Tag Archives: meetup.com

2022 in Review

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2022 was definitely a year of travel! My first trip was in late Jan/Feb for almost a month in Honolulu, Oahu. Although I went by myself, I had lined up a few dates through online dating and also went to a couple of Meetup.com happy hours. It was a nice escape from the winter here in Northern Kentucky.

I left in early April for almost three months in Europe, 5 countries, 21 accommodations, with 18 day trips. It was a trip of a lifetime! When you travel solo, you tend to meet people more easily. I met a man at the beach in Mykonos, Greece and had dinner with him, a man and his family from a Facebook Europe travel group in Colmar, France, another lady from the same group in Colmar, France, and was invited to a friend’s country home in Chania, Greece.

I started in Rome for six nights with day trips to Tivoli and Orvieto. (Photo at Villa d’Este, Tivoli, Italy)

I traveled by train most of the time. Next I spent seven nights in Spoleto with day trips to Perugia, Assisi, and Spello. (Photo in the town of Spello)

My next destination was Florence where I spent eight nights with day trips to Siena (photo below), Lucca, and San Gimignano.

With nine nights in Paris, I was able to take day trips to Rouen, Versailles, Chartres, and Troyes (photo below).

Rouen shown below

During my five nights in Tours, France I took a shuttle bus to see some amazing Chateaus: Villandry (the gardens)…

Azay-Le-Rideau…

Cheverny…

Amboise, Chambord, Clos Luce, and Chenonceau.

I also had my hair colored/cut and had a spectacular 90 minute massage!

The seven nights I spent in Colmar, France were some of my favorite. It’s a magical place.

I took day trips to five quaint towns surrounding Colmar: Riquewihr, Kayserberg-Vignoble, Ribeauville, Equesheim, and Turckheim.

I also took a day trip from Colmar to Strasbourg, which I loved!

I began my time in Germany with five nights in Freiburg Im Breisgau (Black Forest) with day trips to a couple of area lakes. My Airbnb host let me borrow her bicycle which I rode often. I also went to a day spa with indoor/outdoor mineral pools.

Next, I made the journey through towns along the Romantic Road and spent one night each in Wurzburg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Dinkelsbuhl (photo below), Noerdlingen and Augsburg.

The last stop was in Fuessen for two nights. The Neuschwanstein Castle is located here. The first photo was taken while on the uphill walk to the castle…

I flew from Munich to Mykonos where I spent four nights.

Then took a ferry to Santorini for three nights.

To finish my Greek Islands experience, I flew to Chania, Crete, and spent three glorious days.

Next up was Switzerland…I flew to Zurich, took the train to Lucerne and spent two nights.

I backtracked and spent three nights at Lake Como, visiting Varenna, Menaggio and Belaggio (photo below).

I spent eight additional nights in Switzerland and discovered it’s my favorite European country! The hiking is amazing!

Took the Bernina Express Scenic train to St. Moritz for two nights. (Photo taken from a hike)

Took the Glacier Express Scenic train to Zermatt for two nights. (Photo taken from a hike)

Spent four nights in Lauterbrunnen (Photo taken from a hike)

In September I took a 10 day road trip through Michigan, Traverse City, Taquamenon Falls State Park, Marquette, Munising in the Upper Peninsula, and Mackinac Island. My dear friend Sherry joined me for the UP and Mackinac. (Photo: Pictured Rocks Boat Tour)

In October, a friend and I drove to the Smoky Mountains and hiked for a couple of days.

Finally, in December I found an inexpensive ($160 including luggage) flight to St. Petersburg, Florida and rented a beautiful Airbnb for 10 days. A new girlfriend joined me for part of the trip.

The holidays are rough for me since my husband and only child passed away a few years ago. I don’t contemplate suicide like I used to. I’m getting used to living alone. On Christmas Day I had brunch with my brother and his wife and then went to a get-together at a girlfriend’s home.

A few other things to note: I had my bathrooms and kitchen remodeled and after a six month break from online dating, joined five sites and have gone on too many first dates to remember 🙂 I also joined a health club and have been working out pretty regularly.

I’m writing this on my deceased son’s birthday. We named his Justin, because he was born Just-in time for the new year. I miss him so much. I’ve been invited to go out this evening, but I’ve decided to stay home.

I’m looking forward to a trip I planned to Mexico City for the month of February. I’ve always gone to beaches when I’ve visited Mexico, so this will be a nice change.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

Meetup.com Hike in Ludlow, Kentucky

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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.

Meetup.com is great for solo travelers

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I joined Meetup.com back in 2007 after a divorce and it was a great way to meet people. First it was a hiking meetup, then a wine-tasting meetup, followed by others. Thinking of ways to combat my loneliness during my month-long stay on Oahu, I checked out the meetups that were available and joined a few. I ended up going to two events, both were Happy Hours. After a couple of Mai Tai’s, I was hamming it up for this photo 🙂

At the end of the evening…

I met a girl at one of the Happy Hours and she invited me to her pool, which was lovely.

I didn’t have a beach bag with me, so when we walked a couple of blocks from her apartment that she rented for 6 weeks to work remotely, I naively placed my keys, cover-up, and wallet in her bag. After a while, I decided to take a walk on the beach for 15 minutes and when I returned, she had vanished. I called and texted her repeatedly, to no avail. I thought perhaps she had went back to her place, so I walked back and luckily remembered her floor number. My phone was almost dead and there was a guy on the elevator, so I asked him if he had a charger for my type of phone…he did, so I explained the situation and he said if she wasn’t at her place to come to his and I could charge my phone. She wasn’t at her place, so I went to his, which felt awkward, being in a male stranger’s apartment. Anyway, as I’m charging my phone, he was preparing dinner and invited me to dine with him, which I did. She finally called me back (1 ½ hours later) and said she was at the pool bar and for me to join her. I explained I didn’t want to walk back in only my bathing suit and was eating dinner so she said she’d be back within an hour. As soon as she returned, I retrieved my things, checked my wallet in front of her, and could tell she was very inebriated…her apartment smelled like vomit. She wasn’t apologetic. To make a long story a little shorter, just recently (which is 4 months later) I received an e-mail from Walmart concerning a purchase I made, but it wasn’t me (I won’t go into the details, but I could tell it was her). I had to cancel my credit card and change my passwords. Lesson learned!

I took this photo while taking my naive walk on the beach.

Hiking at Buzzardroost Rock & don’t forget the Wine

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Buzzardroost Rock is a moderately difficult 3.5 – 4.4 mile round trip trail (depending on where you begin) in the Edge of Appalachia Preserve system of Adams County, Ohio.  Far above the waters of Ohio Brush Creek, the panoramic scene from this hilltop has been called Ohio’s most spectacular view.  I organized the hike through Tri-State Hiking Club, one of my meetup.com organizations and guided approximately 20 people.  Most of us met at a carpool location because the trail is almost an hour and one-half from Cincinnati.

The view is outstanding!

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Here I am looking quite triumphant having reached the top.

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All of the colorful jackets and accessories added some pizzazz to the dreary scenery!

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Harmony Hill Vineyards

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Harmony Hill Vineyards  in Bethel, Ohio is the perfect way to spend an afternoon and/or evening!  I met my Meetup.com hiking club there yesterday and took a short hike…probably a mile…around the vineyards.  The history of the farm is really interesting.  The owners named the farm Harmony Hills after witnessing all of the wildlife existing in perfect harmony.  They grow hay and medicinal herbs in addition to the grapes on their 70 acres of sustainable farmland.  In 2006 they were certified as a National Wildlife Federation Remote Wildlife Habitat!

Here’s the entrance…

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And some of the beautiful vineyards…

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Hiking Dayton, Kentucky

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Saturday I went on a three-mile hike with my hiking club through Meetup.com in Dayton, Kentucky, which is located along the Ohio River, across from Cincinnati.  It has finally started to warm up some and the sun was shining!  We split into a faster group and a slower group.  I’m always in the fast group, but wanted time to take photos…so I joined the slower group.  In this photo you can see the faster group up ahead…

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My Life Lately

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I thought I’d give you a more personal look at my life lately!  I joined a new Meetup.com group a few weeks ago that focuses on cooking.  Seeing that I’ve made over 160 new recipes from Pinterest this past year, it’s quite appropriate.  I volunteered to host the first gathering, which was held at our house Saturday evening.  The theme was Mexican and there were 12 of us.  Because I was the hostess…I didn’t need to cook.  Everyone else brought the food.  It was still quite a bit of work to make sure the house was clean, to assist the night of, and to clean again afterwards; but I enjoyed the company and the food was delish!

I joined another Meetup group for creative people and attended the first meetup the other night.  There were about 9 of us…so we went around the room and shared a little about ourselves and I’m signed up for the next event, an art exhibit for one of the members!

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Urban Hike…Downtown Cincinnati

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Yesterday, I went on a two-hour “urban” hike through the streets of downtown Cincinnati with my hiking club.  Like many people, I’ve taken my own City for granted and am excited to be doing more things around my hometown.  We started our hike at Fountain Square…

In the winter there is a temporary ice skating rink set up…

As you can see, I like to display my photos as a collage now-a-days, because it doesn’t take up too much space that way…so I can display more photos.

We stopped in a few hotel lobbies to view their holiday decorations and to warm up briefly from the chilly weather (30’s) outside.

I discovered many new sites while walking…this statue of Abraham Lincoln is cool…didn’t even know it was here.

The two big buildings on the right are the Procter & Gamble headquarters.

Some of my photo collages are just for art’s sake…combining a variety of photographs that have interesting textures, colors and/or shapes.

A major grocery store in town is the Kroger chain.  It was started in 1883 by Bernard Kroger, who invested his life’s savings-$372 (roughly equal to $8,739.34 today) to open a grocery store in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Cincinnati.  Kroger was the son of a merchant, and his slogan was simple: “Be particular. Never sell anything you would not want yourself.”  In the 1970s, Kroger became the first grocer in America to test an electronic scanner.  It is the second-largest grocery retailer–behind Wal-Mart–with over 3,600 stores located mainly in the midwestern and southern states.

Our newspaper is The Enquirer and Macy’s is a popular department store.

The Cincinnatian Hotel is one of the upscale hotels located downtown…

There were gingerbread creations on display…

We stopped at Cadillac Ranch…a restaurant/bar…for a late lunch.  They have a mechanical bull to ride.  I haven’t tried it yet.

The photos below are of Garfield Place.  In 1882, after the assignation of James A. Garfield (1831-1881), the short-lived Ohio President, the two block “park avenue” was memorialized as Garfield Place in 1882.

As we walked through the Netherland Hotel, I was surprised to discover that it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994.

There was a lovely water feature in the hotel…

The two photos on the right are large “graffiti” paintings on buildings and the photo on the left is in front of the library.  It’s a sculpture of books!

This is one of my favorite shots…

An Urban Hike is a great way to learn about your own City…so don’t let the cold keep you from getting outside!

Hiking in Hocking Hills State Park

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Since returning from my whirlwind trips through Washington, British Columbia, Colorado and New Mexico, I’ve been thinking more about finding beauty in your own backyard.  Many people from Cincinnati usually feel that there are much better places to live than here, but because of work or family, continue to reside in this area.  I’m beginning to embrace living here and realize there are wonderful places for enjoying the “great outdoors”.  I have been a member of Meetup.com for four years and joined a hiking club at that time.  My friend Dee, my husband Randy and I decided to take a day trip to Hocking Hills State Park, which is located 2 1/2 hours from Cincinnati in Logan Ohio, to hike 5-6 miles with the club.  These are photos from the day…

This is a “Hickory Horned Devil” and then it becomes a “Royal Walnut Moth” or “Regal Moth”.  Later that day when I showed my friend Dee a photo of it, she thought it was a fake photo because it looks like it has sunglasses on.  It was about 4 inches long by 1 inch wide.

Since I was taking quite a few photos…I was usually lagging behind and had to run to catch up…but sometimes it’s better to be by yourself.  It’s quieter, no people in your photos and the timing was good for getting this photo.  I was told that this guy just dropped out of a tree a minute earlier.

 

I love the “gnarled” look of these roots…

 

Everything seemed to have a green hue…lots of moss-covered rocks and even trees.

 

Since today was a record 100 degrees…I had to take a dip in the ice-cold water!

 

This is Dee…

 

I usually try to turn around frequently when I’m taking photos so that I can see things from a different vantage point or observe when the light changes or is really nice…like this photo!

Hope you’re finding beauty in your day!