David Kravetz – Page 36 – Less Beaten Paths of America

21Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

Austin Stays Weird – A Pictorial

Bakeries, City Skylines, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Found Metal Sculptures, Ghost Signs, Graffiti Walls, Murals, Roadside Attractions, Street Art, Texas, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Yard Art

[caption id="attachment_11912" align="aligncenter" width="474"] greetings from Sumoflam in Austin[/caption] After a good night's rest at my cousins house in late June, I was able to spend my morning and part of my early afternoon in Austin, Texas. The motto of that town is "keep Austin weird." I must say that they have done that very successfully! [caption id="attachment_11914" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Sumoflam at Austin's Roadhouse Relics, one of the unique and quirky shops on South Congress[/caption] [caption id="attachment_11917" align="aligncenter" width="474"] I had breakfast at the South Congress Cafe. It was truly an upscale cafe, if there is such a thing[/caption] There are not many offbeat and quirky towns in this country, but those that are really go to town and Austin is certainly one of the best of these. Portland is…

20Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

Top Ten Travel Photos for 2014

Alligators, Animals, Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Car Art, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Ghost Signs, Giant Things, Graffiti Walls, Illinois, Kentucky, Large Statues, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Murals, National Monuments, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, Street Art, Tennessee, Texas, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, US Highway 2, US Highway 212, US Highway 89, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Water Towers, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Yard Art

Throughout my travels I drove over 10,000 miles and took over 3000 photos in 2014. I have numerous shots from the road of quirky places, offbeat sites and some nice looking places. If you missed my "nature photos", some of which are from my travels, please check them out on my Sumoflam's Singlewide Site. Following are my ten favorite travel shots from 2014 and the stories behind them (and a number of honorable mentions). NUMBER 1 - OLD PRAIRIE SCHOOL HOUSE [caption id="attachment_9237" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Old Prairie School House on Smith-Frisno Road west of Havre, Montana. I wanted this one in black and white...more authentic feel[/caption] I once saw a photo of this old school house and knew that I had to get to this relic of the past. So,…

16Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

Houston to Austin: The Scenic Route

Backroads Discoveries, BBQ Places, Car Art, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Farmland, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Graffiti Walls, Landscapes, Large Statues, Murals, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, States and Provinces, Street Art, Texas, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Water Towers, Yard Art

This is the second part of my Galveston return trip journey (see first post if you missed it). After a night in Houston with my Uncle, I was back on the road through Houston and on to Austin, the long and scenic route.... [caption id="attachment_11750" align="aligncenter" width="474"] My route from Houston to Austin ... the long and scenic route[/caption] I chose this roundabout way through the heart of Texas in order to enjoy the unique Texas scenery and perhaps run into some of those quirky things that little towns have. Initially, I had a business meeting scheduled in Conroe, but it fell through, so I headed to Huntsville, but, as I checked the map I noticed that not too far from Conroe was a small town called Cut and Shoot,…

15Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

#TBT – Being an Arizona Tour Guide in the 1980s

#TBT, Arizona, Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Geologic Formations, Landscapes, National Monuments, National Parks, People Shots, Roadside Attractions, Throwback Thursday, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, US Highway 89, Volcanic Sites, Wildflowers

[caption id="attachment_11948" align="alignleft" width="277"] Sumoflam at Monument Valley on Utah/Arizona border[/caption] In the early 1980s my young family was living in Flagstaff, Arizona and I was going to school full time at Northern Arizona University. During this time, I had a stroke of luck in landing a job as a tour guide/bus driver for a company called Nava-Hopi Tours (The Gray Line of Flagstaff). (Note: After the 9/11 incidents, NHT had troubles as people didn't travel and they went out of business in Oct. 2001) At that time I had already changed my major to History/Geography and this job offered me the opportunity to build on that experience. It also provided me plenty of time to study as the tourists would be out looking at the sites. I would drive…

08Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

Travel #TBT: Jan. 2010 – A Weekend in KC and St. Louis

Antsy McClain, Backroads Discoveries, BBQ Places, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Farmland, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Indiana, Landscapes, Large Statues, Missouri, Murals, Museums, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, Street Art, Throwback Thursday, Travel Blogging, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Yard Art

A weekend in St. Louis/Kansas City - Jan. 14-17, 2010 January 14, 2010: ROAD TRIP!! After quite a hiatus on road trips, I finally took one. Now that I am working for iHigh.com (was until 2012) I do have occasion to take a trip or two for support. In this instance I was to travel to Kirkwood High School in St. Louis to Live Stream a basketball tournament on January 15, and then travel to Kansas City to Live Stream a large wrestling tournament at Center High School. Naturally, along the way both there and back I made some side trips, as is always my custom, but in this case I did not veer too far off the beaten path. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1145"] Lexington, KY to Santa Claus, IN…

01Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

#TBT Montana Road Trip: Day 1 – June 15, 2005

#TBT, Backroads Discoveries, BBQ Places, City Skylines, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Giant Things, Giant Twine Balls, Illinois, Indiana, Large Statues, Minnesota, Roadside Attractions, Throwback Thursday, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Wisconsin

Montana Road Trip Journal June 15, 2005: Today we departed on our trip to Great Falls, Montana for Amaree's wedding, the second in a string of 3 weddings in 8 weeks. Accompanying me on the trip is Seth, Solomon and Marissa, who will be married on the 25th of June in Louisville, which is in 10 days. Our Road Trip will comprise about 4500 miles as we drive north thru Indiana and Illinois and then across Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and into Montana. Our return will be a similar trip, except thru a corner of Wyoming and then across South Dakota and then Minnesota and Wisconsin. A general map of the trip can be seen below: My goal was to leave at 5:30 AM since we have such a long…

01Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

Let the 2015 #TBT Posting Begin!

#TBT, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, National Parks, Roadside Attractions, Throwback Thursday, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places

[caption id="attachment_11730" align="aligncenter" width="432"] World's Largest Teapot, Chester, WV (2008)[/caption] Starting with Thursday, January 1, 2015, I will be retrofitting old travel journal articles from the past decade (and perhaps earlier) into my blog. As many of you know, Thursday has become "Throwback Thursday" (also known as #TBT) on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc. [caption id="attachment_11731" align="aligncenter" width="451"] Sumoflam at the USS Enterprise Monument (with Crafty Jack) in Vulcan, Alberta (2007)[/caption] So, for my #TBT weekly posts I will go back to old "Travel Journal" entries that I made before I began this blog in early 2013. I may also go back to old travel photos and write a quick story about some of the places, especially in Japan and some of our earlier family travels. [caption id="attachment_11732" align="aligncenter" width="474"] With…

31Dec 2014 by David Kravetz

2014: The Highlights and Top 10 Sites Visited

Alligators, Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Car Art, Cross Country Road Trips, Dream Highways, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Geologic Formations, Giant Things, Graffiti Walls, Illinois, Kentucky, Landscapes, Large Statues, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Murals, National Monuments, National Parks, Nebraska, North Dakota, Roadside Attractions, States and Provinces, Street Art, Texas, Travel Blogging, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 2, US Highway 212, US Highway 61, Wall Art, Wyoming, Yard Art

The year 2014 brought me some wonderful opportunities to travel and even fulfill some travel dreams. In the past year I traveled nearly 10,000 miles on road trips and traversed through 19 states (including my home state of Kentucky). With all of this travel I was able to hit a few "bucket list" stops and also drive a good part of some "bucket list" highways as well. Overall, the year was splendid. The Big Highlights 9,700 Miles Driven Traveled through 19 states Drove about 1,200 miles of US Route 2, one of my Bucket List Highways. Drove from Ironwood, MI to Browning, MT Drove the Blues Highway in Mississippi Drove the Beartooth Highway in Wyoming (which Charles Kuralt noted as "the most beautiful drive in America" and I concur My…

18Dec 2014 by David Kravetz

Deep in the Heart of Texas: Galveston-Houston

Alligators, Animals, Backroads Discoveries, Bakeries, BBQ Places, Birds, Bucket List Trips, Car Art, City Skylines, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Farmland, Found Metal Sculptures, Ghost Signs, Giant Things, Landscapes, Large Statues, Murals, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Street Art, Tennessee, Texas, Travel Blogging, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Wildflowers, Yard Art

After a great three days in Galveston, it was time to get back on the road. I would head north to Houston, then on to Austin and eventually into Fort Worth. Texas is a BIG state and there is lots of ground to cover. My first day would cover some backroads from Galveston and meander my way into Houston where I would stay overnight with my uncle. [caption id="attachment_11544" align="aligncenter" width="693"] Heart of Texas Route Day 1 - Galveston to Houston the long way[/caption] There were things I had planned to see along the way and found a few things along the way as well. I figured that I may not get this way again (south of Houston) for a while, so I took advantage of a full day of…

29Nov 2014 by David Kravetz

Wall Art in Lexington 2014: PRHBTN & more

Giant Things, Graffiti Walls, Horse Art, Horses, Kentucky, Murals, Roadside Attractions, Street Art, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Wall Art, Water Towers

[caption id="attachment_11659" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Sumoflam with the newly designed PRHBTN truck[/caption] Lexington again has new art covering some of its formerly barren walls around town as the Street Art promoting organization PRHBTN brought in four new world renown street artists to enhance the growing collection of unique murals that dot the town. The contributing artists this year included How and Nosm (twin brothers Raoul & Davide Perre originally from Spain), ROA (from Ghent, Belgium), Andrew Hem (a Cambodian immigrant currently from Los Angeles) and MTO (a French born graffiti artist currently from Berlin). Each of these four artists have very unique styles and techniques as can be seen from their photos in this post. [caption id="attachment_11634" align="aligncenter" width="960"] The enormous "I Am MO" mural in the Lexington Distillery District[/caption] Perhaps…

Author: David Kravetz