#TBT – Page 2 – Less Beaten Paths of America

12Feb 2015 by David Kravetz

#TBT Nightmares and Dreams Come True

#TBT, Backroads Discoveries, Cross Country Road Trips, Ohio, Ontario, Travel Blogging, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery

(Note: This #TBT Post was written back in late March 2008. Considering the massive snows that the East Coast has endured in Winter 2015, it made me think of this treacherous time for me 7 years ago. At this time I was still working in Ontario and living in a small flat in Paris, ON) March 24, 2008: This last few weeks have been a wild ride for me and most literally so. I have been through some life-threatening experiences as well as some absolutely exhilarating experiences. It all started back on Friday, March 7. I was very excited as I planned to go to Cleveland that weekend, both to see my half brothers and sisters (the Laurienzos) as well as to see my good friend Aaron Boone play football…

06Feb 2015 by David Kravetz

#TBT – Yard Art, Swans and Mennonites in Southern Ontario

#TBT, Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Bucket List Trips, Canada, Farmland, Found Metal Sculptures, Landscapes, Large Statues, Mennonite Country, Museums, Ontario, People Shots, Roadside Attractions, Street Art, Swans, Throwback Thursday, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Yard Art

(Note: I was working at the Toyota Plant in Woodstock, Ontario as a Japanese interpreter at the time I wrote this post in 2008) March 26, 2008: It was a beautiful day and I got off work at 4:00 and decided to head out on a small road trip around the region. A couple of days ago I met with Cathy Bingham, Director of the Oxford County, Ontario Tourism Office in Woodstock. She had contacted me about my Jakeman's Syrup page and wanted to meet with me to give me more ideas. We had a wonderful visit and she gave me some unique ideas, told me about the history of the area and focused me in on some different places to see, both in Oxford County as well as the…

30Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

#TBT – Looking back to a day in Arkansas 2007

#TBT, Antsy McClain, Arkansas, Backroads Discoveries, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Giant Things, Large Statues, National Parks, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Television Shows, Tennessee, Texas, Throwback Thursday, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, Yard Art

For this edition of Throwback Thursday (a day late....), I look back to June 2007, when my son Solomon graduated from Lafayette High School in Lexington. He was the last of my five children to graduate. On the occasion of this event, my sister Sherry and her husband Brian, in Ft. Worth, TX, kindly and generously offered to give Sol their 1998 Toyota Camry, which they no longer needed. There was some work required, which Solomon had paid for, but the real catch was that he needed to go down there to pick it up. So, early on June 2 he and I drove down to Ft. Worth to get the car. It would be a short trip in terms of days and a long trip in terms of miles. …

22Jan 2015 by David Kravetz

#TBT Travel: The Mission Days in Japan-1976-78

#TBT, Backroads Discoveries, City Skylines, Farmland, Giant Things, Japan, Landscapes, Large Statues, Throwback Thursday, Travel Blogging, Travel in Japan, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places

[caption id="attachment_12012" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Mt. Fuji and Fuji City (ca. 1978)[/caption] For this week's edition of #TBT, I take a look back to 1976 when I served as an LDS missionary in Japan. Just a year earlier I had joined the church and, like some of my friends, as a 19 year old I was off to serve in a very foreign country. (Please forgive the schmutz on the photos...many of these were scanned from 38 year old slides) [caption id="attachment_12026" align="aligncenter" width="584"] Mt. Fuji framed by Japanese flag, (ca. 1978)[/caption] Prior to my trip to Japan, I had never been to a foreign country other than a couple of marching band trips to Alberta in Canada. Therefore, this was a new experience for me. I had to have a…

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…

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…

Category: #TBT