11Jan 2017 by David Kravetz

The Year in Travel: 2016 from A to Z

Amish Country, Antsy McClain, Arkansas, Backroads Discoveries, Bakeries, BBQ Places, Bike Trails, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, City Skylines, Cross Country Road Trips, Delaware, Eateries, Family Travel, Illinois, Kentucky, Large Statues, Maryland, National Monuments, National Parks, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Post Offices, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Staycations, Tennessee, Texas, Town Names, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Virginia, Washington DC, West Virginia
The year 2016 was not a banner year for travel for me as there were no super long  cross country trips taken like I had done form 2012-2015. However, over the course of the year we did take a number of smaller trips and a couple of fairly long trips. I visited 11 states during the year and made it to some places where I hadn't been for nearly 30 years. Even made it into towns from A (Abingdon, VA) to Z (Zanesville, OH) and one with an X too (Xenia, OH)!! Here is a map that includes many of the places: [caption id="attachment_17253" align="aligncenter" width="316"] Abingdon, VA - Eastern terminus of the Virginia Creeper Trail[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15813" align="aligncenter" width="236"] Zanesville, Ohio home of the Y Bridge[/caption] [caption id="attachment_16769" align="aligncenter"…
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23Sep 2016 by David Kravetz

Life Gets Busy But I Still Try To Enjoy The Ride

Antsy McClain, Backroads Discoveries, Bike Trails, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Kentucky, Landscapes, Ohio, People Shots, Random Thoughts, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Tennessee, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Virginia
[caption id="attachment_17164" align="alignleft" width="217"] Somewhere in Oregonia, OH[/caption] Recently, life has gotten pretty hectic for old Sumoflam.  So much so that my blogs are taking a beating and seemingly forgotten.  I am now teaching Japanese full time at the University of Kentucky and that, coupled with my website work, has taken a toll on available time. [caption id="attachment_17161" align="alignright" width="300"] Sunbeams through the trees at Jacobson Park in Lexington, KY[/caption] Traveling, blog writing and photography are my passions.  They are my art.  When I can't be working on them, it hurts. I feel like I am missing out on some of life's joys. Today we are traveling to the Pittsburgh area and I had a few minutes to write a couple of notes.  I have had some travel opportunities in…
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04Aug 2016 by David Kravetz

Ohio’s Amish Country – Holmes County, OH

Amish Country, Backroads Discoveries, Bike Trails, Bridges, Covered Bridges, Cross Country Road Trips, Farmland, Giant Things, Landscapes, Ohio, People Shots, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, US Highway 62, Wildflowers
[caption id="attachment_17018" align="alignleft" width="300"] Holmes County Trail, Ohio[/caption] We took a road trip to Holmes County, OH in late July 2016 for Julianne to ride the Holmes County Bike Trail and the Mohican Valley Bike Trail.  (I will have Bike Trail posts about both of these coming soon) While she rode, I visited a few of the places in the area.  I had visited the area in 2008, including the town of Charm.  (See my post HERE) In another trip in the early 2000s, we had also visited the unique town of Berlin.  I never did a post about the town and hope to make it there again sometime in the future.  On this particular visit, we didn't make it to that part of Holmes County.  Rather, we focused on…
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27Jul 2016 by David Kravetz

Bike Trails: Ohio Erie Towpath Trail, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, OH

Backroads Discoveries, Bike Trails, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Museums, National Parks, Ohio, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places
This is the second in a continuing series of Bike Trail posts.  Like the back roads of America, the recent interest in bike paths and rails-to-trails paths provides a new insight on "back roads".  Each Bike Path post will include surrounding information, vehicle support info and trail ratings as provided by my wife Julianne.  One bike pump equals a "poor" rating while five pumps equals an "excellent" rating.  We'll also provide links to the RTC TrailLinks overview of the trail. Complete Trails Overview Post is HERE Ohio and Erie Canal Towpath Trail – Cuyahoga Valley N.P., OH Click here for RTC TrailLink Details [caption id="attachment_16830" align="alignright" width="300"] Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga Valley NP, Ohio[/caption] The Ohio Erie Towpath Trail runs along the old Erie canal towpath and covers approximately 85…
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25Jul 2016 by David Kravetz

A visit to Damascus, Virginia

Backroads Discoveries, Bakeries, Bike Trails, Bridges, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Farmland, Flowers, Ghost Signs, Giant Things, Kentucky, Landscapes, Murals, Muscovy Duck, People Shots, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Street People, Tennessee, Train Bridges, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, US Highway 119, US Highway 23, US Highway 58, Virginia, Wall Art, Wildflowers, Yard Art
[caption id="attachment_16847" align="alignleft" width="210"] Welcome to Damascus[/caption] Last weekend we made a trip to Damascus, VA with the goal of Julianne and our daughter Marissa riding their bikes on the Virginia Creeper Trail, one of many wonderful Rails to Trails bike trails that can be found in this part of the country.   I will have a different post about the Virginia Creeper Trail as part of my Bike Trail Series, but I wanted to post an article about the non-bike portion of our trip to Damascus, Abingdon, and Bristol, VA.  Besides the bike trail, there is so much more to see and do on a  road trip down to this part of Appalachia. We began our trip by leaving early in the morning on Saturday to drive to Damascus…
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15Jul 2016 by David Kravetz

Bike Trails: The Legacy Trail – Lexington, KY

Bike Trails, Bridges, Family Travel, Farmland, Kentucky, Landscapes, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Staycations, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places
This is the first in a continuing series of Bike Trail posts.  Like the back roads of America, the recent interest in bike paths and rails-to-trails paths provides a new insight on "back roads".  Each Bike Path post will include surrounding information, vehicle support info and trail ratings as provided by my wife Julianne.  One bike pump equals a "poor" rating while five pumps equals an "excellent" rating.  We'll also provide links to the RTC TrailLinks overview of the trail. Complete Trails Overview Post is HERE. THE LEGACY TRAIL - Lexington, KY Click here for RTC TrailLink Details The Legacy Trail in Lexington, Kentucky is a totally paved bike trail that basically covers a 12 mile distance from downtown Lexington to the Kentucky Horse Park. [caption id="attachment_16809" align="alignright" width="225"] Legacy…
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05Jul 2016 by David Kravetz

An Afternoon in Pittsburgh

Backroads Discoveries, Bridges, City Skylines, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Ghost Signs, Giant Things, Murals, Museums, Pennsylvania, People Shots, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Street Art, Train Bridges, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Wall Art
[caption id="attachment_16596" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Welcome to Pittsburgh[/caption] [caption id="attachment_16593" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Fort Pitt Tunnel in Pittsburgh[/caption] As noted in my previous post about Prosperity/Canonsburg/Washington areas of Pennsylvania (see post HERE), we took an afternoon with my wife's sister and her family to take a drive around Pittsburgh.  Obviously, an afternoon does no justice to a large beautiful city like this, but that was all the time we had. Fortunately, I have been to Pittsburgh before and have knocked out a few places worth visiting (see my post which includes some Pittsburgh sites HERE). [caption id="attachment_16603" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Bridges in Pittsburgh[/caption] [caption id="attachment_16594" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Crossing into Pittsburgh[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_16621" align="alignleft" width="223"] The PPG Glass Castle (One PPG Place) in downtown Pittsburgh[/caption] Our drive took us past the amazing glass…
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03Jul 2016 by David Kravetz

Finding Prosperity near Canonsburg & Washington, PA

Backroads Discoveries, Bike Trails, Birds, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Flowers, Found Metal Sculptures, Geese, Giant Things, Landscapes, Murals, Museums, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Post Offices, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Swans, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 19, US Highway 40, Wall Art, West Virginia, Wildflowers
[caption id="attachment_16653" align="alignright" width="225"] Welcome to Canonsburg, PA[/caption] Just a week after a nice three-day visit to northern Ohio (see post HERE), Julianne and I made our way to Canonsburg, PA, which is south of Pittsburgh. Julianne's sister Laura recently moved there from Idaho with her husband and daughter and wanted us to visit. [caption id="attachment_16693" align="alignleft" width="274"] Sumoflam with Julianne and Autumn heading to Pittsburgh[/caption] From Lexington, Canonsburg is about a 5 Hour drive. We loaded Julianne's bicycle onto the bike rack and were off shortly after she got off of work. We also took our first trip with one of our grandchildren, our oldest named Autumn.  She has traveled with her mother and me on a long trip to Wisconsin, but this is her first trip alone with Grampz…
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22Jun 2016 by David Kravetz

Ohio Travel Stops: Dublin and Wilmington – Museums and Murals

Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Ghost Signs, Large Statues, Murals, Museums, National Parks, Ohio, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, US Highway 22, US Highway 68, Vintage Neon, Wall Art
[caption id="attachment_16525" align="alignleft" width="300"] Dave's Way[/caption] In May, I had occasion to take my wife to Kirtland, Ohio for a conference and spent time myself in my birthplace of Little Italy and Cleveland. I've covered most of this in some previous blogs (Little Italy post   Cleveland post   Kirtland/Novelty post), but wanted to touch on a couple of other places that we passed on our way to Kirtland and on our way back home to Kentucky. Visiting Dublin, Ohio [caption id="attachment_16532" align="alignright" width="300"] Welcome to Dublin, OH, Home of Wendy's[/caption] On the way up, we had a friend to visit in Dublin, Ohio and so made our way there. While my wife was tied up at her friend's house for an hour or so, I made a drive over to Wendy's…
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17Jun 2016 by David Kravetz

Northern Ohio: Kirtland, Novelty, Chagrin Falls & Cuyahoga Valley NP

Backroads Discoveries, Bakeries, Bike Trails, Bridges, Bucket List Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Ghost Signs, Landscapes, LDS Temples, Murals, Museums, National Parks, Ohio, Place Names, Post Offices, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Wall Art, Waterfalls
[caption id="attachment_16471" align="alignleft" width="240"] Sumoflam with his wife at the Kirtland Temple[/caption] During a trip in May 2016 I visited my birthplace in the Little Italy neighborhood (See Little Italy Post) of Cleveland and then spent a day with family driving around Cleveland and catching a few sites (see post about Cleveland).  On my final day I picked up my wife in Kirtland, OH.  She had been there for a conference with her sister.  While there we visited a few places and I also had the opportunity to drive a few back roads while they were busy on the conference.  Actually, some of the locations I visited on one of the mornings prior to returning to Cleveland, but they are all compiled here. [caption id="attachment_16402" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Welcome to Kirtland,…
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