Discovering and Conquering Stairs

In between the winter rain storms that haunted us New Year’s Day, Nancy and I decided to squeeze in an urban hike. What I love about my neighborhood, and what she is teaching me, is everything is walkable!

Without a route in mind, Nancy suggested we walk downtown. I didn’t say anything but I was honestly wondering how possible that really was. Whenever I am in Europe I literally walk for 8 hours a day without thinking twice about it. But for some reason when we are in our own home towns we seem to limit ourselves and rely on our cars for transportation. At least in the midwest. Maybe not so much in a big city.

I was pleasantly surprised how easy the hike was, especially with a friend. We were catching up on our holidays and 2 hours quickly passed by.

Walked past Pendleton, which is literally right down the hill from us.

Pendleton is a small neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio located on the east side of Over-the-Rhine, north of the Central Business District, and south of Mount Auburn. It is home of the Pendleton Art Center. We also walked past the Brewdog Brewery. Can’t wait for bar-life to open back up again so I can walk down and check this place out.

Conveniently located near the casino and jail.

We passed many new urban murals. Maybe they aren’t new per se, but new to me. I will post them on my Instagram along with all the other street art I discover. Love this artform.

Nancy and I discussed how we would like to commission one on the side of our condo. 🙂 Unfortunately we don’t have a brick or flat surface to paint on.

The sun started setting and I moaned about having to go up Sycamore hill again. I have yet to conquer that incline without several stops along the way. We detoured and spotted a staircase.

After climbing the first set of steps, I turned back and captured this view.

Nancy had never been up the full flight either so we decided to conquer them and take our chances on where we ended up. We knew we lived at the top of this hill somewhere, so we were certainly heading in the right direction.

I took off my winter hat and hoodie as this was not going to be an easy feat.

Looking up at the second set. Most people we passed were going down the steps, we were the only ones headed up.

I paused to take a look at how far we had come and captured this view of downtown below.

I am thankful that the trees were bare and I was able to view the city below.
I am so lucky to live where I do and have the neighbors I have. Ones that push me to explore and see new things even right around the corner.

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Tri State Peak and Pinnacle Overlook- Cumberland, Ky

Hiking alone takes on a totally different mindset. Not good or bad. Just different. I was caught observing some of the things my previous hike mates admired. (Rebecca with her mushrooms, Nancy with her moss, Kathy with her bugs, Tiffani with her bird calls, and Debbie with reminding me to look up) But without conversation I found more answers to my emotions and future goals. As if the trees were speaking to me and leading me in a new direction of thought.

The visuals of seeing many of the fall leaves on the ground in the midst of bland already dead brown and grey, reminded me of who I am. I was also able to follow my instincts more and not worry as much if I was on the right path or how much longer I would be. It was peaceful. Adventurous. A perfect stop on my way home from Tennessee.

Tiffani told me about this area which is right after you get out of the mountain tunnel that takes you into Kentucky.

It was a back and forth trail but in a state park which I knew offered a lot of other trail options as well.

Welcome sign to the information center. I didn’t stop. I was following my google maps from ‘All Trails leading to the hiking trail I decided to adventure on first.

As usual the walkway started off quite clear and wide with gravel.

It led to a few historic rocks dating back to the 1700s. Apparently there is a lot of Civil War history here.

Peaking up the hill I saw these caves which I later read were used as bunkers for the war. I climbed up to take a closer look.

This landscape was perfect for hiding out.

I took a side trail and climbed up the hillside to see if I could catch a good view.

It dead ended but was pretty nonetheless.

I was really admiring the colorful leaves with the greyed out backdrops.

Sometimes I feel like this leaf. A little tattered and worn, but still showing as much color as I have left.

I put my hands on this tree to capture some of its wisdom.

Final hike up to the top where you could see Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia all in the same view. There were trees in the way and the photo was not even worth saving. A bit of a disappointment. So I headed back down.

Capturing the history of what walked before us.

I followed another trail that said it would take me to a historic fort.

My new trail crossed a couple paved roads and continued into different parts of the park.

This tells the story a bit about the war and why this spot was so important.

They had a historic cannon aimed towards the Tennessee border.

Sporting my 513′ so they knew I was a Northerner 🙂

Coming back I was loving the contrast again of the trees with the rock coloration.

I made it back to the parking lot and started google mapping my way back to Cincinnati. For some reason, my instincts kept telling me to turn around. Just as I was leaving the park, I did a u-turn and headed back to the location where I had just left.

The road was now open to Pinnacle Point.

I really had no idea what that was, but my gut was telling me to drive up and I am so glad I did! The roads on the way up were tightly curved and winding up the mountain, my ears popped. I was thinking back to my scooter days and dreaming of taking these curves on it instead of my 2005 Rendezvous.

This was my first glance through the trees.

Not really sure what this rock was, but definitely interesting. I’m sure a landmark of some sort. I’m always amazed at how nature sometimes looks like it should fall over but is still stable.

A wonderful view from the top. Much better than the one I spent an hour hiking up to previously.

You could literally see for miles and catch all three states.

The tiny clouds just about at eye level.

The Tennessee mountains stretching in front. Or was that Virginia? I honestly don’t know.

People at the top observing were more familiar with the area and discussing the houses which they seemed to recognize below.

Can’t get enough. But my time was up. It was now approaching 1 pm and I hadn’t eaten breakfast or had any water with me to hydrate. Time to head out.

I followed a different pathway out. Love the stone with the trees. There were many hiking trails off this viewpoint. Maybe I will head back another time to check them out when I have more energy.

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Spout Spring Estates Winery, TN

While in Tennessee I wanted to check out hiking trails and viewpoints. When I googled a few locations near my sister’s cabin, this winery showed up. Win-win! Viewpoints and a wine tasting!

We coincidentally met the owner when walking up the back steps. His dogs were out playing in the yard and he was chatting with a local who was enjoying some cabernet. When we got inside, the place was cozy, friendly and filled with what seemed to be friends sharing stories.

If you are ever close to this area, it is definitely worth checking out.

We learned that the rose bushes were placed in front of the vines to show whether there was an infestation issue. The roses are affected first and then they know to address the grape vines.

At the bottom of this road is the entrance to the winery. I can’t get over the skies here, I mean check out those clouds!

The colors of the grass and skies with the faded mountains in the distance, I could stare at for hours.

*The views from the porches stretched for miles.* They had rocking chairs on the front porch.

I am not much of a wine drinker. But it was a great excuse to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors today. The owner collected windchimes and was selling a few made out of wine bottles.

I was mystified by the rolled balls of hay. Later Tiffani googled to end my curiosity. I thought they were for decoration 🙂 What can I say, I’m a city girl.

This winery hosts many weddings which take place under this magnificent tree.

The fountain, just like a babbling brook, set a melodic background murmur to relax to.

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Chicago Architecture

Road trip!

Last month I reached out to my friend Julie who lives in Chicago and we marked this weekend on our calendars to hang out together. I know its still Covid and the weather is changing to cooler fall temperatures, but I honestly wouldn’t mind if we just stayed in her gorgeous flat and sipped cocktails with a view.

My friend Stephanie was able to road trip with me and offered to drive her sometimes temperamental mini -van, Bessy. Bessy just got some new tires so we put them to the test on the highways in true Thelma and Louise style.

While driving through Indiana, we were fascinated by the modern clean energy windmills that literally take over the landscape for a bit.

Hundreds of them line the farmer’s fields.

Captured this city view from the car window as we exited the toll roads in route to the Windy City.

We arrived to a spread of food awaiting our road trip bellies. The weather was perfect and we decided to walk outside for a drink. Literally in walking distance from her apartment, there are several restaurants with sidewalk dining in the West Loop. We lucked out and got a table under a heat lamp.

I saw this on the sidewalk and knew it was speaking to me. Always looking out for street art.

I believe this new bubble tent dining is going to be the only option in a couple months once winter hits.

All restaurants and bars close at 11pm due to new regulations. They also add on a 4% Covid fee to the bill. Not exactly sure how they rationalize that but I suppose it’s a way to survive when you are only allowed to seat at half the capacity and close early every night.

Sitting on Julie’s balcony, taking in the river and evening lights.

The next morning we started off right with a champagne toast.

We were ready to roll and see what the day may bring.

I love the above ground railway system. I listened to it rumble as I fell asleep each night.

This was the view from the street as we were crossing the overpass to get to the main river walk.

This building has an alcove at its base creating a very cool illusion.

Can’t believe how many times I have been to Chicago and never done the river walk.

A new diversity mural was added. I thought the guy in the blue short sleeve shirt looked like RGB who passed away this same morning. She was on my mind. An amazing woman, she will be missed in the USA.

It was another gorgeous day with clear blue September skies. A lot of boats were moving up and down the river and docking at the local pubs and restaurants.

There were beer peddle boats. But they cheat with a motor truly pushing them along. Looked like something fun to do with a group.

I really wanted to go kayaking, but could not convince my friends. Maybe next time.

Can always appreciate the green spaces, offering shade and places to just sit and enjoy people watching.

We were about to get on one of the boats to take a tour that Julie reserved for us.

The river exits into Lake Michigan. I learned that the Great Lakes house 20% of the freshwater in the world. Who knew? Kevin our tour guide apparently. I did not fact check him.

The police were hanging out with their horses.

Getting on the boat. 6 feet social distancing and face masks on.

The view from the river looking up at the various architectural wonders.

These buildings the tour guide called ‘corn cobs’. I will never look at them the same way again. 🙂

We went under all the bridges which were quite low and very industrial.

Stephanie was pointing out all the reflections of the buildings on the mirrored windows.
You can see the diversity mural along the bottom of this photo.

This pointed building balances out its structure using water at the top.

The red brick building is where Julie lives. Her location is literally perfect!!

As we drifted along the river, our tour guide taught us a lot about the history and how the buildings are engineered to sway with the wind

Many of the buildings have subtle curves that I would never have noticed before.

The center panel here is a map of the river and the red square represents us on the boat.

It was an awesome ride/tour and I would highly recommend if you haven’t taken this boat along the Chicago river. Put it on your bucket list if you ever visit.

Inspired by Gaudi and nature, where there are no right angles.

When they turned the boat around I was able to take this photo of the infamous Sears tower.

Such a variety of architecture. All working perfectly together representing history and design.

This new building is the second Chicago skyscraper to be made from a woman architect.

I love how it adds curves and a feminine touch to the rigid neighboring buildings.

Seeing Chicago from the river gave me a totally new perspective.

After the tour we decided to grab a drink and snack before the sun went down. Julie knew of a place in the city that shut down the roads and allowed the businesses to put their tables out.

This was just one part of restaurant row that lined the street.

The three of us ended up finding an indoor pizza joint and parked our butts at the bar for the rest of the evening.

Our walk home was just as magnificent, with the skyscrapers now lit up reflecting on the river.

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Secrets of Cincinnati, Mt. Auburn

My neighbor and hiking comrade, Nancy, wanted to show me her walking route around our neighborhood. She warned me about some steep inclines but was so encouraging as I trailed behind her athletic pace. In true silly style, she had us wear headbands with fluff balls on them, just to entertain ourselves and others.

It’s interesting how in some neighborhoods there are walkers constantly on the streets from morning until night. You feel like a sloth if you don’t get out to do your exercise. But in our neighborhood, it is rare to see anyone out walking unless with a dog in tow. People sit on their porches and hang out in their front lawns, but rarely are participating in any form or exercise. I hope we are setting a new trend in Mt. Auburn.

Walking down Sycamore Hill, remembering everything that goes down must come back up.

Spotted these gorgeous wildflowers dripping over the fence. They were just the beginning of the botanical visuals along this urban landscape walk.

This mural is painted along the retaining wall with Christ Hospital represented in the center and the Cincinnati skyline etched in the background. An indicator, little did I know, for what was to come.

I stopped to admire this property’s landscaping, complete with 5 pink flamingos along the back wall. I think pink flamingos could be a great addition to our front yard.

The variety of flowers I saw along this walk were amazing! Colorful, unique, ones I doubt are native to this area. Made me wonder who sought them out and planted them. Where did they find these natural gems?

I think we need one of these in our backyard. Love how he is just part of the greenery.

This photo perfectly captures the flowers which were everywhere, adding color to the urban brownstone housing along the streets. I kept stopping and pointing out things, which Nancy has seen a thousand times, but all was new to me.

Check out this pirate ship treehouse! Walk the plank and get a wonderful view of the city. I wish it wasn’t private property or I would adventure up.

In between the houses I was able to snap a few photos capturing parts of downtown. All the houses here have a view. I started questioning how much these townhouses go for$. Such hidden secrets right around the corner from where I live. I doubt many people know about this rehabbed part of the neighborhood. I lived here over 15 years and never came down these streets which are so quiet. Barely a single car passing through.

I heard water trickling and peaked over the hedge to find her, the mermaid fountain.

The details in care and color coordinations of these homes were admirable.

Another peak through the trees. Another skyline view.

Nancy and her stairs! We walked up these to a dead end street housing a hand full of million dollar four-five story homes with amazing upper decks. Obviously incredible city views. It is rumored Emilio Estevez owns one of them.

This is a view once back down that staircase, looking up at the million $ properties.

After walking back up Sycamore hill, Nancy took me for a secret shortcut down another dead end road. How she knows about these paths is a mystery. I appreciate the gay pride flags hanging out from this street’s community garden .

She took me to what looked like someones backyard, certainly wasn’t looking like a public sidewalk. I asked her if she was planning to dump my body back here, but then we saw the sign for ‘NO DUMPING’ and both cracked up. So today I am safe.

As you can see she gave me the pink puff ball headband to match my face color after this walk 🙂

It was a thorough one hour workout which was rewarded by our Sunday beer tasting. I opted for the strawberry flavored, she took the mango and then my daughter joined us and dared to try the goetta inspired lager. Always fun to try new things, especially with friends.

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Yonder Roof Top. Covington, Ky

My daughter Zoe and I both had Thursday off work, so we decided to be productive and clean up the condo a bit. We reorganized to allow more room for storage, scrubbed down the inside of the microwave, combined the spice rack, ya know fun stuff like that. I literally spent 5 hours in my small kitchen and then had to call it quits. I opted to avoid a peak into the two junk drawers. That’s a day project in itself. All the random things we think we will use/need.

After our back breaking chores, Zoe agreed to hit one of the rooftop bars that was on my bucket list. We headed over to Kentucky to check it out.

I-75 South has a lot of construction going on right across the river, so we avoided it by taking this local bridge. It runs parallel to a railroad bridge.

To get to the roof, we had to walk in between what looked like houses to locate the back deck steps up.

It was an adorably decorated deck with live plant walls and comfy swinging chairs.

The weather has been outstanding and I am breathing it in best I can before winter hits and changes our ability to socialize outdoors. I wonder if restaurants will invest in blankets like they do in Germany or outdoor heating lamps in attempt to stay open.

Zoe snapped this photo of me. Was a decent one! I’ll have to remember to use it should I ever go back to online dating 🙂

We tested the watermelon man, ruby lafoon and country thyme cocktails.
All were refreshing and unique.

We also tried the red bean hummus and animal fries. The food at this place is top notch and locally sourced. This deck sits on top of the Commonwealth restaurant which I did not realize. Pre covid, Zoe and I had a luncheon at that rabbit hole in February this year.

How in the world can you describe these fries? So many flavors going on.

I walked to the edge of the roof deck and snapped this quaint photo of Covington’s Main street view.

After our appetizers and drinks I was confident we could find our way home without the use of GPS. In true Tonya tracking style, I missed the street to the highway and we started climbing an incline due to all the one way streets. We just kept wandering further until we ended up at Devou Park. We parked and got out to soak in Cincinnati at sunset.

Devou Park has the best city views. This one showing Covington to the right of the Ohio River.

I truly do live in a beautiful city. And this wrong turn, like many, landed me in a place I needed to be.

Roof Top View- Cincinnati, Ohio

A perfect night; summer breeze, great company, white wine sangrias with a roof top view. Nothing could have been better than this Thursday night at the Renaissance. I took it in like a tourist. Appreciating this city I am now living in, again. Trying to see the alluring possibilities and experience it in ways I haven’t before.

Sat at a ledge overlooking the yellow, aka Ronald Mcdonald bridge which takes you to Newport, KY. Up on the hill to the left is Mt. Adams which I blogged about on a previous walk.

This is the Procter & Gamble buildings downtown, aka Dolly Parton. Also viewing the I-71 highway glancing back toward the mount I live on.

I captured this river boat cruise gliding under the People Purple Bridge. Cincinnati was very well known for its riverboats back in the 1800s.

Long before the days of planes, trains, and automobiles steamboats were the heart of American trade and transportation. Cincinnati was once the chief port city along the Ohio River. So vital was the city to the nations transit that it earned itself the name “Queen City of the West.” In fact, even before steamboats were invented in the 1780’s the river was the primary way to get to Cincinnati. With no roads to speak of and hills surrounding the city keel boats, barges, and canoes traversed the Ohio to bring communications, goods, and new settlers to the growing river town in those early days.

Check out this Marathon Oil barge going under the historic John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge. These are always fun to watch, they are soooooo long!

Steamboats made transportation so efficient that by 1820 the trip that once took one hundred days now took only twenty-four. From Cincinnati to Newport and then on to New Orleans took only eight days. The return trip was another sixteen. Prior to the birth of the railroads Cincinnati claimed eight thousand landings at the peak of its trade in 1852.

A great view of the two bridges together as the sun starts to set. In front view is a new hotel called the Lytle Park Hotel. It is quite swanky and has a competing rooftop bar.

A wonderful acoustic trio, The Foles, were providing excellent background music to the conversations.

As the sun fell I walked around to snap a few other views. This one shows the US Bank arena where concerts used to be held and was host to the Cyclones hockey games. The building to the right is the Cincinnati Reds Stadium. It’s so strange not seeing crowds of Reds fans walking downtown on the weekends.

The city was so calm and beautifully reflective looking at the Ohio River.

We went up to the second level before heading home. This group was doing their best to capture a photo with the Great American Tower behind them.

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Jam Rock Reggae Sunset

After my day island hopping in the sun, I google mapped my way to the Jam Rock reggae bar to catch the sunset. It was now 5:30pm. The sun was going to set in an hour. I arrived to find myself the only visitor at the moment at this very eclectic establishment.

I was greeted by the owner, who I have met several times before when I was driving down this road. There was a jam session going on when I arrived, complete with an expat flute player. The owner had his tone deaf input on the saxophone and a didjeridoo. The flute player seemed to be trying to teach them notes and new songs. They asked me if I sang and I said yes. I mean if they were mostly tone deaf, I was definitely joining in! But maybe after a few beers.

I sat alone and then two guys came in who seemed very familiar with the place. I later found out the one guy was from England, named Z, and the other was a Russian fellow. Both were stuck in Phuket during the pandemic and Z had actually lived 10 days at this reggae campus. I was intrigued how that came about, but later that night, I saw how you could easily end up here.

After my first beer, I asked the owner who was as thin as my arm, for another. He explained in his stoner broken English that you just help yourself to the blue cooler and at the end of the night you pay him. That seemed flexible and unreliable but yet -so cool. I did my best to keep my bottles so I knew what I owed 🙂 I later discovered there is also no change giving in this scenario.

The location, totally worth checking out!

Jason joined me and so did James. I was so happy to have them both there. James ended up heading out to dinner so Jason and I walked down the trail to the campus to check it out before it got dark.

Down on the lower level they had this bar set up complete with a pool table which I have no idea how they managed to get down the mountain.

They had a live stage area. And also a boxing ring. (that could be a fun drunk night combo)

They had these little shacks that had spray painted numbers on the back. I asked Z which one he stayed in and he said 7″ 🙂 He told me you couldn’t stay here too long because they put you to work – he built a bench which we encouraged him to carve his initials into. I wondered if they had any plumbing which could be another reason to stay a limited time.

Jason and I sat on that large rock for a beer.

Me being my crazy obnoxious self. I was in for a fun evening.

The newly constructed shack in the distance is actually a fully equipped recording studio.

The sunset was a stunner. I was embracing the recap of my Saturday. Alone during the day taking in the phenomenal natural landscapes and then surrounded by friends and entertainment at night.

The Russian, I forget his name, showing off his yoga poses. He held this endlessly. I didn’t dare even try it. I really wanted to hang with these two guys. They were stoned and I participated in their shared offering. They were going to go swimming in the ocean and then grab some food. They were free spirits. I wish I would have met them sooner in their stay.

My muse. He took off when James came back from dinner. I fully intended to take off too, but then a song came on that I needed to sing along to. Later they played a Coldplay song and James couldn’t resist. So the two of us stayed for about an hour more.

The barefoot band. The owner and I exchanged creative smoke. AMC crew advised on the tiny details.

At the bar were two kids who stayed mostly in this room with their unneutered Dobermann dog. I was intrigued by the instruments and tattoo chair all in the same room. Only in Thailand. It makes perfect sense here. Just be. Do what feels right. Live and let live.

Ya Nui Beach

Believe it or not, I went to a new beach on Phuket. One day I will go through my blog and count how many different beaches I have been to. This one I had seen before over a year ago, but never made my way back to it.

This am I woke up with the worst head cold- watery eyes, runny nose, sore throat, teeth ache- but I decided that some sunshine would do me good. So I packed up the kleenax and put on my bikini.

I forced myself out aiming to hit Nai Harn beach. There was a huge black cloud above Kathu when I left, but when looking in the direction I was headed, it was nothing but blue skies ahead. So Mean Mia and I decided to risk it and took off with my beach matt and bottle of survival water.

I zoned out when taking a turn and missed my road. I started driving up a mountain and considered doing a U turn, but decided heck, there may be a view up here and I was right. The Windmill Viewpoint. I stopped to breathe it in and saw the Ya Nui beach down below. (googled to see its’ name and accessibility) I decided to change my plans and head there instead.

This is the view from the Windmill Viewpoint showing the small beach below. It looked quite solitude.

Was such a great spot to discover. Calm, clear water with very few people.

I noticed kayaks were being rented so I decided to check it out.

Only $3 for an hour! But unfortunately only two seaters. In hindsight that probably is best since I would have been on my own and God knows where I would’ve ended up when I ran out of steam.

There were fishermen out of the rocky island not far from the beach. It was walkable through this sandbar area.

Was a pretty cool area to watch. The waves from the two alcoves crashed into each other and I don’t think I have ever seen the sea do that in any other part of the island.

I will never tire of this. It’s so peaceful. If anyone is ever considering a vacation here, I would highly recommend it.

I was on this beach for about 2 1/2 hours. As the afternoon came, so did the locals and other tourists making their way after a days work. I decided to head back and there was a scooter- run -icecream vendor parked behind Mean Mia. He said “showers”. I sort of smiled and packed up my scooter and headed home.

Well not even 3 minutes later, I understood what he was trying to tell me. Right over the mountain that was protecting Ya Nui area, there were storm clouds. Rainy season is here and still fascinates me how one area on this island is completely dry while simultaneously other areas drenched. Needless to say, it was a wet drive home.

Samet Nagshe Viewpoint

Our plan to visit a waterfall after the Cave Temple was a bust. In frustration and hunger, we decided to go to Phang Nga area where the limestone rocks are literally creating mountain like structures out in the sea. Jason remembered there being a restaurant at the top of this viewpoint. I was here in February and didn’t see it. So we made a bet. If the restaurant was there, I was buying him dinner or lunch every time we visited. Deal!