A way to beat the heat is trail hiking. There is always significant shade and temperature drops with trees nearby. I remember feeling this instantly in Phuket on the scooter whenever I would hit a jungle area. Like a cool instant breeze.
I decided to download an app called AllTrails and test it out. It shows hiking nearby no matter where you are, which is perfect. I decided this and chasing waterfalls was going to be my summer pastime whenever I’m not working. Many of the places that popped up close to me I never even knew existed before, even when living here over 20 years. Oh well, now I know.
I googled mapped my way to Incinerator and Bates-Coombs Loop in Ludlow Kentucky’s Devou Park, which it right over the river from Ohio. I didn’t know how to enter to the trail area. There was no crowd to follow. So I found an opening and followed a small stream until I hit the main trail which took me under some railroad tracks.
That is one thing I’ve noticed since moving back to Cincinnati. The sound of trains in the distance.
Would be fun to sit under these when a train passed by.
Upon entering the park, this vacated, now artistically decorated building welcomed you.
The trails were well maintained and surprisingly (and happily) garbage free.
I decided to veer off and take the Train Surfer route since it was longer and I was enjoying the peace of the trails. It was not too busy considering it was a weekend. I only passed a handful of other people. Very solitude.
Loved the heart in the bark. Made me hope to find love again one day and possibly share this walk with someone who enjoys nature as much as I do.
There were a lot of fallen trees that offered beautiful angles and symmetry.
The trails were at times extremely curvy and other times steep. There were mountain bikers which kept you alert at all times. No headphones on this walk.
Admiring all the wood as it gradually decomposes and makes its way back into the earth.
A train had stopped on the tracks when I returned after my 1.5 hour hike. Of course the graffiti caught my eye.
Graffiti benching is watching the freight trains roll by and admiring the graffiti artwork painted on the sides of the freight cars!
That’s it for me. Back in the ‘513’. Finding my new escapes and adventures. Trying to stay sane and away from the nonsense of this life even when back on US soil. Wish me luck in keeping my focus with the beautiful lessons I learned in Thailand .
Loving the weather here in Cincinnati. I am doing my best to get out and enjoy it as much as possible because you never know how long it will last. Close to my condo -on -the- hill, is Eden Park. I met my friend Rebecca there for a much needed hour long Saturday morning walk. Catching up with friends here is soul fuel.
I was sitting on the wall of this gazebo admiring Mirror Lake while waiting for Rebecca to arrive. Social distancing myself of course.
These are new steps recently put in that lead up to the Cincinnati Art Museum. We thought we would take the challenge and give our legs a true workout.
In typical Tonya style, I made an excuse to pause and take a snapshot about half way up. There were a lot of people out exercising, starting their weekend off right.
At the top of the stairs the Pinocchio, sculpted by Jim Dine, welcomed us to the museum.
This is some info on the piece: In Dine’s “Pinocchio (Emotional)” at the Cincinnati Art Museum the figure is posed with one foot behind the other, back arched, arms outstretched, and head thrown back. His nose juts prominently into the sky. The artwork’s title’s parenthetical “emotional” is ironic because the face is featureless and therefore expressionless except for the nose. From the front, Pinocchio appears to be welcoming visitors and arms thrown optimistically open. Alternatively, he could be in a mode of surrender. Dine expertly contrasts the silly with the profound in this piece. It’s monumental scale and its grotesque, featureless face create great tension with the figure’s rumpled outfit, Disney-style gloves, and cartoonish proportions.
We ran through the sprinklers like kids to play on this metal sculpture swing.
Loving this tree bark, Rebecca had an app that could look up the species.
Catching a glimpse of the Ohio River.
A view of the nearby neighborhood of Mt. Adams. The tiara of the modern building is a new downtown symbol added in 2011 and is the tallest building outside of Cleveland.
Classic Mt. Adams with a view of the infamous Immaculata Church steeple and statue off in the distance. Built in 1859 for the German population. Also the location where my friends Jeff and Kate got married 🙂
True Americana. It’s a pretty sight, but also makes me weary if they are showing support for America or Trump these days.
Beautiful hydrangeas.
These also caught my attention. I crossed the street just to have a closer look. Huge blooms about the size of my hand.
Circling back to the end of our trek, we passed by the outdoor amphitheatre, Seasongood Pavilion, where they used to house outdoor concerts. Now vacant with a very talented hula hooper practicing to her pretend audience.
Today I decided to walk aimlessly around my neighborhood to see if there was anything new going on. I noticed much less trash around the block, many new houses getting rehabbed with still quite a few boarded up and abandoned.
As I wandered out of my neighborhood I ended up detouring through the area near UC to see if things were reopened. There were very few restaurants open. Some stores and businesses looked permanently closed. I ended up crossing the street from short Vine and ended up at my alma mater campus.
I didn’t plan on being there, but I continued to tour the campus and started looking as if I were there for the first time. I found myself admiring all the angles. I wondered if anyone planned them, or if they just happened. I found myself constantly looking for new views and discovered so much beauty here. Of course the blue skies and perfect weather helped my positive outlook.
When I attended UC, I did not make the best of campus life. It was more a means to an end. I went to class and worked waitressing my way through tuition costs. The one benefit besides my degree, which landed me a job in NYC after college, was the handful of lifelong friendships I gathered along the way! Shout out to Angie, Cindy and Kelly. (God knows how they put up with me during those crazy years)
The first creative view I noticed as I entered the east side of UC.
Then I couldn’t help but admire the angles of the grass, steps and building in the background.
The voids in the buildings displayed to me how this campus was thoroughly planned out.
I admired the historical clock tower in the background mixed with the new angles.
UC Bearcat football stadium.
Historic McMicken Hall.
I sat under this tree for some shade. Such a gorgeous day.
Design, Art and Architecture School.
Stunning and yet disturbing example of design.
This monster is where most of my classes were held back in the day, the chemistry building. I remember all the academics in white lab coats mixing with our group of scarily contrasting fashion design students.
Another view of the holes and pathways to the other side. Symbolic for a university.
I noticed signs throughout campus I don’t remember those when I was there.
I was impressed with all the green spaces on this once concrete campus.
Looking toward the dorm where I spent my first year. Roomie Cindy to this day is the most comforting person to me.
Ode to Sidall Hall.
Check out all the angles. Even the concrete balls on the pavement add to the vision. Each building on campus has its own personality, yet beautifully work together somehow.
Tennis courts in the middle of campus.
Quite an architectural wonder the University of Cincinnati is.
Felt good to wander around without anyone on campus and just admire the facilities. My eyes are open to what this world has to offer us. Visually impactful. Whether natural or made made.
I couldn’t help noticing how magnificent our world is when looking down from above. It’s been awhile since many of us have seen this view. Maybe that is why I was appreciating it all the more, not knowing when I would get a chance to fly again. I took some cool photos from my airplane window view seat. Decided to post and share my journey back to the USA.
Flying out of Phuket I could see the tiny island that Noni and I went to when we stayed at the resort.
Then we flew over Nai Yang Beach
The sky was so flipping blue! and the clouds adorable.
Flew up the Thai coastline to Bangkok.
Truly picturesque. This is why I always get a window seat.
Coming down over Thailand.
Check out all the angles at this airport.
Love how architecture is also a feature in airports. It has such an impact on those travelling.
Geared up at Qatar Airlines heading to Doha.
Night shot leaving Bangkok
Arrived in Qatar at 10 pm with my next flight to Chicago scheduled at 8 am. This is where I slept. They had this awesome public closed off room, separating men from women, and it was called the silent room. Perfect!
I swear this shot looks like art. It was so beautiful.
Flying out of Chicago at dusk.
Arrived in Cincinnati at midnight and these amazing wild flowers were waiting for me from Jane, my ex-coworker who is a silent follower of my blog. So love that she gets me! And is encouraging my spirit to stay positive.
As many of you know, I move to the calling of God and what He wants for my life. It is not always logical. I do my best to listen. I try my best to appreciate all time as it comes and goes. That being said, I am moving back to the USA today.
I no longer look at this decision as a permanent step in my world, but rather a step I am meant to take for whatever reason, for now. It brings calm to my empath crazy head and that is when I especially know it’s right. Not a whole lot stops that emotional thinking.
Phuket and my adventures here have served me well. I have zero regrets. I will forever be thankful and will cherish the year + I’ve spent here. The friends I’ve made have taught me so much. The landscape I have been blessed to see is beyond paradise. I have my blog and photos to dive back into whenever I need an escape.
I am debating whether to keep this blog, or start a new one with new USA adventures. I have to evaluate what I gain from the time spent sharing and/or if having this outlet is vital to my personal well being. Starting this blog in April 2019 originally was a means to keep my family and friends back home informed of my move to Thailand and not bore the Facebook community.
But I wonder if it has become more important for me than them?
So much has changed for me during this quick year. So much has changed in the world. Tipped on its axis, what’s our next move? How does this play out for all of us? The uncertainty is heavy. One thing I know is that having my loyal readers along for the ride has been a strength unexpected. Thank you. Until we meet again.
As noted previously, I wanted to treat Mimi to Delico to express my appreciation for her friendship. I ended up there a couple times this week. I am actually a regular now 🙂
Mimi told me Delico was just like Thais, beautiful on the outside but no substance on the inside. It is a false representation. She explained that it took her several years to see this in the Thai people. She admitted Burmese people are not very smart, but have huge hearts.
She was telling me how her country always has to protect their borders from neighboring countries who want their mines which are filled with valuable gems. She said the people in Myanmar can be dirt poor but wear precious jewels that are meaningless to them. I need to research and understand more about this place. I hope to visit there one day when she goes back.
Us at Delico
The drink menu. Impressive layout and photography.
One of my Taiwanese students was just telling me about this drink so when I saw it on the menu I decided to give it a try. It’s espresso with soda water and lemon. Was refreshing once I got used to the combination of flavors.
Afterwards Mimi came up to my condo and I showed her a few things that I was getting rid of. She said she would take any/everything. So Sunday afternoon I loaded up my backpack, scooter seat, hobo bag and front hook of the bike and headed to the Art C to deliver. I gave her my favorite Desigual skirt which I knew she would look great in.
When I arrived she had 4 different chicken dishes ready for me as well as three beers which she had to swindle off a local because the 7/11 would not sell it to her due to the ‘full moon holiday’.
I stayed and visited until the Art C owner came in. She immediately jumped when she saw him and went to grab him some lunch. I felt the need to quickly finish my beer and leave the premises. She told me that he has abandoned the pizza shop idea and she is not sure what he is up to now. She explained that she really doesn’t care. Right now she is just in charge of the Art C as workers come and dismantle all the fans, lighting, etc.
I was saddened earlier when discussing religion, we were talking about karma and Mimi explained that some Buddhists sects believe that once you die you are just dead and are not reincarnated. She said she is hoping that is true because she doesn’t want to come back. Life is too hard and she does not want to have to do it over again.
Monday Jason informed me it was a holiday and wanted to know if I would do lunch. So I met him and Tek at Delico. My new favorite place.
Desserts from Delico. Look great, taste bland.
My dessert on the other hand was amazing! The presentation of it was a work of art. The chocolate was warm and had a hint of coconut flavor to it. Plus it looked good with my outfit 🙂
I convinced Jason and Tek to pose on the chaise. I wanted them to do the George Costanza pose- but as fun as they are, they refused.
I miss Seinfeld. But will miss my friends in Phuket more for sure.
The expat gang usually doesn’t get together in the evenings but we were out celebrating this Saturday night. James’ birthday is Friday next week and this is my last weekend in Phuket. Plus it’s a full moon….well, almost.
Sunny organized for all of us to meet at the Laem Hin Seafood restaurant at 5 pm. I thought it was a tad early, I mean afterall only some of us are on the retirement visa, but after finding the place and seeing the views, I am so glad we did! We captured the sun fading as well as the moon shining. We were able to see the low and high tide. Was a perfect memorable evening that will never be forgotten.
Selfie shot at my condo before I headed over. I faded the photo so I didn’t appear so bright red 🙂
Upon arriving, there was mud around the piers and restaurant which provided some entertaining crab and mudskipper (learned from Jeevie) watching. This restaurant is right across from Coconut Island where I adventured with Virlane before she left Phuket. (November 12 post)
The restaurant was empty when we got there, but later that evening it was packed! You can see Coconut Island across the way.
Notice the mud around the pier which later ended up being all water.
I walked out on the pier shown in the above photo and looked back to capture the restaurant and the sunset.
Love this photo for some reason. The boats, mud, sea, pier and mountains. Feels like a perfect local living shot.
We left the restaurant before the food arrived and went for a walk along the pier in this photo which was beside the restaurant.
Walking along the pier, this was the view to the left.
These are mudskippers. I saw them being fished before when I was at Layan Beach. I had no idea what they were at that time, they looked like some sort of worm when the fishermen grabbed them out of their holes.
Made the group stop and pose.
Captured the guys walking ahead.
Rebecca and I in the background photo bombing.
Back at the restaurant, Leslie, Jeevie and I. You can see how fried I am. I love Jeevie . She is so creative and amazingly well behaved. Her mom Leslie, equally cool, just took a teaching job which starts next week! They have been in Phuket 7 years. They originally planned to just stay one year when they had the baby but never went back to the UK. Found their home here and embraced it.
Rebecca and I with a vintage filter to fade my red tone.
Mother and daughter, same walk. Love this!
This was taken out on the long pier looking back at the restaurant. Such an active location.
Jeanette made desserts and they were seriously unbelievable. Not a crumb left behind! I love how cute she is, but also check out James’ face in the background. Priceless.
The sun finally set and the tide rolled in. The moon came out from under the clouds and it could not have been a better night.
I have always been blessed/surrounded by good friends. But I never thought I would encounter such a diverse group as this one I fell into while living in Phuket. My one on ones with many of them have been my favorite part!
Noni took this photo and shared with the group.
Beautiful reflection.
The gang. UK, Singapore, Thailand, HongKong, Australia, and USA represented.
I have been to Freedom Beach once before a year ago. (see May 28 blog) If you recall I was thinking, on the steep hike up and down, who of my friends would have joined me on this adventure. I received a couple shout outs from my friends back home saying they totally would. Except Debbie, who told me she can’t do hills 🙂
It’s so nice that I now have friends locally that willingly partake in any hike! I HEART Jason and Noni!! They are up for anything new just like me.
To mix things up, I wanted to try a different pathway down to the beach. Last time I was there, I saw most of the visitors going back up a staircase, which was not the way I came. I google mapped this other entry and set the meeting time.
I met Jason for coffee that am and then we headed over. Noni is notoriously late 🙂 But he eventually made it and we headed through the gates.
We met here with a view of the Marriott Hotel which has its’ own private beach. The shacks you see with the metal roofing is where the workers live. Quite the contrast.
Not too long down the path, we caught a glimpse of the beach. This beach is only accessible through these trails or by boat. Not well known or utilized.
We were calling this “gliking”, a spin on glamping”, because some of the trails were paved. Didn’t quite seem as challenging.
Selfie shot of us being ourselves.
This tree was gorgeous. No way to capture it in a photo, but I tried.
The water color was unbelievable. Phuket is as amazing as you see on tv.
Watching the waves crash into the rocks. No fishermen anywhere at this beach location.
Noni scaling the palm.
Unfortunately there was garbage everywhere. This is just one of many areas collecting it. I do a 15 minute lesson every week day with a student from Japan named Laka. She always picks a news article about plastic waste. She works for a chemical company that makes some component of plastic. She has educated me through our quick chats. I have a hard time looking past this. It frustrates me, but it’s too big of a problem to make a dent. The Trash Heroes group has fallen apart since Covid. Seems the Thai government doesn’t have a system in place to maintain.
Jason taking a shot of Noni posing again. These guys, always goofing around.
Capturing the moment of Jason capturing the moment.
This is the panoramic shot Jason took with his phone. I am thinking I may want to invest in a better camera Iphone version. He uses a Samsung and it takes some great photos. Not that mine are too shabby either, but I definitely can’t take night shots.
We swam for about an hour. I forgot my baseball cap which I usually always wear.
Noni was pulling plastic bags from the sea. Felt pointless. Like it will just end up there again. Frustrates me how humans ruin nature’s paradise.
Love this color combo.
Jason looking sexy:)
Noni striking a pose in a shirt Tek gave him.
This monkey was just hanging out with us too. Someone set him free in the wild.
Was a cloud covered day. I actually thought I may get rained on, but it passed me by.
The guys left to grab lunch so I stayed at the beach about 1 1/2 longer. Was literally the only one there. I took a nap, swam and listened to music. Tried to soak it all in. Unfortunately the sun killed my skin and I am still paying the price with a burn that isn’t fading.
Took this shot on my hike back up. You know, I had to find excuses to take a break from the steep incline even when alone.
My selfie shot I posted on Instagram. I conquered those stairs. I was smart and swam right before taking off. So I was dripping wet while hiking which helped keep me cool.
After lunch I decided to head over to check out the Tonsai waterfall since it was close by. I haven’t been to this one before. It came up on my google search when I was looking for a new place to go hiking.
They charged 200 BHT to enter. I am pretty sure the locals get in free. But it’s a National Park, so I was happy to contribute to its upkeep.
Staircase that taunted me across the stream.
Ended up being a dead end to a road but cool vine along the way.
Trees here were some of the tallest I have seen in Phuket.
Bamboo always captures my attention.
The waterfall wasn’t that impressive. It hasn’t rained here in days so I really didn’t have great expectations. I decided to climb up and sit for a bit.
Love how these skeletal leaves meld with the rock.
A closer look. I sat with my feet in the water.
Roots fascinate me.
I sat here and listened to the waterfall for some time. Watched how the water goes down various channels only to end up in the same place. Made me think of all the paths and choices we have in life.
Selfie. I hiked in a skirt, just letting you know what a character I was representing the Yankees.
I watched a Thai man bathe in the waterfall. (get your mind out of the gutter, he kept his undies on) When I was hiking down from my perch, he offered me soap to shower. I was tempted. I really wanted to take a photo of these guys because their backs were completely covered in intricate tattoos. One guy’s arm was completely tatted solid black.
I saw an official sign which showed a nature walk, so I decided to check it out. It was not well maintained, but was a natural wonder. I Marco Polo-ed Debbie, because she always video chats with me on her walks, and I captured the most bizarre sound coming from God knows what in the jungle. It was a high pitched siren like scream that moved throughout. I was dying to see what it was. When I sent a video recording to Jason to ask what it was, he told me it was the god of the forest. 🙂
Bamboo beauty again.
I put my hands on this tree for a bit to see if I could steal some of its wisdom.
The base of this tree was huge. Just looking up at it tells such a story.
A sweaty mess at the end of my hike.
A large tree had fallen along the pathway, so disappointedly, I had to turn around and back track.
Noni told me about this restaurant where you could stand /sit on a lily pad. I definitely wanted to check it out! I texted the Avengers and told them I was heading here for lunch Friday if they wanted to join me.
This restaurant was such an Instagramable site. Absolutely unbelievable. I mean, I have never heard of such a thing. Even when arriving I thought they may be man-made.
Those pillows are on mesh sitting areas. It was absolutely gorgeous with the pond, greenery and the contrast of the brick colored building accents.
Jason and Tek came to join me for lunch. Such great guys!
An upclose photo.
Looked like something out of a fairytale.
View out on the boardwalk looking back at the restaurant.
I opted for the traditional pineapple fried rice. Great presentation.
Jason always gets dessert.
This worker was walking by and I zoomed in to capture her.
You can pay to have your photo taken out on the boat but only on the weekends.
Selfie shot.
I don’t know if this one is a different breed, but had such interesting texture.
I took this photo so I would remember the name of the restaurant. Tek told me Ma” means “come”, Doo” means “see”, and Bua” is the type of lilypad it is.
Some of the photos taken.
When I googled Thai giant lily pads, this is what it said. “Huge Victoria Water Lily leaves are so large that small adults and children up to about 140 pounds can actually sit on them”
Tonya Takes Thailand 