2020 in Review (a little late)

Posted on January 9, 2022 by Travel Spirit

The year started with three weeks in Miami, Florida in February on a solo trip. Most of my time was spent bicycling, walking on the beach, photographing, and exploring.

I was gearing up for a big year with my business, Cincinnati Urban Adventures when the pandemic hit. Suddenly, I was alone with my grief – no travel – no business – no boyfriend. I went to a local shelter and brought home Grayson, who has been a comfort.

I had two trips previously planned before the pandemic hit – one in May to Utah and Idaho, and the other in August to various destinations in Oregon. I ended up cancelling the flights for both and drove 4400 miles round-trip out west to Utah and Idaho.

I’d already explored Bryce and Zion Nat’l Parks in Utah years past, so this time I went to Arches and Canyonlands.

On the drive to Idaho, I spent a couple of nights in Salt Lake City for hiking and also had a masseuse come to my Airbnb for a 1 ½ hr. massage to treat myself on my birthday. I hiked a 6 mile roundtrip, 3,000 ft. elevation change trail while there. This was at the top…

Next was Idaho. This is the Snake River Canyon near Twin Falls, Idaho (where Evil Knievel attempted jumping the mile wide chasm with his rocket, but failed).

**Shoshone Falls Park, Twin Falls, Idaho**

I visited Sun Valley, Idaho, which I found to be gorgeous. I rented an e-bike and explored for miles. I also hiked a lot. I stayed away from people because of the pandemic.

Then I drove up to Stanley, Idaho in the Sawtooth Mountains and stayed in this cabin on a small river.

There was time spent with friends throughout the remainder of 2020, doing mostly outdoor activities (because of the pandemic). Lots of hiking and also get-togethers at our homes for patio dinner/cocktails.

Rough River Lake, Kentucky for our annual ladies long weekend. I reserved a 5 bedroom/3 bath home on the lake. We rented a pontoon boat and had fun!

A visit to my cousin’s place in central Ohio. He has built quite the mansion/castle – it has hidden rooms, so many things to look at – very eccentric!

Birds in my backyard…

An outdoor Thanksgiving with family…

My dear friend helped me put up my Christmas tree. Holidays are rough when you’ve lost your parents, spouse, and only child.

Christmas with my brother and sister-in-law…

All things considered, I was doing pretty well with everything I was going through. I tried to be grateful for what I had.

2018 in Review (a little late)

Posted on January 9, 2022 by Travel Spirit

2018 began with a photo shoot for Cincinnati Refined. This is called Broomball. Players wear gym shoes instead of skates and use a broom-shaped stick to slap the ball into the opposing goal.

Here are additional shoots I did for them. This annual event was called the Polar Plunge…burr.

The Benison Event Center in Hamilton, Ohio. At one time, it was a bank.

The Monkey Bar & Grille in Maineville, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati)

Ludlow Garage, Cincinnati, Ohio

Wine Over Water, held on the Purple People Bridge (a pedestrian only bridge), featuring wine merchants from around the area, live music, and general mingling fun in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The UniverSoul Circus was a quite spectacular!

The annual Flying Pig Marathon. This was the women’s champion. I got a little emotional while taking this photo.

The Camargo Hunter Trials in Indian Hill, Ohio was a great event for action shots!

I was very busy growing my business, Cincinnati Urban Adventures. I had hired two freelance Tour Guides in 2017 and together we took 1000 people on tours (anywhere from 1-12 people per tour unless it was a private tour). By the end of 2018, I had hired an additional 3 guides and we took 1700 people on tour. We moved into first place on Trip Advisor!

I did a handful of photo shoots for my business Sherry Lachelle Photography…

A senior photo shoot

For a friend’s new business website…

On June 2^nd, my husband of 22 years, passed away from Cardiac Arrest. I gave him CPR until the medics arrived. This is the last photo I took of he and our dog, just a few weeks previously.

We lived on 5 acres in the country (only 40 minutes from downtown Cincinnati) and for the following 11 months before selling our home, I had the huge task of selling most everything he/we had accumulated through the years. Some of the big items were a boat, Harley, hot tub, jeep, truck, car, tractor, log splitter, and so much more…4 bicycles, 3 chain saws, 3 lawn mowers, 3 ladders, snow blower, power washer, welder, hunting, fishing, golfing stuff, so many tools.

I was devastated. My son was devastated. He was closer to Randy (his step-dad) than his own father.

Later that year, my son and his girlfriend announced their engagement.

I went to an outdoor concert with friends and it poured rain the entire time.

Went boating with a girlfriend…

I visited a friend in Dunedin, Florida for a week in December…

I was so happy my son joined me at my brother’s house Christmas Day. His fiance chose to stay at her family’s.

After Randy’s passing, so many things reminded me of him, coming across food items he liked while at the grocery, hearing a Harley’s rumble, and of course Face book gives you reminders.

There were other family and friends get-togethers throughout the year. I tried my best to cope with the grief and have a happy and full life.

2017 in Review (a little late)

Posted on January 8, 2022 by Travel Spirit

2017 began with me on assignment at the Casino in Cincinnati for Cincinnati Refined. A very colorful and loud party to photograph.

I continued finding much joy taking photos in my free time…like the sunrise captured in this church window a couple of minutes from our place in the country.

and Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati at night…

The Licking Riverside Historic District in Covington, Kentucky with a beautiful view of Cincinnati’s skyline.

Get-togethers with friends…

Family time…

My brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and niece.

I was busy growing my new business, Cincinnati Urban Adventures. Friends accompanied me on trial runs for some of the tours.

My husband, son, and a girlfriend were models on my Over-the-Rhine Sights and Bites tour for my website.

I hired a few models for my Beyond the River tour in Covington, Kentucky.

Here are some of the photos shoots I did for Cincinnati Refined…

**Eighteen at the Radisson – a revolving restaurant on top of the Radisson Hotel**

**Cabana on the River, Cincinnati, Ohio**

**Diner en Blanc (everyone wears white and brings everything for the party including chairs/tables, decorations, food, drinks)**

**Taste of Cincinnati, an annual event**

**The Thanksgiving Day Race – I got up very early to be downtown in time and it was cold!**

**The La Boheme Opera at the Aronoff Center in Downtown, Cincinnati**

I began managing an Airbnb located in Covington, Kentucky…

I had a few photo shoots for my own company, Sherry Lachelle Photography. A senior photo shoot…

A family photo shoot…

I was the Tour Guide and Photographer for a wedding with 40 people. It was 5 hours long, but everything went smoothly.

And I photographed my first gay wedding – 2 beautiful ladies.

I attended an annual weeklong Urban Adventures meeting in Portugal and arranged a trip to follow for a few friends. They met me in Lisbon, Portugal, where we saw the sights for a few days before moving on to Seville and Granada, Spain.

Cheers – Salud!

My husband and I were able to get away to Florida for a week in December.

As you can see, my year was very busy, filled mostly with photography and growing my business, with a little travel sprinkled in.

Travel Memories transformed into Photo Paintings

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Travel Spirit

One of the many things I love about travel photography is that when I look at a photo from a trip it brings back that exact moment to me in perfect clarity, the excitement of seeing something new and beautiful…aromas wafting through the air…the breeze caressing my skin…foreign sounds creating curiosity! Here are some of my travel memories edited with software that take me back to that moment…

Halong Bay, Vietnam – 2009

The view from a boat I spent the night on, very much like the one I captured here…

Vieng Vang, Laos – 2009

Petra, Jordan – 2009

Reaching “The Treasury” in Petra, Jordan while hiking…

A young girl begging while hiking for two days in the incredible UNESCO World Heritage Site of Petra…

Peru – 2009

Spending three weeks exploring Peru, this little girl and her baby Llama…

Reaching Machu Picchu, Peru, after 3 1/2 days of hiking at high elevation…

Cairo, Egypt – 2009

An old man at the Pyramids in Egypt pointing “the way”…

A chaotic, but every day life scene from Cairo…

Africa – 2012

A beautiful village woman in Zambia, Africa while on a 35-day Overland Truck Adventure through six countries…

Men from the Masai Mara tribe in Africa…

Path to the Baobab tree in Africa…

Fethiye, Turkey – 2015

Istanbul, Turkey – 2015

Antigua, Guatemala – 2016

Love the bright colors!

Near San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua – 2016

Horseback riding…

Roatan Island, Honduras – 2007

Our world is amazing and I’m leaving tomorrow to explore eight more countries in Eastern Europe…I’m so excited!

Through the Fog

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Travel Spirit

Just after dawn the other morning, I crept through the morning fog, down the dirt road I live on, alert for nature unfolding. The neighbor’s cat peered at me while I took his photo…

The trees were shrouded with mist…

The dirt road seemed to go on infinitely…

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The Emotion Behind Writing and Abstract Photography

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Travel Spirit

My deck with this morning’s snow…

I’ve prepared a short paragraph describing the emotions I feel when I write for a new Meetup I’m attending this evening, and wanted to share it with you. I usually give photography most of my creative energy, but really enjoy writing! Here it is:

A few words make their way from my brain to my fingertips and appear on my computer screen. Sometimes they come in short bursts, and other times they are hesitant, reluctantly surfacing. Once arriving, their place is not guaranteed. Without warning, one or more may disappear, letter by letter, in a backwards fashion. Having never considered how it feels to be born, the process halts as the words question their creator. How do you feel when you create me? Desiring to deliver a thorough answer, I dig deep inside and answer, “It’s complicated. Each time I think of one of you, I’m not able to fully capture the essence of my feelings. It occurs to me to list one of you at a time, as you enter my thoughts, and perhaps connected, as a team, you’ll allow my audience to perceive my emotions as if I were a book to read.”

Freedom, creative, struggle, inadequate, proud, lonely, beautiful and accomplishment.

Back to photography! Here are a few more of my recently captured abstract photographs. The above photo is of leaves frozen in a small pond in our yard, entitled “Trapped”.

This is a decorative bottled placed on its side on my kitchen counter with sunlight streaming through the window.

Do you have a favorite photo? What do you think of my short paragraph?

The Search for Autumn

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Travel Spirit

My latest assignment for Cincinnati Refined was to find the most colorful “leaf popping” streets within selected Cincinnati neighborhoods, so off I went, on a 40 mile journey and was amazed that I only found a few colorful trees! It seems that Autumn is arriving late. This was the most vibrant tree…

A peek at a bit more of “the” tree…

On the way home, this bean field and sky shouted for me to stop…

So…I’ll be going out again next week hunting for Autumn!

Foggy Morning

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Travel Spirit

I woke before dawn and made my morning coffee. Peering out the window, everything was encased in fog. I hastily threw on a jacket over my pajamas, grabbed my tripod and camera, and wandered down the lane in my house slippers to capture the beauty.

Do you have a favorite?

Finding Art at Put-in-Bay

Posted on August 30, 2014 by Travel Spirit

My quest to find art everywhere I go with my camera, was fulfilled at Put-in-Bay! This tiki torch lighting a restaurant walkway provided a cool contrast to the dusky sky.

This beautiful girl with an edgy look allowed me to take her photograph. I gave her one of my cards and sent the photos to her. She thanked me for making her feel special!

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10 Tips to Cut Your Travel Costs

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Travel Spirit

If you love to travel like I do, here are some tips to stretch your travel dollar…

1. Lodging

Lodging is by far the largest expense when traveling. Couchsurfing is a terrific alternative to the standard hotel room if you’re a bit adventurous. After making an online profile through Couchsurfing.org, you can search their database based on location and other filters, such as age and male/female, for a place to crash for a few nights. It’s totally free and the friendships you make could become lifelong! You may also host people at your place, if you have a couch, an extra bed, or even an air mattress on the floor. In the past two years, I’ve Couchsurfed in Cape Town, South Africa, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Philadelphia, and New York City.

Patio of Cape Town, S. Africa Couchsurfing home

2. Solo Travel

If you’re traveling solo through a travel company, choose a company that doesn’t charge a single supplement fee, such as G Adventures. They’ll pair you up with a roommate and who knows, you may even become Facebook friends with them!

One of my roommates in Thailand through G Adventures

3. Food Continue reading →

Family Reunion

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Family Reunions are a time to reconnect with relatives you haven’t seen in a while, eat good food, and participate in fun activities! That’s what my family did yesterday. Here in the country that means you go for hayrides…

eat massive amounts of food…especially desserts prepared by my Aunt Colleen…

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Lumenocity

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Lumenocity is an annual event held here in Over the Rhine, Cincinnati, Ohio at Cincinnati Music Hall. I was invited to the dress rehearsal by a friend and met her and two other girlfriends to have a bite to eat beforehand at a restaurant called Abigail Street right around the corner from Music Hall. The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Ballet perform under the white tent shown below while you’re treated to an elaborate and flamboyant light show on the exterior of Music Hall…

Earlier in the evening at Abigail Street Restaurant, I captured a selfie in the mirror of the lovely shabby chic ladies’ restroom…

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Summer Fun

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Bouncing on the water, holding on tight, our friend had tons of fun tubing behind our boat this past weekend! Everyone looks forward to summer because there’s so much to do…Bicycling, concerts in the park, picnics, having a frosty cold drink on the deck, and of course fun in the water! You know it’s summer when you smell freshly cut grass, blooming flowers, and the aroma of grilled food.

I enjoyed honing my photography skills snapping pics from a boat skimming the water at high speeds jostling my camera and I…

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Views from Mount Floyen

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Travel Spirit

The views from Mount Floyen in Bergen, Norway can only be described as Spectacular, Astonishing, breathtaking, stunning, dazzling, and magnificent! We were blessed with beautiful 75 degree sunny weather in early June and I felt like I was on top of the world!

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Bergen and Bryggen

Posted on July 27, 2014 by Travel Spirit

The City of Bergen transports you back in time, to a time when life was simpler. A life that revolved around good fresh food, healthy outdoor activity, family and friends! As a tourist, you only have a glimpse into the lives of the people who live and work there. Three days wasn’t enough time to explore the surrounding area, but I was able to relax at my comfortable Airbnb apartment, when I wasn’t browsing the streets of Bergen and the area known as Bryggen, which means “Wharf” in Norwegian, and consists of 61 wooden buildings, along the waterfront. What’s remarkable is that the City of Bergen is almost 1,000 years old and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site!

Incredibly, it stays light in Norway until 10 or 11pm and daylight begins around 3am in the late Spring. During our three days in Bergen, it sprinkled rain perhaps a third of the time, but Norwegians say, “It’s not bad weather, just bad clothing choice”! Having arrived in town the evening before, tired from our spectacular day traveling from Oslo to Bergen through the Fjords of Norway, we decided to wait until the next morning to go grocery shopping. I awoke earlier than my three Tour participants, as usual, so I went off in search of the closest grocery, which was thankfully only a 5 to 10 minute walk from our Airbnb. I purchased eggs for omelets, bacon (because one of the others wanted it) bread, cheese, lunchmeat, and a few other staples, to help with the high cost of eating out in Norway. The only coffee maker in the apartment was a French press, which I’ve never used, but with a bit of instruction, I caught on quickly, and made a nice pot full. I then proceeded to make a nice breakfast for everyone. The main tourist attraction I had planned for us was to go to the top of Mount Floyen, but I’ll save that for tomorrow’s post!

Here are some photos of the captivating town of Bergen…