Ohio Bucket List

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Travel Spirit

Miles of pristine forested hiking, outdoor cafes, resplendent architecture, astonishing views, thrilling adventures, intoxicating gardens! Does this sound like your kind of get-away? Ohio has all of this and more! Here are a few of my favorite places…

The Fling Barn (Hillsboro, Ohio)

Situated on a 200-acre farm, an hour East of Cincinnati, The Fling Barn is a well-kept secret (well…not anymore) where you’re guaranteed to have a good time! Stuffed to the gills with Americana décor, featuring two bars, a dance floor, outdoor deck, and live rock n blues…it don’t get much better than that! In case you have too much fun, they have their very own Bed & Breakfast for your convenience, if it’s available.

~view from The Fling Barn (Images: Sherry Lachelle Photography)

Put-in-Bay

Located on Lake Erie, just over 4 hours North of Cincinnati, Put-in-Bay is Ohio’s split personality playground with a wild side to dive into…pretty people in skimpy bathing suits guzzling tropical adult beverages, but hop on a golf cart and within minutes you’re transported to a lake-side paradise of glistening blue water, rolling hills, and tranquility!

(Images: Sherry Lachelle Photography)

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First Assignment for I Spy Cincy…Taking Photos of Iconic Cincinnati Landmarks

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Travel Spirit

I’m so happy to tell you I’m now officially a part-time freelance photographer for an online magazine called “I Spy Cincy”! My first assignment was to go out and take photographs of iconic Cincinnati landmarks in the snow. One of my stops was the beautiful Eden Park, which is near downtown Cincinnati. Just before arriving, I spotted this beautiful tree, parked my car on the road and snapped a shot.

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Sunset from the Carew Tower

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Travel Spirit

Experiencing the sunset from the Carew Tower in Cincinnati, Ohio is a must-do if you ever visit or especially if you live here. I like being a “Tourist in my City” and take advantage of things to do in my own hometown! One of the camera club meetups that I belong to hosted an event at the top of the Carew Tower last night. From the time construction was completed in 1930 and up until 2010, the Carew Tower was the tallest building in Cincinnati and at a cost of $33 million, a very expensive one also! I arrived early to take some photos of Fountain Square and the Art deco inside the Carew Tower. I’m learning a lot in my weekly camera class and would have stayed longer to practice taking some additional night shots, but it got really cold.

Using my Nikon D5100, in manual mode I set my aperture at 8 and metered for my shutter speed away from the sun. With my camera on a tripod, I had my ISO set at 100 and white balance on Cloudy. A couple of the attendees said the color is more vibrant if it’s set on Cloudy. I had forgotten and left the image stabilization on which can cause photos to not be as clear if they are on a tripod. Luckily, one of the members reminded me, so I was able to get a few more photos with it off. I don’t have a remote trigger yet, so I used the self-timer for some of the shots.

My photos are shown backwards…from the end of the evening to the beginning. The Ohio River is meandering down below…

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Water Skiing on the Ohio River

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Travel Spirit

Saturday, my husband and I took my son and nephew boating and water skiing on the Ohio River. I’ve been water skiing since my 20’s and love slalom skiing (with one ski). We prefer the Ohio River to the area lakes because there are fewer boats, which means better skiing conditions. Because of weather and a surgery that my husband had, this was only the second time we’ve taken the boat out this season and most likely the last. Temperatures are supposed to drop into the 60’s by this weekend. The water was quite cold but invigorating! Slalom skiing is like riding a bike, once you’ve mastered it, you don’t forget how to do it. It feels great to be strong and continue to participate in sports as I get older.

My son took some good shots…

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The Party Place

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Travel Spirit

Yesterday’s post was about my Aunt Colleen’s 70th birthday and I promised I would put up photos from the house it was held at in Cincinnati, Ohio (aka “The Party Place”). It’s such an eclectic house, I just had to share it!

Here’s a portion of the kitchen and their fake butler…

The living room has a comfy retro decor with bright colors. Notice the Siamese cat on the sofa…

The entry way butler is serving a cat on a platter to you. This butler looks a bit snooty…

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70 is the new 60!

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Travel Spirit

We’ve all heard that expression, 50 is the new 40, 40 is the new 30, etc., well my Aunt Colleen shows that 70 can be the new 60! I attended her birthday party Saturday evening and my present to her was an enlarged photo of a small scanned photo of my late mother when she was in her 20’s. When my mother passed away a couple of years ago, I remember my Aunt expressing an interest in this particular photo. I asked that she open my gift first because I had another party to go to. This photo is a little blurry, but there wasn’t another one of us. I know it touched her because I took a couple of photos of her while she was opening it and it looked like she was going to cry. Anyway, the party was so much fun. It was held at my Cousin’s friend’s house, which was amazing and I’ll post photos of the house tomorrow.

This is my Cousin’s wife Courtne with two of their children and my other Cousin’s daughter…

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Pirates in the Park

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Travel Spirit

Women love pirates! I think because they are a little rough, usually handsome and bad boys. This pirate was at Party in the Park last night giving out free drink tickets for a local bar. It was a beautiful evening–close … Continue reading →

Plan B for Jimmy Buffett Concert

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Travel Spirit

Jimmy Buffett had a concert at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio Tuesday evening and my friend April (2nd from left) invited a group of friends out on her boat to listen to the concert from the water. What an adventure! Here we are pre-party. (Not taken with my camera…little fuzzy)

I’ve been boating on the Ohio River for 20 years and have encountered some hairy situations, but this one was the most intense. I’m usually with my husband (the Captain). Anyway, here are some pics before all of the “situations” occurred. Love this photo of April having fun driving the short 10-15 minutes to the concert. Grass skirt blowing in the wind…

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Tatoos and Hot Sauce

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Travel Spirit

Over the weekend, it was perfect weather for being in a pool and that’s where I was on Saturday, at the Four Seasons Marina pool. It was lively and crowded because boat owners weren’t taking their boats out due to high water on the Ohio River. There were seven of us women and I had my old camera (Olympus PEN) with me. We were having fun talking to a group of twenty-somethings and I took some photos of their tatoos.

I like how this one looks in black and white. It almost looks like he’s melting…

So colorful and creative…

April rode her motorcycle to the marina from a yoga class…such a fun pic!

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Midlife Madness

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Travel Spirit

Remember I was telling you how this past weekend was a non-stop party…this is from Friday night at the Four Seasons Marina in Cincinnati, Ohio. We met my friend April there, along with other friends…listened to a band, danced, talked, etc. Walking down the dock to April’s boat…it was fun to read some of the boat owners’ names for their boats.

Midlife Madness seemed very appropriate…

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Stormy Weather at the Cabana

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Travel Spirit

Last night the sky was filled with swirling masses of swollen colorful clouds waiting to release their rain. I couldn’t stop taking photographs. We went to a place on the Ohio River called the Cabana on the River. I love venues with live music located on the river. Although it was an hour drive, I enjoyed talking with friends, taking lots of photos, and dancing to one of my favorite local bands…Danny Frazier Band!

This bartender is a cutie…

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Ahoy Matie!

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Travel Spirit

Boating is a fantastic way to enjoy the outdoors and your friends! Saturday I had another fun day in Cincinnati on the Ohio River on my friend April’s boat. She invited four of us women friends and five other boats ended up tying up to us…so we had a party! Here’s Captain April…

Sometimes I get bored with boating, especially if I can’t ski…so I stay entertained by taking photographs and dancing. I really liked this candid shot of Cindy and April. April’s bathing suit is so cool…I love the neon and loopy fabric!

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Gettin’ Down with The Soul Pocket Band

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Travel Spirit

I’ve been a fan of the Soul Pocket Band for years now…groovin’ to their Mojo songs and had another opportunity last night at Newport on the Levee, a complex of shops, restaurants, free events and more, located on the Ohio River in Newport, Kentucky! I went my friend Teresa and had my new camera with me…a Nikon D5100 with an 18-200mm lenses. It’s a bit bulky compared to my last camera…especially when dancing, but I have a feeling it’s going to be a frequent companion!

You can make it out a bit here in Teresa’s sunglasses…

Here are some of the performers…Victoria

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Four Seasons Marina

Posted on June 4, 2013 by Travel Spirit

After attending Summerfair 2013 at Coney Island, my friend Kelley and I headed over to the Four Seasons Marina to have a late lunch at their restaurant…Pirates Cove. I couldn’t help but notice how pretty the clouds reflected in the water. They were probably noticing their own reflection…

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Party in the Park in Cincinnati

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Travel Spirit

Cincinnati has a weekly event during the spring/summer called Party in the Park. It’s located downtown, on the Ohio River. I usually attend a once or twice during the summer, but I’ve already been twice this year! They always have a band and stage set up in the grass and there’s usually a nice crowd, including families and people of all ages. As you can see from the photograph below, people arrive by boat also!