Saturday Spotlight on Ohio: Hancock Historical Museum and the Back Street Festival

Posted on September 3, 2011 by elliewick

When I first started this blog I posted about places in Ohio I would like to visit. I have visited some of them since then, but there are still many places on my list. Now as my time here is dwindling, there are sights and sounds around the state I want to spotlight. Some are old-time favorites, others I have been introduced to only recently and the rest are places on my to-do list. These places include restaurants, museums, gardens and other institutions, all reasons why I truly do love this state.

My last installment was the Flag City BalloonFest in Findlay. Up this week is another Findlay attraction, the Hancock Historical Museum and one of its events, the Back Street Festival.

The Hancock Historical Museum is located in a historic building on West Sandusky Street in Findlay. The house is an old, brick mansion (absolutely gorgeous, if I must say!). I wanted to visit because of a special bathtub housed in the museum. There isn’t anything I love more than wacky exhibit pieces (take the fingers at the Wood County Historical Museum, for instance), and I was impressed with something even more wacky than the bathtub.

Me in the U.S.S. Maine bathtub

The main rooms of the house are decorated in a historical fashion to approximate what they were used for when the house was lived in. And then, hanging in the upstairs hallway is a wreath made of hair. It was too creepy to photograph, but essentially, female hair was woven into an intricate design of flowers used as a wreath. A friend of mine who interned at the museum refreshed my memory on the history of this wreath. She said this one was made just for fun by the daughter of the family who lived in the house, but they are often made to give to suitors. I am quite thankful this practice has changed!

One of the main events the museum hosts each year is the Back Street Festival. The festival got its name from the street the museum is located on, which used to be called Back Street. In addition to tours of the house and even older buildings out back, there is also a car show with only pre-1941 cars. When a friend and I went to the 2010 event, we were lucky enough to be allowed to drive a 1916 Model T. Linsey took the helm and took me and the owner for a safe and quick ride down Sandusky Street.

Back Street Festival 1916 Model T

Of course, there aren’t pictures of us in motion, but we hopped back in the car for a quick photo before moving on to look at other cars.

I’m at the wheel of the Model T

I was looking for a Packard with its Goddess of Speed hood ornament, a car created by J.W. Packard of Warren, Ohio, so I could show off a car from my hometown, but there were none there. There were plenty of types of cars that I had never heard of, though, like this 1930 Willys Knight.

1930 Willys Knight

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Music makes people happy

Posted on September 2, 2011 by elliewick

By the reactions of the women in the crowd, you would have thought that Elvis was in the building.

He was, save for the fact that the Elvis these 50-, 60- and 70-year-old women were fawning over was, of course, an impersonator.

I never expected such a response. I knew people would be excited over the music because people love Elvis. But really, it was like Mike Albertwas the real thing.

Elvis in the audience

Mike Albert performed a show called “The Ultimate Tribute” at the Hancock County Fair last night, Sept. 1. I went because I had nothing better to do and I was curious to find out how good Albert was at being Elvis.

He was good. You could tell by all the excited people in the crowd and the people flocking to him as he sang most of his songs in the grandstand among the audience and not on stage. The women wanted to touch him, to get pictures with him and ultimately, to get a scarf from him.

The whole time I was in the audience, singing along to the few Elvis songs I know, I kept thinking about how happy all these people were, just by seeing a man dress like and sing like Elvis.

Albert had, without a doubt, noticed the same thing throughout his years as impersonating Elvis, because he commented on the attitude of the crowd numerous times, even saying, “We love to make people happy, and we find that Elvis music does the trick.”

Check out this video to see some of the songs Albert performed as Elvis:

In August, I had another one of these moments when I saw Gary Puckett in concert at another free concert in Van Wert, Ohio. I have more of a connection to Gary Puckett than Elvis, so I went to this concert specifically for the music.

Gary Puckett sings and plays guitar

When I was in high school, I got to perform on stage with Gary Puckett at the Wayne County Fair in Wooster, Ohio, because his then-pianist was a graduate from my high school and he wanted to do something for the music department. So a group of us got to be the horn section at the concert, which was absolutely incredible.

So now I know all the words to Gary Puckett and the Union Gap hits, like “Young Girl,” “Over You” and “Woman Woman.” I even have three signed records hanging on my walls.

This concert was just like the Elvis impersonator concert because so many women in the same age demographic were so excited to see Puckett perform. At least this performer was the original.

As an audience member, I could tell that Puckett could see how much the audience was enjoying his performance, because he sang until he was about to lose his voice.

And of course, after both concerts, audience members lined up for a meet and greet. I wanted to say hi to Puckett because it had been a handful of years since I had last seen him. The people waiting in line were great examples of the happiness these musical events created.

Gary Puckett and I

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It’s a 106 miles to Chicago

Posted on August 26, 2011 by elliewick

Well, it’s really 280 miles to my friend’s apartment in Chicago, but there is a rest stop on the Indiana turnpike that is just about 106 miles away.

I will be heading there tomorrow morning for my Labor Day weekend. I haven’t been a tourist in Chicago since early high school, though I have been back to the area a couple of times in more recent years for curling events. But I have not been downtown.

I know things will be different, but I have only vague memories of my time there anyway.

Through all my travels with my boyfriend, Jon, I have learned what it is like to travel with someone else and how many fewer sights I see as opposed to when I am alone.

I do not yet know how much time I will spend exploring Chicago alone or with Linsey — it will all be determined by her amount of homework. So I selected a much smaller list of sights to see that I am quite excited about.

When I arrive Saturday afternoon, I hope to check out the Uncle Fun and Paper Boy shops, both of which are “gag-gift” stores. We will likely have pizza at Lou Malnati’s and then see Big James, a trombonist, perform at Kingston Mines, a legendary blues club.

On Sunday, I want to take an ArchiCenter tour to learn about the rise of the skyscraper. I also want to see “the bean” in Millennium Park and check out Navy Pier. I’ve picked out the Billy Goat Tavern on Michigan Avenue for dinner, with its famous “cheezeborgers,” and it is also a classic newspaperman haunt. That evening I want to stop by Green Mill, a lounge that is the home of poetry slam.

On Monday, I am looking forward to the Lincoln Park Zoo and then perhaps the stop I am most excited about: the Chicago Brauhaus, which has Schnitzel and Stiegl beer and Gulaschsuppe.

From there, I will head home and Linsey will be off to class. On my way out of town there are a couple of ice cream establishments I am considering stopping at and I have another must — the Robie House on the University of Chicago campus.

I saw the Frank Lloyd Wright house, along with his house and many others in Oak Park, on my original visit. I want to return to the Robie House because the restoration of the house is now complete (it was turned into a dormitory!) and there should be a fantastic gift shop. I wanted to be an architect because of Frank Lloyd Wright, so stopping to see the house is a must.

Is this list of activities manageable? I sure hope so!

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The times they are a-changin’

Posted on August 25, 2011 by elliewick

My life will be nothing like anything I have ever experienced in roughly two months. I am beginning to realize the frenzy September and October will be and I still have a few days left of August.

I will be moving to Salt Lake City on a day not yet determined in late October to an apartment not yet found. I will be quitting my job with hopes that I can find some sort of gainful employment after not too long a stretch.

I am moving for love and for a more meaningful life. Findlay, Ohio, is not the right place for me, while Salt Lake City has quite the potential.

The only pictures of Jon and me in Salt Lake City are of us tandem bike riding

We’ve been more easily found recently at places like these:

On top of Mount Elbert in Colorado, the tallest mountain in the state

The rainbow-colored desert of Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada

I am trying to stay calm about the changes, though. Worrying will get me no where, and aside from an instance or two, I have been rather successful.

For those of you who know me, all of this is quite a feat, because I love plans and being in control of the situation. And truthfully, I probably am as in control of the situation as I can be.

There are people in the right places who know I am looking for work. What I studied at university is what I want to do with my life. I am not even in that bad of a work-related situation now, but with this move, I can realign and better work toward my dreams.

I am always reading posts on blogs about lessons learned that the writer wishes she could share with her younger self, likely upon her high school graduation. These lessons are things like studying your passion rather than something that will get you a job, studying abroad because you really will not miss out on all that much, and being yourself.

It is good that these people realize these things at some point sooner or later. But for me, ever since some point sophomore year of high school, I decided what I wanted to do and have not wavered. Maybe it is because I went into journalism having a pretty good idea of what it was like with a variety of high school journalism opportunities where I found much success. Maybe a lofty goal helped, too.

Whatever the case may be, I cannot say that I have not learned any lessons. The lesson I have learned the past few months is that journalism is the right path for me. As I look for jobs on the fringes of the journalism world, I realize that regardless of whether I may or may not be able to show that I have the skills to perform the job, I do not really want it anyway.

The things I did in college helped teach me and make me who I am. I have learned that the things I did either outside of class or outside of my required courses are the things people remember about me and are the most important things to me.

Caitlin and I dressed for the Falcon Marching Band

My 2010-11 curling team. Yes, I'm wearing a kilt!

Curling, marching band (I play the trombone), glass blowing, fencing, years of German courses, studying abroad twice in Salzburg, traveling Europe, Christmas in Romania, interning in New York City, and on and on. And all of those can help me be a better reporter. Everyone has something to teach and meeting people gives me the opportunity to learn.

The vibe I get from reading many travel blogs is that the important and meaningful thing to do is to quit your job (after hopefully saving some money) and travel the world, and that if you do not, then you cannot consider yourself a true travel blogger.

I do want to travel the world, but I do not think I have to quit working in my field to do that. Yes, it does involve quitting my current job, but even with it, I would say that I have been able to travel the world in the past two years more than I ever could have imagined.

So what am I trying to tell you through all this?

Each person has her own life to lead and fulfill. Some people find their path sooner or easier than others. If you do not know what you want, then quit sitting around doing something you do not love. Find a new hobby, take a class, join a club, learn something new, take a vacation or travel, read, exercise. Something. Anything. Just don’t say you cannot afford it or do not have the time, because if you want it enough, you will find some way to make it happen.

I think life is too short to be unhappy and filled with excuses and regrets. I have lived a happy life so far and regret nothing, including the exceedingly difficult beginner Czech class I took in German at Uni Salzburg, which is easily the worst thing I have ever done, but I still was able to learn about myself.

And if you are looking for an example, then consider me. I am concerned about what will happen when I move to Utah because there are so many unknowns, but I know it is a step in the right direction to improving my life. If I did not go, that would be something I would regret immensely.

And so, I think it is fitting that I leave you with something I have taped to my bedroom door and look at just about every day: the Holstee Manifesto.

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Wednesday photo: Chichen Itza’s El Castillo

Posted on August 17, 2011 by elliewick

My first real out-of-country adventures occurred in Mexico, on a family vacation to Cancun. When your mother was a Spanish teacher and knew Cancun before the massive development, and with a childhood of educational trips, it was clear we would not spend the whole time on the beach.

One of these adventures was a bus tour from Cancun to the Mayan site Chichen Itza, famous for its nearly perfect proportions in accordance with the sun, and other things like echos, a game court and sacrifices, all surrounding El Castillo. The guided tour I took here is the best guided tour I have ever had. Usually, I despise them. But on this tour I actually learned things and still remember them.

The most useful thing I learned that day was how to properly climb the steps to the top of the pyramid. The pyramid is at a 53 degree angle, while the stairs are at a 45 degree angle. The king would have to ascend these stair to the temple on top and he would be carrying offerings and wearing all sorts of ornamental objects. Not only would it be hot out, but he had to make it to the top with all sorts of things. The easiest way was crisscrossing back and forth across the steps. To descend, many people scooted down the steps, one by one, like a child.

There are a couple of other things I remember from this day, as well. One is that it was extremely hot that day, and I compare all excessively hot days to that day at Chichen Itza in June 2005. My day in Dubrovnik, Croatia, in May 2009, comes the closest.

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Postcard arrival: The Netherlands and Taiwan

Posted on August 16, 2011 by elliewick

I will feature a postcard from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and from Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan.

The first postcard is of a sunset behind the harbor of Rotterdam. The man who sent me the postcard also happens to be a freelancer for several Dutch magazines. The Taiwanese card shows the mountains and Sun Moon Lake at dawn. The setting is quite beautiful and I like the arc of boats in the water. I also like the stamp with a yellow flower. It’s a tabebuia chrysantha, which is native to South America. I wonder why it is on the Taiwanese stamp.

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Saturday Spotlight on Ohio: Flag City BalloonFest

Posted on August 13, 2011 by elliewick

When I first started this blog I posted about places in Ohio I would like to visit. I have visited some of them since then, but there are still many places on my list. Now as my time here is dwindling, there are sights and sounds around the state I want to spotlight. Some are old-time favorites, others I have been introduced to only recently and the rest are places on my to-do list. These places include restaurants, museums, gardens and other institutions, all reasons why I truly do love this state.

My last installment was Marblehead Lighthouse. Up this week is the Flag City BalloonFest in Findlay.

BalloonFest is this weekend, Aug. 12-14, at Emory Adams Park, southeast of the intersection of South Blanchard and Sixth streets, and is an event with 40 hot air balloons. Yesterday morning I got to go up in the sky with Ken Myers, the pilot of Ralphie 2, so that I could write an article for today’s newspaper (Balloonists take to the sky, ‘get together and have a ball’). Myers was quite entertaining and took me on a fantastic flight.

That's me standing inside Ralphie 2 as it inflates

Floating through the air in a wicker basket is rather amazing. Hot air balloons do not take off in bad weather, so the flight should be graceful and gentle. Mine was.My take off was so gentle that it was hard to tell the exact instant we left the ground. Myers said that yesterday’s weather was about as good as it gets.

Ralphie 2 reflecting in the Blanchard River

Morning departures, though, leave rather early, so I was up before the crack of dawn, which rarely happens. Conditions are ideal in the early morning and early evening.

Flights at BalloonFest are scheduled around that. There is a 6 p.m. flight tonight and a 7 a.m. flight Sunday.

Also tonight is a hot air balloon illumination at 8:30 p.m.

I would recommend being at Emory Adams for a flight and illumination. I have stood in awe twice watching the balloons being prepared for flight. And then at night, the illumination means that the propane used to heat the air that fills the envelope, the fabric part of the hot air balloon, glows in the dark.

Friday night illumination in 2010

To learn more about the festival, visit www.flagcityballoonfest.com.

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Left looking for more at Garden of the Gods

Posted on August 11, 2011 by elliewick

Don’t get me wrong. Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs is lovely with sandstone “hogbacks,” ridges of stone that has been tilted from a horizontal layer to a vertical layer and then sticks up from the ground. It is free and available for anyone to use. And the trails are basic and often quite level.

In short, the park was teeming with people (although I can’t prove it with the lack of people in my photos). It is wonderful that so many people are out enjoying nature, but Garden of the Gods is a bit chaotic. There were so many people, which made the place more difficult to enjoy. And, sadly, I wasn’t that awed by any of the rocks I saw.

Have I already become a jaded traveler exploring the western United States?

I like how the rocks mimic the trees - big at the bottom and pointy at the top

With the influx of tourists and locals visiting Garden of the Gods, a lot of precautions have been enforced. There are fences and paved paths, as you can see in the first photo. Parts of the park have been overrun, so the fences were installed to allow areas to return to a more natural state.

I understand the need for actions like these, and it is hard to see something visitors have abused.

I have a new-found love for rocks like the ones at Garden of the Gods, and I am impressed by the fact that wind, rain, snow and other weather patterns, along with the movements of earth’s plates, have created something like this. I marvel at the creation of rocks like these.It’s just that I was more impressed with what I saw at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, where rocks are all shades of white, orange and everything in between, and the rocks are quite plentiful.

What is missing at Garden of the Gods is any variation in color. Garden of the Gods is a place to be at sunrise or sunset or on a cloudy or stormy day when the sky would create something to add depth to the rocks. Whereas I visited on a day with bright blue skies with a few wispy clouds and a powerful sun. The colors were blue, orange and green with little variation. Even so, I think Garden of the Gods is a worthwhile stop. It is an urban oasis, which is clearly evident by the number of visitors. And it is a park that is easily accessible.

If you are looking for a challenge, another park or forest area would likely be a better choice, and there are plenty of other options not too far away, seeing as the Rockies begin just west of Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak is visible from the park.

Pikes Peak

If you like rock climbing or bouldering, there are plenty of options at Garden of the Gods, too, and we saw a variety of people out in small groups and classes on the rocks.

After we finished the Perkins Central Garden Trail, which is the main trail area, returned to the car via the Chambers/Bretag/Palmer Trail where there were a couple of boulders for Jon to conquer.And if you are looking for somewhere to stay, book a hotel in advance because everything, even the cheap and somewhat scary motels were booked solid. If you are tent camping, like we were, there is a Garden of the Gods Campground, which is not at or linked to the park, where there are expensive and unmaintained campsites. If you are traveling with an RV, that campground is built for you. The second night we camped in Colorado Springs, we headed up Rampart Range Road, which switchbacks up the mountains behind Balanced Rock inside the park, and found a campsite in Pikes National Forest land.

The view from Rampart Range Road also offered a nice view of Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak as the road curved around the foothills.

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Wednesday photo: Amsterdam

Posted on August 10, 2011 by elliewick

My final day in Amsterdam was a gloriously sunny day in April. I had been looking for a great bicycle shot my entire time in the Netherlands, and this was what I found.My trip, which was full of tulips, art and walking, was exceptional. This photo takes me right back.

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Saturday Spotlight on Ohio: Marblehead Lighthouse

Posted on August 6, 2011 by elliewick

When I first started this blog I posted about places in Ohio I would like to visit. I have visited some of them since then, but there are still many places on my list. Now as my time here is dwindling, there are sights and sounds around the state I want to spotlight. Some are old-time favorites, others I have been introduced to only recently and the rest are places on my to-do list. These places include restaurants, museums, gardens and other institutions, all reasons why I truly do love this state.

My last installment was the Sand Bar restaurant in Huron. Up this week is the Marblehead Lighthouse in Marblehead.

The lighthouse is on land that is a state park, which is free to enter. The lighthouse is on the shore of the main land, west across the Mosely Channel from Cedar Point and south of Kelley’s Island.I visited on an idyllic and hazy day (hence no good pictures of Cedar Point), but when a storm is coming or there’s lots of wind, this spot could easily become much less peaceful as the base of the lighthouse is just feet from Lake Erie.

Earlier this year, cracks were discovered in the tower, but officials determined they did not affect the structure and the lighthouse is still safe and visitors can continue to climb the 77 steps to the top for $2, which I did many years ago.

The lighthouse was built in 1821 and was 50 feet tall. Fifteen feet were added in 1903. The area became a state park in 1998.

The keeper’s house is open for tours as well, with information about the operation of lighthouses, the nearby quarry, and historical boating and shipping. Entry is free, but there is a donation box.

Marblehead Lighthouse State Park is located at 110 Lighthouse Drive, Marblehead. Information about the park is available by calling the East Harbor State Park at 419-734-4424.

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