05Apr 2017 by David Kravetz

D is for Diners, Dives and Drive-ins – #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Alabama, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, BBQ Places, Burger Joints, California, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, People Shots, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Route 66, Selfies, Tennessee, Texas, Town Names, Travel Blogging, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Vintage Neon, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia
What is April A to Z? Every April, bloggers from all over the world participate in the April A to Z blog challenge, and you can too. It’s a lot of fun and it’s a great way to meet other bloggers. To play along, all you do is make a blog post for each letter of the alphabet during April, then visit as many other bloggers as you can. Road trips would never be the same without the opportunity to stop at local diners, dives and drive-ins (OK...I gotta give credit to Guy Fieri). Food is such an important part of a road trip. Obviously, no matter where one drives they always come across the chain shops like McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, etc. With those places, the food you get is…
Read More
03Apr 2017 by David Kravetz

B is for Back Roads – #atozchallenge

A to Z Challenge, Alaska, Amish Country, Arkansas, Back Roads, Backroads Discoveries, Colorado, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Farmland, Geologic Formations, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Landscapes, Large Statues, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Mountains, National Monuments, National Parks, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Place Names, Post Offices, Roadside Attractions, Rocky Mountains, Saskatchewan, Selfies, South Dakota, Staycations, Tennessee, Texas, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming
What is April A to Z? Every April, bloggers from all over the world participate in the April A to Z blog challenge, and you can too. It’s a lot of fun and it’s a great way to meet other bloggers. To play along, all you do is make a blog post for each letter of the alphabet during April, then visit as many other bloggers as you can. I live to travel the back roads of America. These are the core of my travels around the United States and Canada. They always offer the best of everything: scenery, traffic conditions and a myriad of surprises.   [caption id="attachment_17615" align="aligncenter" width="660"] A gravel road south of Belvidere, SD[/caption] [caption id="attachment_17586" align="alignright" width="300"] A road approaching a checkerboard wheat farm near…
Read More
07Mar 2017 by David Kravetz

The Story Behind the Story Inn – Story, Indiana

Backroads Discoveries, Bucket List Trips, Car Art, Cross Country Road Trips, Eateries, Family Travel, Found Metal Sculptures, Indiana, Murals, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Places, Yard Art
A couple of weeks ago (Feb. 25, 2017) we took a trip to Indianapolis for a meeting for my wife and daughter. As is typically the case, I wanted to go along and drive some back roads.   [caption id="attachment_17507" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Welcome to Story, IN[/caption] I am always on the lookout for unique and interesting places to visit and we did find one on this particular trip. We visited a little community in Indiana called Story. [caption id="attachment_17461" align="aligncenter" width="344"] Map of Story, IN[/caption] Story probably only has about 100 people or less in the village.  It was founded in 1851 by Dr. George Story who received a land grant from then President Millard Fillmore. By the 1880s the town had become one of the largest settlements in the…
Read More
13Feb 2017 by David Kravetz
Uncertain Revisited: A Tour of Caddo Lake

Uncertain Revisited: A Tour of Caddo Lake

Backroads Discoveries, Birds, Blue Heron, Bucket List Trips, Cross Country Road Trips, Egret, Family Travel, Louisiana, Mythical Creatures, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Swamps, Texas, Town Names, Travel with grandchildren, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places
It was a few years ago when I first visited Uncertain, TX (You can see my March 2012 Post here.).  As a matter fact, it was on a cold day in February 2012 when I stopped by to see it for my first time. The real draw for me initially, was the name of the town, but the bigger draw ended up being the beautiful swamp-like setting of Caddo Lake. This past weekend (Feb. 10, 2017) I had an opportunity again to visit this beautiful setting, this time with my daughter and her three children. Unlike my visit to Uncertain before, we had bigger sights set on seeing Caddo Lake and some of the swamp. [caption id="attachment_17361" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Our guide, Aaron Applebaum with Mystique Tours[/caption] [caption id="attachment_17358" align="alignleft" width="300"]…
Read More
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"…
Read More
05Oct 2016 by David Kravetz

Bike Trails: Dawkins Line Rail Trail – Royalton, KY

Backroads Discoveries, Bike Trails, Bridges, Cross Country Road Trips, Farmland, Kentucky, Place Names, Post Offices, Roadside Attractions, Staycations, Town Names, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, US Highway 23, US Highway 460
This is the fourth post 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 Dawkins Line Rail Trail - Swamp Branch, KY (Click here for Trail Post with photos)Click here for RTC TrailLink Details Kentucky's longest and best Rails to Trail Bike Trail is the Dawkins Line Rail Trail which runs 18 miles from Royalton, KY (near…
Read More
14Jul 2016 by David Kravetz

Rails to Trails for Biking: An Overview

Backroads Discoveries, Bike Trails, Bridges, Cross Country Road Trips, Family Travel, Farmland, Kentucky, Landscapes, National Parks, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Place Names, Roadside Attractions, Staycations, Town Names, Travel Blogging, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Places, West Virginia
[caption id="attachment_16787" align="alignleft" width="300"] Julianne the biker![/caption] In recent weeks, my wife Julianne has taken to riding on bike trails around the upper Midwest. In the past few weeks she has ridden bike trails in Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, and will soon be on a nice trail in Virginia. She is finding these very enjoyable and has done some with her sister and some with our daughter Marissa, and one even with the grandchildren.  As a support driver I enjoy taking her and driving the back roads to meet her (and the others) along the trail. Many of my upcoming blog posts will cover some of these scenic bike trails, many which are called Rails to Trails. This post is an overview of these trails with links to…
Read More
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…
Read More
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,…
Read More
12May 2016 by David Kravetz

Staycation Mini-Roadtrip: Kentucky Highway 89

Backroads Discoveries, Bridges, Car Art, Eateries, Family Travel, Farmland, Flowers, Geologic Formations, Giant Things, Horses, Kentucky, Landscapes, Large Statues, Murals, Place Names, Post Offices, Roadside Attractions, Selfies, Staycations, Town Names, Train Bridges, Unexpected Discoveries, Unique Eatery, Unique Houses, Unique Places, US Highway 421, Vintage Neon, Wall Art, Wildflowers, Yard Art
[caption id="attachment_15890" align="aligncenter" width="474"] Kentucky Scenic Byway Highway 89[/caption] Oftimes when we think of a road trip, we typically think of some far off location with fun sites and unique places to visit.  Indeed, we may often overlook what is right in our backyard.  Thus the word "Staycation" was born.  A staycation is typically defined as a period in which an individual or family stays home and participates in leisure activities within driving distance, sleeping in their own beds at night. Most of the time it involves dining out more frequently than usual. Staycations achieved popularity in the US during the financial crisis of 2007–2010. [caption id="attachment_15867" align="aligncenter" width="660"] Map of my May 9 trip on KY 89[/caption] [caption id="attachment_15842" align="alignright" width="300"] Kentucky Highway 89 south out of Winchester[/caption] I…
Read More