Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in Cleveland Ohio

The Cleveland Indians were MY team for years.  We moved from Kentucky to Cleveland in 1998, right at the tail end of a great Indians run, and we started following the team about that time.  My all time favorites are Casey Blake and Cliff Lee from my time in the town.

We went to a lot of games at "The Jake" and had a lot of fun here. 

I had a chance to revisit this park for the first time in nearly a decade!

I mentioned it here, and here on my old blog.

Here are a few photos I took from a recent game against the Royals this year.  Check it out!

Oberlin College Campus, Oberlin, Ohio

Oberlin College Campus, OH.  This postcard is undated.

Oberlin Ohio

As you may know, I lived on the East side of Cleveland Ohio for about a decade.  I am still amazed when I think about all of the things in the area that I DID NOT do.

I wasn't as into history then as I am now.  There are a ton of great historic sites in the Northern part of Ohio that I never made it to.

So, when I made it back up north, I thought I should try to visit something I missed during my 10 years living away from Kentucky.  We made a point to visit the nice little college town of Oberlin.

Oberlin has some great history to it, especially relating to abolitionism and the underground railroad.  Plus, it is simply a beautiful town.  Check out these pics from our walk around Oberlin.

Cleveland Ohio Downtown at Night

I lived in Cleveland Ohio for a good part of my life.  In fact, most of my adult life has been spent there.  Maybe one of these days I will do a post about moving because of the economy and available jobs....  And what it was like going from small town Kentucky to a hoppin' big urban city like Cleveland.

I often describe my relationship with Cleveland as love/hate.  I had a lot of fun in this city.  I attended about 200 concerts (seriously, I once counted my ticket stubs) and probably as many sporting events.  Nice restaurants, historic sites, and fun small towns outside of Cleveland are common.

BUT, Cleveland also kicked my backside.  It can be a rough, aggressive town.  The cost of living is higher, and the entire vibe is tough and competitive.

And, looking back, a lot of how I see the city is simply small town vs. big city differences.

Anyway, this was my first chance getting to go downtown and walk around in many years.  I must say, many things have changed.

My old favorite downtown hang out used to be Fat Fish Blue near Tower City.  I loved that place, and spent many evening listening to great live music there.  Its now a totally different bar/restaurant.

Downtown looks spectacular compared to how I remember it looking.  They have really cleaned the place up.  In fact, I would now call it a beautiful downtown.  When I lived here, I might use words like dirty and questionable to describe it.  It has come a long way.

The Coffee Peddlar- Harrison Ohio

A friend of mine lives in the nice and comfortable town of Harrison Ohio, just outside of Cincinnati.  We decided to meet recently at the VERY nice coffee shop in town, the Coffee Peddlar.

This place is awesome!  Many locals came in and seemed very familiar with each other, and with the staff.  The vibe here wasn't just friendly, it was familial.  I heard more than one person asking about the live music playing later in the evening- noting that they would be back to listen.

Oh, and on the day I came, my coffee was paid for by a local church!  How cool is that?

If this place were in Kentucky, it might rival The Crème in Owensboro and Purdy's in Richmond as my favorite Kentucky Coffee shop.  The Coffee Peddlar is clean and cozy.  It is in a beautiful downtown area too.  I am sure I will mention these guys again soon.

Driving Around Lake Erie

We just got back from a trip to Niagara Falls, circling Lake Erie!  This makes the second of the Great Lakes that we have completely driven around in one trip.

In a lot of ways, this was a "revisit" kind of trip for us.  We would be stopping in communities we have been to many times before (Toledo, Cleveland, Niagara Falls, etc).  We agreed that we wanted to mainly do things in those areas that we never did before.

Time budgeting was (and always is) a factor.  I really wanted to visit the strange city of Erie PA again....  but other sites along the way won out.  We will have to visit Erie again on another day.

While living in northern Ohio, we actually made several trips to Niagara Falls, but we never did some of the standards, like the Maid of the Mist.  We really wanted to make sure we did that stuff this time around!

So, over the next few weeks I will try to organize my photos from the trip, and get some info up!

Country Cupboard in Madisonville Kentucky

My family insisted that I go to this place last time I was in Madisonville.  So, we all went to the MASSIVE buffet at Country Cupboard in Madisonville Kentucky.

Country Cupboard is kind of hidden, but still easy to get to right behind the mall.

Anyway, we got there for an early lunch on a Saturday and we loved the place.

I have to admit, there are certain places I like to go to over and over in Madisonville.  AND, when I am in this area, I usually hit the Godfather's Pizza in the mall.  I loved that chain, and they have about the only one left that I know of.  So, I was a little reluctant to make my way to Madisonville and NOT go for pizza in the mall.

But I am glad we went here.  The food is the real deal.  EVERYTHING was perfect.  I had some chicken, BBQ, mac and cheese....  well, I had about all they had to offer and they did it all right.  Pretty sure everything was homemade.

The place has a religious vibe.  I saw a picture of Jesus up.  Our waiter was friendly and everyone was polite.  This place has a mature, pleasant vibe.

John James Audubon Memorial Museum near Henderson KY

"The John James Audubon Memorial Museum.  Located in Audubon State Park near Henderson, Kentucky, the museum contains seven galleries of Audubonia, the largest collection in the world.  Audubon did many of his famous bird masterpieces in this area."

This postcard is unused, but I am guessing it is from the 60s or 70s.

Audubon State Park- Henderson Kentucky

I remember stopping by John James Audubon State Park in Henderson Kentucky (right across the river from Evansville Indiana) years ago.  Well, some friends were camping out there recently and we stopped by to see them.  I had forgotten how much I loved this place!

We mostly hung out in our friends camping lot, which was great fun.  It is easy to forget that US 41 is so close.  We felt very secluded.

We didn't go through the museum, but I did want to post up a few photos from around the campground.  Here they are!

Jackson Kentucky

Some of the sweetest people I know are from Jackson, in Breathitt County.

The area had a pretty rough reputation back in the late 1800s, early 1900s, but it seems to be a nice little country town now.

I went down to visit the other day and took some photos!