee

Sumoflam at Tripp’s Mindfield Cemetery in Brownsville, TN

A portion of the Mindfield Cemetery in Brownsville, TN

Mindfield Cemetery, Brownsville, Tennessee

Mr. Roger’s T-Rex Statue – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Mountain Bluebird – The Badlands National Park, South Dakota

A Mountain Bluebird perched on a fencepost in the Badlands

Mac the Moose – Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Mac the Moose in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Monument Valley – Utah

Enjoying the splendor of Monument Valley in southern Utah and Northern Arizona around 1983

Monongahela Incline – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Maid of the Mist – Niagara Falls, Ontario

The Maid of the Mist at the bottom of Niagara Falls filled with tourists

Melt Eclectic Cafe – Cincinnati, Ohio

Metal Green Bay Packer – Pagac’s Bar – Ashland, Wisconsin

Robotic scrap metal quarterback. The guy in the bar said you can plug it in and it actually moves!

Mayan Ruins – Tulum, Mexico

Enjoying a visit to the Tulum Ruins on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico

Midlothian Castle – Burk’s Falls, Ontario

Headstone on one of the Gates to Midlothian Castle

Home of Mayberry – Mount Airy, North Carolina

Mount Rainier National Park – Greenwater, Washington

Entering Mt. Rainier National Park on WA 410 south of Greenwater, WA

Mt. Rainier in Washington – visited in 2015

A ferry passes by us in the sound with Mt. Rainier in the background

Migrating Snow Geese – Arkansas

Ran into a HUGE flock of migrating snow geese in central Arkansas

Medicine Hat, Alberta

Mickey Mantle Statue – Commerce, Oklahoma

Mickey Mantle Statue in Commerce, Oklahoma

Memorial Falls near Great Falls, Montana

Meerkats at Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska

The Meerkats are my favorite animal at the zoo. This one posed for me!

Metropolis, Illinois

Dinosaur Tracks – Moenave, Arizona

Moenave Dinosaur Tracks near Tuba City, AZ

The kids at the Dinosaur tracks in Moenave, AZ near Tuba City (July 1993)

Mama Santa Pizzeria – Little Eatery – Cleveland, Ohio

Sumoflam with Mama Santa’s owner Papa Tio

Sumoflam with Nancy Starvaggi Schaffer, showing off the AMAZING homemade sausage and pasta from Mama Santa Restaurant in Cleveland, OH

Montour Trail – Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

Montour Trail – Canonsburg, PA

Miner’s Memorial Mural – Ironwood, Michigan

The men in Miner’s Memorial Mural represent the thousands of men who worked in the Gogebic Range Mines of Michigan and Wisconsin.

A section of the Miner’s Memorial Mural in Ironwood, which was completed in 2012

Mt. Fuji – near Fujinomiya, Japan

Mt. Fuji, Japan as seen from my airplane seat in 1990 as I flew to Tokyo from Oita.

Multnomah Falls – Multnomah County, Oregon

Mud Street Cafe – Eureka Springs, Arkansas

The unique and quaint Mud Street Cafe in Eureka Springs, AR

Memphis Egg – Memphis, Tennessee

Mothman Museum – Point Pleasant, West Virginia

Mel’s Diner – San Francisco, California

Sumoflam at Mel’s Drive-in in San Francisco

Mapleton Taxidermy and Cheese Shop – Mapleton, Ontario

If you like what you see, you may want to check out my book: Less Beaten Paths of America: Unique Town Names, available on Amazon. My second book, Less Beaten Paths of America: Quirky and Offbeat Roadside Attractions, will be available in late April or early May 2018. Click on the photo below for more details or to get a copy of the book.

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December 15, 2017December 15, 2017

Sumoflam’s 2017 Travels in Review

Sunrise in Ocean City, MD on New Year’s Day 2017

On January 1, 2017 I sat on a beach in Ocean City, Maryland to watch a spectacular sunrise and pondered to myself about the opportunities I would have to travel throughout the year. Little did I really know the extent that I would actually travel over the year and I’m grateful that I’ve had a wonderful year of seeing more of this beautiful country.

Beginning with that glorious morning in Maryland, over the course of the year I have driven nearly 15,000 miles on road trips, many to visit family or be with family, but all of the trips have been wonderful. Some have been close by doing what I refer to as “staycation“ trips in Kentucky. But, throughout the course of the year I have been to 19 different states and have seen a plethora of places and things. Many of the trips included time with my wife, my children and my grandchildren. That makes things so much better and enjoyable!

Welcome to Louisiana with some of my grandchildren

All the family gathered at my sister’s Mayfield Smoke Shop in Little Italy, Cleveland

In July we had a family reunion. It was the first in five years and all of my 10 grandchildren and all my five children were here at one time or another and even my sister and her husband and daughter came up to visit. During that time we also visited my extended family in Cleveland, Ohio. So, travel was not the only joyful thing. Family is the best.

The following photos tell just a small story of the past year. I have already posted some of the things in more detail and have five or six others in the works about specific places. But here are just some of the places and things form this past year. ENJOY THE RIDE!

Giant Pepsi Pop Bottle Cap in Johnson City, TN

Welcome to Hopkinsville, KY for the Solar Eclipse

The swamp of Caddo Lake near Uncertain, TX

Chicago LIVE in Cincinnati. First time I had seen them in over 40 years

Giant Indian Chief “Standing Brave” in Big Cabin, OK

Duck Commander HQ, home of Duck Dynasty in West Monroe, LA

West Virginia’s Capitol Building in Charleston, WV

One of over 50 waterfals in Watkins Glen State Park, NY

Tallest wall mural in US “Once in a Millenium Moon” is 14 stories tall…in Shreveport, LA

Chief Wacinton in Paducah, KY was one of three Peter Toth Whispering Giants I visited this year.

The New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia

Chief Little Owl, one of three Peter Toth Whispering Giants. This one is in Bethany Beach, Delaware

King’s Island Amusement Park north of Cincinnati, OH

The Shack Burger Resort – amazingly quirky and fun – in Cypress, TX

Caught the Sand Hill Migration in early January near Cecilia, KY

The Indian River Inlet Bridge between Maryland and Delaware

A section of the Virginia Creeper Trail near Damascus, VA

Big Monster at Big Mike’s Rock shop near Cave City, KY

Genesee Falls at Letchworth State Park, near Castile, New York

The Inlet Indian, dedicated to the Assateague tribe, is in Ocean City, MD and is one of three of Peter Toth’s Whispering Giants visited in 2017

The CastlePost Castle near Versailles, KY

Found a nice beach on Lake Erie… Presque Isle State Park

Hanging with Grandkids at Wigwam Village in Cave City, KY

The “diamond ring” effect begins as seen from Hopkinsville, KY

Large Saturn Rocket at Welcome Center in Elkmont, Alabama

Fall Colors over the Red River Gorge in Kentucky

Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco, TX (Home of the TV Show Fixer Upper)

We slept in Wigwam Village in Cave City, KY

Deer at sunrise in Shenandoah National Park on Easter Morning 2017

Bald Eagle shot taken in mid April 2017 near Cave Run Lake, KY

Waveland State Historic Park in Lexington, KY

The Hobbit Hole – a unique and quirky shop in Fayetteville, WV

Easter Sunrise as seen from Shenandoah National Park

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May 2, 2017May 2, 2017

Z is for Zeal – #atozchallenge

I am a zealous traveler. I travel passion and with all the gusto I can. A roadtrip with me can be grueling, but it is always fun. Indeed, I travel with the intent of creating many good memories. Many call me a Road Warrior. Well, I love that term. I travel with zeal.

When on roadtrips, I like to be up with the sun and travel until the sun goes down. I stop for the night wherever I am at sundown…I can’t take many pictures at night now can I?

Sumoflam and the FREE Stamp in Cleveland

In my zealous travels, I have visited all 50 states and a few Canadian Provinces. I have at least one photo of me in almost all of them…a few exceptions where I traveled to those places years ago and the photos either were lost or were never taken (Nevada, Rhode Island, Massachusetts…at least). But in recent years, I have become the “Shamelessly Self-Proclaimed Selfie King” and have tried to record my travels digitally, and include selfies along the way.

Without further adieu, following are selfies/photos of me in every state and Canadian Province I have visited (where I have photos). I have throw some “Road Warrior” and “Traveling with Zeal” pics in along the way for fun.