Sugarcreek Ohio July 2021

 I have brought up Sugarcreek Ohio here many times....  Its one of my all-time favorite towns.  We stopped by recently and I stumbled across a couple new shops.

Wallhouse Coffee Company Sugarcreek Ohio July 2021

 I have mentioned Wallhouse Coffee in Sugarcreek Ohio many times.  This is easily one of my favorite places to have coffee, ice cream, or a nice lunch.  Here is a video I posted to youtube about it.

Walnut Creek Cheese Walnut Ohio July 2021

 We visited one of my favorite grocery stores- Walnut Creek Cheese in July 2021!  Here is the video!

Wendell August Forge Berlin Ohio July 2021

 I posted a video I made about Wendell August Forge near Berlin Ohio in July 2021!

July 29th 2021 Eastern Kentucky Storm

 On July 29th, we were driving around the Eastern Kentucky area we were caught in a bit of a storm!  I made about a one and a half minute video as we pulled over.

Kentucky Castle- Lexington KY June 2021

 AND, here is a video from our recent tour of the Kentucky Castle!

Native Bagel, Berea Kentucky

I wanted to take a quick moment to give a thumbs up to Native Bagel in Berea Kentucky.  Owned and operated by fellow Berea alum Michael Startzman, this cozy little bagel/lunch/coffee place is right across the street from my favorite antique mall in the state, and its a very brief walk from campus.

 

Nancy Kentucky Battlefield June 2021

 Oh man, the citizens of the small town of Nancy Kentucky have several cool things that many bigger areas don't have.  They have a Civil War Battlefield that is now managed by the National Park Service AND they have a super cool coffee shop!

I have brought this area up before, and I am sure I will again because I really enjoy this area.

Also, in this video, I cover some ground I missed in my first youtube video on the area.....

"Ghosts of the Grand Canyon" by Judy and Brian-James Martinez

 You know, with COVID and all happening....  I went back and reread some books about some of my favorite places to visit (Niagara Falls, Gettysburg, The Grand Canyon).  I kind took some imaginary trips in my mind...  And, as I thought about these places I love, but know I won't be able to get to anytime soon, I discovered some books I hadn't read on these great places!

One GREAT book I stumbled upon was "Ghosts of the Grand Canyon" by Judy and Brian-James Martinez.  First off, I would have totally bought this book for the cover!  Check that out!

The book is written by former employees at the Canyon who know the trails, buildings, shops, and places to stay well.  They have spent a lot of time there.  And they have a lot of ghost stories to tell!

One really spooky one involved people hearing a voice telling them to "Jump!".  Other stories involve ghosts, skinwalkers, Native American folklore, and deaths.

Links to the Battle of Shiloh and the Rough Riders figure in to the stories....  as does Paul McCartney.

There is a lot of fascinating history here too....  I enjoyed the author's stories about Fred Harvey and the Harvey girls.

I could go on and on.  I have read a ton of ghost books, and some are very hit or miss.  This is one of the more interesting AND more original ones.  It gets my highest possible recommendation.

Opry Mills Mall Nashville Tennessee June 2021

 I have mentioned it before on this blog, but I recently posted a short video on Opry Mills Mall in Nashville to youtube.  I have been visiting here since it opened.

I do remember a time when you would go to Nashville just to visit all of their malls....  Then, you would go to Nashville just to go to Opry Mills.

"The Murder of Geneva Hardman and Lexington's Mob Riot of 1920" by Peter Brackney

 I mentioned another book by Peter Brackney some time ago........  He put out a great one called "Lost Lexington Kentucky" that I really loved.

So, he recently released another great book, "The Murder of Geneva Hardman and Lexington's Mob Riot of 1920".  I read this one the other day....

You know, I love Lexington, and love hearing about odd stories coming out of the area....  But I DID NOT KNOW about this one!

AND....  I don't want to give it all away (you should pick up a copy) but there is a murder of a young child.  Of course that is tragic, but the craziness of the situation afterwards really makes this a fascinating and bizarre read.  Let me tease you with this thought....  there were tanks in the streets of Lexington!

Brackney is a lawyer from the area, and he is the perfect guy to obsessively hunt down the facts of this case and put them into an easy to read volume.  He is telling the story, and anyone will be able to follow along....  BUT he also adds a lot of detail, almost giving you side stories about some of the characters (one person involved in the events would later die in a plane crash).

I appreciated seeing 100 year old photos of downtown Lexington.....  I recognize the buildings and areas......but the mobs and guns looked very much out of place.

This is easily one of my favorite newer books on Lexington and it gets my highest possible recommendation.

AMC in Lexington KY- Closed

And, I hate to see another old movie theater close....  I used to go to this one all the time.  I remember seeing movies here back in the 90s..

But, yeah, I saw that the AMC (it used to be a Carmike) theater in Lexington closed.

 

Riverwalk San Antonio Texas May 2021

 You can't go to San Antonio without seeing the Riverwalk!

Alamo Related Toy Soldiers

 And, just for the heck of it, while I am still on an Alamo kick........  Here are a couple of photos of Alamo collectibles I like a lot.....

The top photo shows some roughly 1/32nd scale soldiers I have painted.  Most are made by the great toy soldier companies Conte, TSSD, and Expeditionary Forces.  The top shelf is mostly well known Alamo defenders.  The bottom shelf is made up of Santa Anna's Army, with a couple of defenders misplaced beside them.

The lower photo shows a couple of action figures I remember from my childhood.

The Little Legends/Legends of the West line was out in the late 70s and early 80s.  They were the same scale as Star Wars, so you could have Davy Crockett shooting down aliens at your creature cantina playset.

I loved these small figures when I was little and I remember my mom buying them for me at some of the stores in Owensboro.

On the right is a very traditional looking Davy Crockett.  On the left is Santa Anna figure who really doesn't look that much like the famous Alamo general.

 

Briscoe Western Art Museum San Antonio Texas May 2021

I tip my hat to Davy Crockett's Cabin located inside of the Menger Hotel in San Antonio for telling us about the wonderful Briscoe Western Art Museum.

Menger Hotel San Antonio Texas May 2021

 There are some hotels around that are straight up legendary.  The Menger is at the top of that list.  In the massive state of Texas, it might be the MOST legendary.  

On our recent trip to town, we were able to spend some quality time there over a few nights.

We had a very cozy room and we had several meals at the restaurant.

The Menger is famously haunted- though we did not experience anything ourselves on this visit.  I DID hear a weird voice there on a previous visit, and I did bring that up briefly in the video.

I am fascinated with this hotel for several reasons myself as it is built right beside the Alamo.  No doubt, men fell on this ground at that time.  Also, Teddy Roosevelt and Gutzon Borglum spent time here.  AND, its just a beautiful old hotel.

Davy Crockett's Cabin San Antonio Texas

Inside of the Menger hotel, there are several cute little shops.  We had enjoyed visiting the old toy soldier shop that used to be there selling King and Country Miniatures.

Well, that spot is now occupied by the GREAT Davy Crockett's Cabin!

Sure, they had some of the basics other stores had, like T-shirts.  BUT, they had some more interesting items too.  Like the shop here before it, they had some highly detailed and collectible toy soldiers.  For the kids, they had bags of plastic soldiers and other toys.

They had an impressive selection of books too.  AND, it was the only place in town where I found a Lego style Davy Crockett mini figure (the Legoland Discovery Center next door didn't even sell one of these!).

AND, the very friendly fellow who runs the place, Martin, is a great ambassador for the area!  We ended up talking to him for a long time, and he made several suggestions for our visit to the area! 

Again, this great shop is just a baseball's throw away from the Alamo AND it is inside of the historic Menger Hotel!

 

Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk May 2021

  On our first trip to San Antonio, we stayed at the very nice Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk.  We stopped by again and hung out our trip in May 2021.

Starbucks in San Antonio Texas

Inside of the Shops at Rivercenter Mall, just steps away from the Alamo, we stopped by a cozy little Starbucks one evening.  

I know, its a Starbucks, but I admired all of the artsy references to the Alamo inside.

 

H & R Bakery in Salem Indiana

Salm Indiana has about one of the all time coolest coffee/donut places I have ever scene.  We stopped on a recent trip through southern Indiana and I am so glad we found this place.

When you walk in it has a spacious traditional donut shop feel...  there are display counters full of various donuts.

I ordered a pastry and coffee and both were great.  There was a very sweet lady who took my order too.  

The thing that really impressed me though was that the place has a toy train display!  There is a nice seating area where you are surrounded by shelves of trains, and a layout that goes along the wall!

I have always appreciated a train layout, and have even done some stuff in HO scale myself.  I believe the collection here is bit bigger than HO (S?)

It looks great though, and I enjoyed checking it all out.  

Downtown Salem is just a bit off of the main drag, so make sure you look for it on your next roadtrip!

 

Hard Rock Cafe San Antonio Texas

I wanted to put up a few photos from the Hard Rock Cafe in San Antonio.  I still love stopping by HRCs when we travel.  I usually pick up a pin or two.

I know the chain has become a bit cliche over the years.....  but I always love seeing cool rock memorabilia.  AND, I have never had a bad meal at one.

 

The Alamo in San Antonio Texas May 2021

 We were so lucky to visit the Alamo in San Antonio Texas again recently.  I posted this video to youtube about it.  

Here are also a couple of photos with a Teddy Roosevelt look a like Texas Ranger, and reenactors at the Alamo.  

Also I have included the small container that holds the remains of the Alamo defenders in the front of the San Fernando Cathedral.  No visit to San Antonio or the Alamo is complete with out stopping by this wonderful church.

AND, ANOTHER trip to San Antonio Texas!

So, not too long ago my wife and I were thinking of doing a four day trip somewhere, and she suggested San Antonio.....  again.  I immediately said that sounded good to me.  No arguments.  San Antonio has become one of those places we love, and we are OK with going back as often as possible.  There are spots there I feel drawn to......  and spots that I still want to discover.

This would be our 3rd trip to this great Texas town in about a six year period.  

I made several videos of our time in town that I will be posting.

Of course we spent time at the Alamo again.  We went to the market.  We were all over the Riverwalk.

We did visit the AMAZING Briscoe Western Art Museum for the first time.  We were FINALLY able to stay at the legendary Menger Hotel.  AND we attended a service at the San Fernando Cathedral.  More on all of those things later.

San Antonio is filled with historic hotels, and we felt lucky to get a room at the Menger this time, but we still ended up hanging out a bit at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk, which is right across the street from the Alamo.

We stayed at this slick hotel on our first trip to town and it is kinda special to up.  Part of the Riverwalk actually flows through the hotel.

On our first trip to San Antonio, we really enjoyed our stay at this hotel, and we hung out at their coffee shop each day, enjoying tea and coffee, and writing out our postcards.

It was nice going back to that little spot, which might be unremarkable to some, but has become special and sentimental to us.

We really enjoyed the service at the San Fernando Cathedral too.  Your visit to the Alamo is incomplete if you don't visit this church, as the remains of the Alamo defenders are here AND the church played a part in the battle.

I asked the priest to bless some water for me and he said a very sweet blessing.  I can't really explain it, but this church service and interaction with the priest was very special for me.

This was our first trip that we were not able to do a ghost tour with Sisters Grimm, but we still made a quick stop to their shop, which is inside of the Menger Hotel (accessible from the outside of the building).  I have raved about them before and I hope you make sure to do a tour with them on your San Antonio trip.  I really love what they do.

I will be posting some video's over the next few days of one of this great and historically rich city.