New Murals in Cincinnati – 2022

New Murals in Cincinnati – 2022

Big Cities, Books, Graffiti Walls, Less Beaten Paths Books, Murals, Ohio, Selfies, Street Art, Travel Blogging, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Wall Art
[caption id="attachment_35832" align="alignleft" width="300"] Sumoflam at the Cincinnati Toy Heritage mural, Nov 2022[/caption] It has been a while since I posted photos of murals in Cincinnati. My previous post that included a number of murals was in 2014 (See it here). Like many larger cities, Cincinnati has an organization dedicated to the promotion of public and theirs is called ArtWorks. ArtWorks has been around since 1996 and, since that time, has completed more than 14,000 public and private art projects in its 26 years, including more than 230 permanent outdoor murals. This post will feature a few of them that I captured on November 6, 2022. It by no means even comes close to all of the murals to be found in the Cincinnati Metro area. [caption id="attachment_35849" align="alignnone" width="700"]…
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New Murals in Lexington – 2021 PRHBTN and More

New Murals in Lexington – 2021 PRHBTN and More

Books, Buildings, Barns and Houses, Eateries, Graffiti Walls, Kentucky, Less Beaten Paths Books, Murals, Quirky Things, Selfies, Street Art, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Wall Art, Welcome Signs
I have fallen seriously behind in my blog posts recently. I am trying to catch up and would be seriously remiss if I did not do my annual post about new murals and wall art in Lexington. Last October was the celebration of the 10th anniversary of PRHBTN. This is the group that brings in famed street artists from all over the world to put wonderful art on the walls of Lexington. For 2022, PRHBTN brought in a few artists that have been here before, including the whimsical Kraken art of Patch Whisky, the lovely realism of Alexandrea Pangburn, colorful artist GAIA, and a couple of others including Key Detail, Joe King and Aerosol Kingdom (who worked with Alexandrea on the 2022 project). Along the way, I have also come…
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AtoZ Challenge 2021 – Signs Signs – The P Signs #atozchallenge

AtoZ Challenge 2021 – Signs Signs – The P Signs #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Alabama, Arizona, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Books, Bridges, Burger Joints, Church Signs, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Elephants, Family Travel, Ghost Signs, Giant Things, Highways and Roadways, Hot Dog Places, Illinois, Kentucky, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, National and State Parks, Historic Sites and More, National Parks, Nebraska, New Mexico, Offbeat Places, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Post Offices, prairie dogs, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Selfies, Signs and Billboards, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Town Names, Travel Blogging, Uncategorized, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Utah, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Washington, Water Towers, Welcome Signs, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Welcome to another year of the AtoZ Challenge.  This year I am doing signs that I have seen across the country.  This post will feature signs associated with the Letter P. ENJOY THE RIDE! We can't avoid signs.  They are everywhere.  Advertisements, informational signs, directional signs, business signs and, sometimes, even humorous and fun signs.  Each of my posts in this years' challenge will feature a hodgepodge of signs I have come across in my travels.  In most cases, I'll also note where they were taken.  Some were actually inside of shops or otherwise, so not all will have locations.  I hope you enjoy this fun trip each day of April. P is the perfect letter for this post. Ponder about the peculiar, prosperity, paradise and even peeing....but let's start…
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Murals of Hamilton, Ohio

Murals of Hamilton, Ohio

Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Graffiti Walls, Less Beaten Paths Books, Murals, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Street Art, Unexpected Discoveries, Wall Art
[caption id="attachment_25261" align="alignleft" width="300"] Hamilton's namesake, Alexander Hamilton, has a nice mural in downtown Hamilton. Painted by Nicole Trimble[/caption] Many cities are moving towards becoming "mural towns" as a drawing card to their towns.  The nice thing about murals is that they are each so unique and original.  In late October 2020 I had the opportunity to visit Hamilton, Ohio, which has now added numerous murals to buildings all around the town.  Thanks to an organization called StreetSpark, some lovely murals have begun dotting the town. StreetSpark is similar to Lexington's PRHBTN organization, which I have written about a number of times. StreetSpark is a public art program established in 2016 in partnership with the Fitton Center for Creative Arts, the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Community Foundation, and…
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PRHBTN 2019: More Murals to Decorate Lexington

Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Graffiti Walls, Kentucky, Murals, Offbeat Places, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Street Art, Unexpected Discoveries, Wall Art
Once again, John and Jessica Winters and their PRHBTN organization has brought some amazing art into Lexington.  October and the first part of November saw four more unique artists into the city to colorize more walls in the city. This year we got visits from Venezuelan artist Koz Dos,  New Yorker Elle, SNUB23 from Great Britain and Alexandrea Pangburn from the Denver area.  Each of them brought their own unique styles to add to the beauty of the city. [caption id="attachment_22512" align="alignnone" width="525"] Detail of Koz Dos mural[/caption] [caption id="attachment_22496" align="alignleft" width="300"] KOZ DOS[/caption] The first one to get started was Koz Dos.  Born in 1986 in Caracas, Venezuela, he is a graffiti artist who made his first steps in the Caracas hood. Since then, he has become famous for…
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PRHBTN 2018: Five More Murals Now Decorate Lexington

Backroads Discoveries, Graffiti Walls, Kentucky, Less Beaten Paths Books, Murals, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Street Art, Wall Art
Chalk up another successful year of artwork for John and Jessica Winters and the PRHBTN team of volunteers and donors.  This year brought in four artists from diverse places to add more color and variety to ever-growing mural collection in Lexington, Kentucky.  In fact, this year had some huge and lovely works completed. More than most years, I was able to follow some of the artists and track their work from beginning to end to see how they do it.  It was fascinating. Spencer Reinhard Panel Mural - near Lexington Transit Center [caption id="attachment_21123" align="alignleft" width="300"] Reinhard Eagle[/caption] The first of the five works to be completed came from local Lexington artist Spencer Reinhard (who now currently resides in Cali, Colombia), who did a colorful four panel  piece next to…
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A Grab Bag from America’s Back Roads – The P Things #AtoZChallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Alberta, Animals, Arizona, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Bakeries, BBQ Places, Birds, Bison, Books, Bucket List Trips, Budgies, Burger Joints, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Enchanted Highway, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Hot Dog Places, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Junk Art, Kansas, Kentucky, Landscapes, Large Statues, Less Beaten Paths Books, Lighthouses, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Mountains, Muffler Man, Murals, Museums, National Monuments, National Parks, Nebraska, North Dakota, Offbeat Places, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pelicans, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Post Offices, prairie dogs, Quirky Things, Roadside Attractions, Roadsigns, Selfies, South Dakota, Street Art, Swamps, Television Shows, Tennessee, Texas, Town Names, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Utah, Vintage Neon, Virginia, Volcanic Sites, Wall Art, Washington, Water Towers, Waterfalls, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Zoos
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.   Peculiar, Missouri [caption id="attachment_794" align="alignnone" width="400"] Welcome to Peculiar, MO[/caption] [caption id="attachment_36" align="alignnone" width="400"] A Peculiar Police Car[/caption] [caption id="attachment_37" align="alignnone" width="400"] A Peculiar Elementary School[/caption] Possum Trot Supper Club - Oakwood, Illinois [caption id="attachment_1784" align="alignnone" width="400"] Possum Trot Supper Club, Oakwood, IL[/caption] Pierre Part, Louisiana [caption id="attachment_10835" align="alignnone" width="400"] Sumoflam in Pierre Part, LA[/caption] [caption id="attachment_14077" align="alignnone" width="400"] Visiting Troy Landry of Swamp People fame in…
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K is for Kentucky – #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Adventure, Backroads Discoveries, Blue Heron, Bridges, Eagles, Farmland, Horses, Kentucky, Landscapes, Museums, National Parks, Roadside Attractions, Sandhill Cranes, Selfies, Staycations, Street Art, Television Shows, Town Names, Train Bridges, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Waterfalls
One word: Staycation My family moved to Kentucky with in 1993. We moved from the western United States and had not lived in a humid, green environment since our time in Japan in the late 1980s. [caption id="attachment_17836" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Kentucky the Beautiful[/caption] [caption id="attachment_17860" align="alignright" width="178"] Kentucky Backroads[/caption] Like many others, when we heard the word Kentucky, we thought about the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Kentucky bourbon. There was not much else to really understand or know about Kentucky. Honestly, looking back I can say that our move to Kentucky was one of the best things we ever did. Kentucky is a beautiful and diverse state. Living in Lexington, which is the Horse Capital of the World, we are surrounded by beautiful horse farms. In fact, I…
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2015 In Review: The Year In Travel

2015 In Review: The Year In Travel

Antsy McClain, Backroads Discoveries, Bakeries, BBQ Places, Big Cities, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, California, Car Art, City Skylines, Colorado, Connecticut, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Geologic Formations, Giant Things, Graffiti Walls, Kentucky, Large Statues, Maine, Mountains, Murals, Museums, National Parks, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Seagulls, Selfies, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Utah, Wall Art, Washington, West Virginia
[caption id="attachment_15055" align="alignnone" width="474"] San Francisco, May 2015[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15062" align="alignnone" width="474"] Seattle, WA, August 2015[/caption] [caption id="attachment_14669" align="aligncenter" width="474"] New York City at night as seen from Hoboken, NJ, September 2015[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15067" align="alignleft" width="300"] Golden Gate Bridge[/caption] The year 2015 started off with plans to travel to a couple of locations, but not the extent of the travel that I enjoyed in 2014. As it turned out, I had some great experiences and more travel than had been originally planned. It was truly a good year for my travel as I have noted in my blog posts and Facebook posts throughout the year. [caption id="attachment_13584" align="alignright" width="225"] Flying in 2015[/caption] Unlike most of my travel, which I like to do by car on back roads, the year's travel…
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Wall Art in Lexington: PRHBTN 2015 Projects and more

Giant Things, Graffiti Walls, Kentucky, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Street Art, Unique Places, Wall Art
Once again the great team at PRHBTN and all of its supporters have brought 4 great artists into Lexington to add 4 more lovely wall murals around Lexington.  These artists from New York, Italy and Portugal all visited Lexington and left with their art work colorizing more of town. (See updated map of all murals in Lexington embedded below) [caption id="attachment_14537" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Some PRHBTN Art on a wall in the Distillery District[/caption] [caption id="attachment_14536" align="alignleft" width="300"] Detail of Louis Armstrong mural in Lexington's East Side[/caption] The first week of November I made my rounds to grab shots of these murals. I have done similar posts in the past ( see 2014 2013a 2013b ) and this is the 2015 version. Unlike the art the past couple of years, we…
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