The Wild Side of Put-in-Bay

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Travel Spirit

If you’re looking for fun in the sun, dancing, a few adult beverages, and people in skimpy bathing suits, Put-in-Bay is the place to visit! Although my friends and I didn’t bring our bathing suits for our day on the Island, we didn’t let that prevent us from making a stop at one of the swimming pools Put-in-Bay is famous for. We bring the party with us no matter where we’re at! My friend Shari moving to the beat…

Although the pool bar looked inviting, the non-humid 80 degree weather was perfect for lounging around with our clothing on.

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Golf Cart Fun at Put-in-Bay

Posted on August 27, 2014 by Travel Spirit

A trip to Put-in-Bay, also known as the “Key West of the North”, isn’t complete unless you rent a golf cart. After disembarking from the Jet Express ferry ($33 pp round-trip) from Port Clinton, our first stop was to pick up our ride. We didn’t reserve a cart ahead of time, but they had plenty. Splitting the $80 day rental fee between four of us, made it quite affordable.

Seated on the back…taking photographs while we were racing along was fun…

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Girls’ Weekend Port Clinton and Put-in-Bay

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Travel Spirit

My annual tradition of spending a long weekend somewhere with girlfriends has come around full circle this past weekend, when myself and three friends drove from Cincinnati to Port Clinton, Ohio, and eventually ferried over to Put-in-Bay, where we began the tradition 22 years ago! I don’t remember much about that weekend so many years ago, other than visiting the Marblehead Lighthouse, driving a golf cart around, and listening to a band on a beer splashed floor in a dark bar in the middle of the day. This time was different. We still had fun, in fact, we had more fun this time! Initially we were going to stay on the South Bass Island where the village of Put-in-Bay is located, but with only a couple of months notice for planning the trip (creating a lack of options) and wanting to get some sleep, since many of the hotels are located near loud bars, I booked a condo through Vacation Rental by Owner (VRBO) in Port Clinton, located within walking distance (15 mins.) to the Jet Express for the 25 min. trip over. After settling in and having a delicious lunch prepared by one of the “girls” at the condo, we made a drink and headed down to the pool and hot tub for some relaxation. We couldn’t have asked for better weather…80 degrees and sunny afternoons!

We freshened up and headed out to the Mon Ami Winery, located a short 10-15 min. drive from our condo.

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Western & Southern Open Fashion Show

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Travel Spirit

The Western and Southern Open Fashion Show, sponsored by Cincy Chic, was a fun event to photograph for Cincinnati Refined! I continue to have “firsts” as I work assignments for Cincinnati Refined as I’ve never photographed a fashion show before. A couple of the models were definitely uncomfortable and insecure and it showed, but I think it’s important to push ourselves to do things that we’re not comfortable with, so we grow and develop our skills and potential to their fullest!

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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

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Western & Southern Open

Posted on August 10, 2014 by Travel Spirit

The Western & Southern Open is being held August 9 – 17, 2014, here in Cincinnati, Ohio and I was on assignment today. It was my first experience taking tennis photographs and I wasn’t sure what to expect. It’s been a long day. I began by leaving my home at 7:30am and returned after noon. The remainder of the day (until 8:30pm) I’ve spent editing photos. I think I did fairly well for my first time.

After researching the players, I decided to photograph the match between Ben Becker from Germany and Malek Jaziri from Tunisia…

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Little Nashville Newport, Kentucky

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Travel Spirit

I recently had a photo shoot assignment for iSPYCincy (now known as “Cincinnati Refined”) at Little Nashville Newport in Kentucky. The establishment is fairly new and the Band that night was Aly’ Ann. I didn’t take my tripod, but still managed to capture a few good shots of the lead singers. I’ve been to the “real” Nashville and this was the next best thing!

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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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The Color Run in Cincinnati

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Travel Spirit

The Color Run (aka “The Happiest 5K on the Planet”) took place in Cincinnati on Saturday morning and that meant there were clouds of color, smiling faces, and sweaty bodies! The Color Run is this and so much more. It represents accomplishment for many for running or walking a 5K and just a fun time for others! I was so happy to have this assignment for Cincinnati Refined (previously known as iSPYCINCY) and arrived downtown Cincinnati early to capture all of the excitement! Being a jogger myself, part of me wished I was participating…but either way, I was happy to be there!

I can’t help it…I love to photograph girls in brightly colored tutus and mis-matched socks!

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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…

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Guinness Book of World Record for the Most People Salsa Dancing

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Travel Spirit

Thursday evening, July 24, 2014 is a day to go down in the record books, specifically the Guinness World Records book, for the City of Cincinnati to beat Mexico’s past record of the largest Salsa dance, with over 2,000 people moving to the rhythm! I was there to capture the excitement and energy for iSPYCINCY taking photographs of the event. Green “Gain” shirts were given out to the attendees, as you can see in the photo…

My husband accompanied me, as usual, and since it was a perfect evening for motorcycle riding, we arrived on our Harley. He dropped me off so I could get started while he parked the bike. My first shot was of this performer on the sidewalk next to Fountain Square…

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Turn right at the Witchy Bitchy Salon

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Travel Spirit

If you’ve been following my month-long European sojourn, you’ll recall from yesterday’s post that we had spent the day on trains, a boat and a bus, from Oslo, Norway to Bergen, Norway, via Norway in a Nutshell, through the beautiful Norwegian Fjords! Upon arrival to the train station in Bergen, although I had printed Google map directions to our Airbnb accommodations, I asked for assistance from a lady with a baby on her back, who definitely looked to be a local. She said to follow her…she was going in our direction. She brought us all the way to the “Witchy Bitchy Salon”, located about 15 minutes walk from the train station, which is where our host said to turn and go up a street to her place. I have to say that Bergen is filled with hills. Small hill…big hills…and more hills. Unfortunately, two of the wheels on my 50 lb. rolling suitcase broke on this leg of the trip, so I was pulling dead weight up these hills! We went up one hill and it was quite confusing with the street names being so similar and conflicting at the same time, so I began ringing door bells to ask assistance. One guy stuck his head out of his top window and tried to help.

There’s the Witchy Bitchy Salon on the left…