Hello Everyone!
It’s been a beautiful week of spring weather here in north-central Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The days have been warm and sunny and the evenings cool and pleasant. It’s the kind of weather where I don’t really want to do anything but sit outside and read my book and enjoy the day. Thankfully the days are long so there seems to be time for that and to keep exploring. Oregon is such a pleasant and relaxed state, making it a wonderful place to enjoy such fine spring weather. Cherries and strawberries are coming back into season which makes me happy and flowers are blooming like crazy everywhere I look. I’ve spent the week chasing waterfalls, exploring small towns, finally making it to the end of the Oregon Trail and exploring the state’s capital city of Salem. My camera has been busy and I’ve really been enjoying my week so let me get right into it.
After finishing up this post last week I went out to have a look around downtown Lebanon. It’s a quaint and quiet little town but it didn’t have much to offer. I stopped into a little bar called Sam’s Place for a beer and then called it an early night.
On Thursday I took off first thing and headed out to see the Hoffman covered bridge out near Scio. This was a great, fully functional bridge with a 10 ton weight limit still in daily use. It was quiet enough out there when I visited to take a few photos on the bridge, which was pretty cool. From there I made my way into Albany for the day. Albany is a cute little city of about 56,000 people situated on the Willamette River and founded back in 1848.
It’s been a great week out here in North Central Ohio. Even though I haven’t gone very far, I’ve been seeing a lot of cool things and spent the entire weekend at the Little C Music Festival in Canton. The weather has warmed up again, but the days are starting to get noticeably shorter. The first hints of fall are starting to show up in the natural world, with more obvious ones like pumpkins at the stores and Halloween shops opening in the man-made one. I love the fall and am very happy to welcome the cooler weather and beautiful changing colors. It means warm apple cider and campfires and that all of my favorite holidays are right around the corner. I’ve had a great summer, but I am definitely ready for the change of season.
My week started with a second great day in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I enjoyed a few walks in the park including out to Blue Hen Falls, one in The Ledges area and another through the Beaver Marsh. The weather was a bit overcast that day…
From the wonderful lakefront communities of the northeast like Geneva-on-the-Lake to the tiny Lake Erie islands like Put-In Bay, and from the bright lights of Cleveland to the natural wonders of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, there is a lot to do in Northern Ohio. The three big mega-attractions, though, are definitely the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, and Canton’s Pro Football Hall of Fame. I visited all three during my time in the area and thought I would jot down some thoughts on them for anyone who might come for a visit to one or more of these attractions in the future.
First and foremost, there are a lot of different ways to get tickets to these attractions, and the worst possible way seemed to be buying them at the ticket-window. Navigating the ticket buying process is a bit of a nightmare, but you definitely need to figure out how to buy your tickets in advance which will save you a considerable amount of money..
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Little C Music Festival in Canton, Ohio. While I have been to quite a few music festivals this year, this one was different because I got a peak behind the curtain. My old college friend Jason, who runs JLS Artist Management, was running the festival along with one of the bands he represents Hey Monea who are from Canton. It was really cool to see this festival from the inside and get to meet everyone involved, and I had a great time at the festival and hanging around in Canton.
The name “Little C” comes from the idea that Canton is often overlooked among the “Big Cs” of Ohio: Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus. In recent years Canton has tried to reinvigorate itself from the inside and create more of a tourist draw with events like Little C Music Festival. While the Pro Football Hall of Fame is excellent and will always be a big draw, it’s great to see a town moving away from being a one trick pony…
