Cuyahoga Valley National Park, located in north-central Ohio between Cleveland and Akron, is a wonderful place to visit. There are several beautiful natural areas to see including The Ledges, a series of moss covered rock cliffs, and the Beaver Marsh, a restored wetland teeming with wildlife. Several beautiful waterfalls can be found within the park boundaries, most notably powerful Brandywine Falls and graceful Blue Hen Falls. Cuyahoga Valley National Park also preserves some wonderful history with a restored section of the Erie and Ohio Canal and excellent interpretations of canal life and travel. Some of the surrounding towns are full of charming buildings and make pleasant detours.
A friend of mine recently passed through Cuyahoga Valley National Park and commented to me that it wasn’t worthy of the National Park title. At first glance, I might have agreed with him but I really warmed up to the area during the two days I spent there. Having grown up in an east coast city…
It’s been a fairly quiet week out here on the road this week. After leading an exciting tour for my old tour company, I needed a little bit of time to relax and get back into the swing of things as I prepare for a busy fall season. It’s cooling down and I’m looking forward to fall colors and apple cider. While I spent a few days out in and around Sandusky, my week started and ended in the greater Cleveland area. Cleveland is definitely a city of neighborhoods, and while it hasn’t struck me as hard as Cincinnati did, it has grown on me. It seems there are little hidden secrets around every corner and I’ve only scratched the surface of what the city has to offer.
I started my week with an evening in Chagrin Falls. Chagrin Falls is a charming village on the far outskirts of the Cleveland suburbs. It gets its name from the small but pleasant waterfall which flows right through the center of town. Surrounded by quaint shops and restaurants, I just enjoyed wandering around town and taking some photos…
South Bass Island is a tiny little 3.7 mile by 1.5 mile island which sits 3 miles off the coast of mainland Ohio and is surrounded by Lake Erie. I love islands and have lived on several in my life, and am particularly fond of those not connected by road. They are neat little pockets of culture and I always enjoy visiting them. Accessible by boat or air, South Bass Island is often called Put-In Bay, and has been referred to as the “Key West of Lake Erie”. While that may be a bit of a stretch, it is a really neat place with some great bars and restaurants and some interesting history. I enjoyed visiting the fascinating Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, which commemorates the naval battle for Lake Erie during the War of 1812. While I was there in the off-season and on a chilly and rainy Monday, I still had a really great time on the island and wanted to share these photos from my trip. While not as off-the-beaten-path as the trip you may remember I took to Daufuskie Island in South Carolina (read that story HERE), Put-In Bay is a really cool place and definitely one you should visit if you are in the area.
Geneva-on-the-Lake is a wonderful little resort town on the shores of Lake Erie in north-central Ohio. Local legend tells of early 20th century camping trips to the area by John D. Rockefeller, Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford, but tourism had come to the area almost a century earlier. As industry started to spread along Lake Erie after Ohio became a state in 1803, a small fishing resort called Sturgeon Point House opened, catering to the local workers and to travelers passing through. Soon after the Civil War ended, a descendant of the founder of Sturgeon Point House opened a small picnic area overlooking the lake with a horse-drawn carousel as its main attraction. Soon, people were camping there too, and primitive cottages began to spring up. Originally catering mostly to the upper class, Geneva-on-the-Lake would transform into an affordable getaway for everyone in the first half of the 20th century with the spread of the automobile. Although the area declined in the seventies and eighties, it bounced back in the nineties and seemed to be doing really well when I visited recently. I loved the historic trail through town which told scandalous stories from yesteryear
Whew, I'm taking a deep breath. Sorry for the lack of content over the last few weeks. I've been out guiding a quick tour from New York to Miami for my old tour company. I had planned on getting a bunch of work done as I went, but running a tour is just always so all-consuming. Even with 12 years experience and being in a region I'm really comfortable and familiar with, there's just so much to do behind the scenes to keep a tour running smoothly and keep up with all the paperwork etc. And that's not even mentioning the 5,000+ miles I've driven in the last few weeks. It was awesome to be back in the driver's seat though, and it was a really good tour all around. But it's also good to be back on my own and back with my Shadow Catcher.
I met my group in Newark on a rainy Sunday morning and we set off to historic Philadelphia. Despite the rain, they kept their spirits up as I gave them a quick tour through Independence National Historical Park, pointing out some of the more important buildings and recounting stories of our Founding Fathers and their lives. We stopped into Carpenter's Hall, site of the First Continental Congress and also in to see the Liberty Bell. From there we headed out for cheesesteaks at Reading Terminal Market and a quick run up the "Rocky Steps" at the Philadelphis Museum of Art before departing the City of Brotherly Love…
Ah, State Fair! The mere mention of State Fair brings back so many fond memories from my childhood. Roasted corn on the cob, flying down the Giant Slide on a sack, cream puffs and little piglets were always the highlights for me. It was wonderful to be able to visit the Ohio State Fair in Columbus and relive some of those memories. It was great to see there are still hawkers selling shammies and cookware, and the guy who will guess your weight, age or birth month. I also loved visiting the crafts area and seeing the award winning dollhouses and quilts and muffins. State Fair was also my only real connection with agricultural life when I was a kid, and it was great to see farmers still sitting by their prized cattle and sheep. I also enjoyed the "butter cow", apparently a beloved local tradition. This year's was a recreation of one of my favorite holiday movies: A Christmas Story. Fairs are also fun to photograph as the colors are vivid and the patrons come in all shapes and sizes. I hope you enjoy these shots from the Ohio State Fair.
The National Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio houses a massive collection of aircraft ranging from the very earliest flyers to space-age satellites. Highlights include Boxcar, the plane which dropped the atomic bomb Fat Man on Nagasaki in 1945 and the newly restored legend Memphis Belle. Also on display are all of the retired planes which have carried United States Presidents throughout history. You can go inside the plane which carried John F. Kennedy's body home from Dallas while Lyndon Johnson was being sworn into office on-board. The museum is free and open 7 days a week. While touring the museum, my eyes were drawn to my favorite aspect of old planes: the nose and tail art which was often hand-painted by the airmen themselves. These are often telling of the men who painted them and the situations in which they found themselves, many of them as far from home as they had ever been. Here are some of my favorites from my recent visit to the museum.
Cincinnati has done a great job of commissioning murals around the city to adorn blank walls and help fill wide open spaces. These murals have changing the whole aesthetic of the city. During my stay I ran across dozens of beautiful murals. These are some of my favorites.
Originally settled in 1788 at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers, Cincinnati grew to be the largest inland city in the country and the sixth largest overall in the years leading up to the Civil War. In the latter half of the 19th Century, Cincinnati was often referred to as the "Paris of America" due to its many large and beautiful buildings. Today, many of these grand old dames still tower over the city harking back to a time when things were built with style and built to last. I spent most of my time in Cincinnati with wide eyes and my camera whirring away. Here are some of my favorite old buildings ranging from private homes to churches to public buildings. Cincinnati is definitely a city worth visiting for many reasons, but the architecture was definitely what struck me the most. Enjoy!
Inspired by murals he had seen across the state in Steubenville, Dr. Louis Chaboudy hoped to create something similar in his hometown of Portsmouth. In 1992, he commissioned Robert Dafford to begin work on a project which would last 10 years. Over that time period, Dafford painted over 50 murals which stretch 2200 feet along the Ohio River. These murals tell the history of Sciotto County and of the people who have lived there. It is a wonderful project which I really enjoyed visiting. The local Visitor's Center provides brochures and even a cell phone tour for your visit. Unfortunately I was shooting into the sun while I was there, and all of the murals are different sizes making it difficult to crop them and still have a nice layout for this post, but I still thought that they were wonderful and wanted to share them with you today. Enjoy!
Founded in 1849 on the Ohio river and due to the area's rich iron-ore content, Ironton grew to be one of the largest iron producing regions in the world. The iron industry continued to grow through the latter half of the 19th century, and Ironton prospered. As the area's iron played out and the nations demands transitioned towards steel, Ironton's prominence diminished. The decline of the iron industry, coupled with two devastating floods nearly wiped out Ironton. Today it is a shadow of its former self, but still has some fascinating buildings that hark back to an earlier time. Driving through on a beautiful afternoon, I had to stop and take some photos. It was a really cool city to visit and I don't have to use too much imagination to picture it during its heyday. Enjoy!
I've been very lucky to have spent the last week and a half in Athens County as I start my journey around Ohio. I had the opportunity to visit my friend, Will, and do some work for the local Visitor's Bureau while enjoying many of the events put on by Ohio Brew Week. I'm not used to spending this much time in one location, but I'm sure glad I did. While the city of Athens is a modern college town, the surrounding area has deep roots in an industrial past. First salt, then coal, brick and lumber have all played their role in the history of Athens County. While it's definitely time for me to be moving on with my exploration of Ohio, I didn't want to leave without taking you on a photographic journey through the county and the things I found out here. Enjoy!
