Time to go back home to Northern Kentucky, it’s supposed to be in the 30s, time for snow skiing ⛷️
Ladies night out at St. Petersburg beach
Category Archives: USA
Bike riding in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida
A friend joined me for five nights of my 10 night stay in St. Petersburg, Florida. We rented bicycles for 2 days and took the complimentary bus from our Airbnb to downtown St. Petersburg. There are some slots for bicycles to be stored while riding on the bus.
These are some of the sites we saw while cycling.
I love areas like this where you can cycle along the water front.
The Salvador Dali Museum
I took the complimentary shuttle from my Airbnb near St. Petersburg Beach, Florida to downtown St. Petersburg and then walked about a half a mile to the Salvador Dali museum.
Salvador Dali was from Figueres, Spain. Major themes in his work include dreams, the subconscious, sexuality, religion, science and his closest personal relationships.
The admission price is normally $30, but on Thursday evenings from 5:00 until 8:00 p.m. it’s half price.
Bike riding at St. Petersburg Beach
These are a few of the sites I saw while bicycling at St. Petersburg Beach. I cycled about 8 mi round trip.
Bicycling is a great way to get some exercise and see things at a slower pace.
Chihuly Collection Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida
I’ve seen Chihuly glass sculptures in various places but this collection was exceptional!
If you’re ever in St. Petersburg, Florida, try to make a stop at this museum.
St. Petersburg and Treasure Island Beach
I’ve been to the beach a few times since I arrived here in St. Petersburg, Florida. My favorite things to do at the beach are to walk and people watch.
Cool Airbnb in St. Petersburg, Florida
I left home on December 5th for 10 days in St. Petersburg, Florida. Since my family has died, there’s not much for me to do around the holidays so I decided to get away for some fun in the sun.
The Airbnb I picked out is less than 2 mi from the beach and there’s a complimentary shuttle that stops a few blocks away that transports you to the beach and also to downtown St. Petersburg.
A girlfriend joined me for 5 days which was nice. I go home on Thursday.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Autumn
My friend Scott and I left Tuesday Morning on a road trip to the Smoky Mountains National Park. I had booked an Airbnb for two nights above Gatlinburg. It was more room than we needed, with three bedrooms and two baths. The highlight of our lodging was the view from the balcony on the third floor.
The following day we did a 2 1/2 mile hike at Laurel Falls.
Autumn is my favorite season, I love the colors!
We stopped to check out Mannish Branch Falls, but weren’t able to cross the creek to see it up close.
Our next stop was “the Sinks”.
Our second hike was 5.5 miles at Rainbow Falls. The elevation change was 1,500 ft.
The mountains were dusted with snow.
Since it hadn’t rained much for a while, the falls were smaller than usual but still beautiful.
We saw two bears from the car.
All together we walked over 10 miles yesterday, and my body knew it. After a hot shower, some pizza, and a couple of Tylenol, I was almost good as new.
Blink 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio
Last night I went with a friend to Blink in Cincinnati, Ohio. It’s an annual global art display, spanning 30-blocks, with 39 large-scale projection mappings, murals, interactive light sculptures, music from over 80 bands, and diverse entertainment from both local and international artists. It lasts for four evenings. We walked about three miles to see about two-thirds of it.
This is in an area called Over-the-Rhine
Washington Park, also in the Over-the-Rhine area, had some beautiful installations.
Cincinnati Music Hall
Fountain Square
There’s even a parade
One wall of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
My friend Scott
Next to the Moerlein Lager House near the Ohio River
The Banks area near the riverfront
The beautiful John A. Roebling Suspension bridge crossing the Ohio River into Covington, Kentucky
I highly recommend taking a road trip to visit Cincinnati during this event!
Eden Park to Mt. Adams Hike in Cincinnati, Ohio
I had a date Saturday morning to take an urban hike. I suggested meeting at Eden Park Overlook and hiking to Mt. Adams…approximately 3 miles round trip.
Eden Park
Eden Park Overlook
We took a break at The Bow Tie Cafe and had some water. The view was gorgeous!
View from the Holy Cross Immaculata Church
He wasn’t a match, but it was a beautiful day!
Meetup.com Hike in Ludlow, Kentucky
Yesterday, I led 11 hikers on a wooded 3.6 mile loop trail at Devou Park in Ludlow, Kentucky. The trails are seven minutes from my home. I’ve been a member of Meetup.com for 15 years and am an Assistant Organizer for the Tri-State Hiking Group, one of the meetups. Recently, I’ve been making more of an effort to get out to meet people and do more activities. In the past three years since the death of my husband and son, I’ve tended to isolate and lost my passion for most things in life, except travel, which I’ve used as a form of therapy. It was a great 1 ½ hr. hike with wonderful weather.
The leaves are finally beginning to change color.
Afterwards, a couple of the hikers and I went to The Standard Covington Restaurant in Covington, Kentucky for dinner/drinks. This morning I scheduled the same hike for an upcoming Saturday.
Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky
On Sunday (10/2/22), my friend and I left our Airbnb in Louisville and went to the Speed Art Museum before heading home.
We both loved it. It has a variety of art…modern, Ancient, African, European, Kentucky, etc. Plus on Sundays it’s free.
Next we drove to Libby’s Southern Comfort Restaurant in Covington, Kentucky. We both had the yummy Shrimp Roll.
It was a quick 30 hour road trip filled with good food and interesting places.
Louisville, Kentucky Road Trip Part 2
Picking up where I left off from the first part of our Louisville road trip…we checked into our Airbnb at 4:00pm on 10/1/22. It’s located in Paristown Point near the Highlands neighborhood. It was clean and modern.
We had some wine and relaxed on the front porch, before getting ready to go out for dinner. On the eight minute walk to our restaurant, we passed a number of other restaurants. You’ll notice the friendly people as I took this photo…
We dined at Taco Luchador. It’s very inviting with inexpensive delicious tacos.
On the walk back to our Airbnb I noticed the unique lighting…
Tomorrow I’ll post about our Sunday in Louisville.
Louisville, Kentucky Road Trip Part 1
My friend and I left yesterday (10/1/22) from my place in Covington, Kentucky and drove an hour and 43 minutes to Louisville, Kentucky for an overnight stay. I had been to Louisville once before about nine years ago on a girl’s trip. I took my bicycle since we would be cycling for part of the day. We couldn’t check-in to our Airbnb until 4:00pm, so I had an 8 mile bike route pre-planned on Google maps. It included riding through the neighborhoods of Smoketown, Nulu, Downtown, and Old Louisville. I researched the LouVelo bike share so my friend could rent a bicycle. There was a station 7 minutes walk from our Airbnb, so I parked the car and we purchased a 300 minute plan ($25) for her. I’ve only seen this friend a few times in the past 8 years. I met her when I took a group of people to four countries in Europe back in 2014 and she joined the group. Although she’s 16 years younger than me, she doesn’t bicycle very often and never in a City, so she cycled quite slowly.
I discovered that Muhammad Ali was born in Louisville. Here’s a sculpture in his honor.
We passed Louisville Slugger Field
The downtown architecture is nice
We stopped for a tasty lunch at the Sidebar at Whiskey Row restaurant
As we passed a playground, I suggested we take a swing
After three hours of exploring and having lunch, I drove us to the Ohio riverfront where we walked across the Big Four Pedestrian bridge to the Indiana side of the river. The weather was perfect!
Come back tomorrow for the final part of our day/evening.
Pure Michigan Road Trip – Day 9
On Friday, 9/10/22 my friend Sherry and I walked (I rode my bicycle) less than 10 minutes from our hotel in Mackinaw City to the Star Line ferry that takes you to Mackinac Island. The ferry ride takes about 20-30 minutes. There are two ferries to choose from, the other is Shepler’s. They’re about the same cost. I took my bicycle on the ferry for an extra charge of $14 and Sherry rented one on the island for 5 hours. We cycled 8 miles around the island. We both agreed it was the best cycling experience we’ve had because the island is car free, the paths are wide and flat. You do need to watch out for the horse dung and the multitude of horse drawn carriages close to the main areas of town.
We passed beautiful homes.
We both agreed the parents of these children shouldn’t have allowed them to climb these rocks.
We walked up lots of steps for this view.
Back in town…
About two-thirds of the way around the island, we stopped for lunch at the Grand Hotel. They had a buffet for $75 (nope), so we opted for sitting in the bar area and had their sliders which were good.
The inside is quite colorful and pretty.
Down by the docks…
Leaving the island…
Later that evening, the view of the moon was beautiful from our hotel room…
Suddenly there was a beautiful display of fireworks which was quite unexpected…
My 10 day Pure Michigan road trip was everything I had imaged!
Sherry Lachelle Travels 