Browsed by
Category: Main

Dinosaur Kingdom II & Haunting Tales of Lexington: The Entertaining World of Mark Cline

Dinosaur Kingdom II & Haunting Tales of Lexington: The Entertaining World of Mark Cline

Natural Bridge: A town located in Rockbridge County Virginia, whose name is derived from its National Historic Landmark, a two hundred and fifteen-foot-tall natural limestone arch carved out by Cedar Creek a side stream that flows off the James River. Although the population of this small town is only right around fifteen hundred, it sees its share of visitors particularly during the summer traveling months. Tourists from all over flock to see the Natural Bridge that has often been included…

Read More Read More

The Coffee Pot Roanoke, Virginia

The Coffee Pot Roanoke, Virginia

Amid the many businesses located on the busy Brambleton Avenue area of Roanoke, Virginia, one seems to stand out. With its bright red windowed percolator sitting atop the rustic log cabin design, The Coffee Pot Roadhouse just might cause a newcomer to do a double-take. There’s no mistaking, The Coffee Pot certainly does have both a unique look and feel all its own. It was a late October evening, when I was invited to join parapsychology professor Deborah Carvelli during…

Read More Read More

Old City Cemetery, Lynchburg, Virginia

Old City Cemetery, Lynchburg, Virginia

I’ve often enjoyed a casual stroll through, many, a quiet cemetery. I have seldom brought this to many people’s attention, for the mere fact that it may seem strange or odd to regular folk, you know, to promenade in a graveyard without having any reason for it. I did feel a bit better about this after I had learned that a very reputable and “normal” pastor friend of mine, too, enjoys a cemetery walk every now and again. Once you…

Read More Read More

The Ohio State Reformatory, Mansfield Ohio

The Ohio State Reformatory, Mansfield Ohio

When one hears the word “prison,” the vision that most likely crosses people’s minds are far from that of The Ohio State Reformatory. With its towering Gothic turrets and stone castle appearance, the historic reformatory has a way of intimidating even the bravest of visitors. Photo credit Ivy Kingery My first visit to The Ohio State Reformatory (OSR) was a little over a year ago. As I headed onto 100 Reformatory Road, made that left turn and started down the…

Read More Read More

Avenel House Bedford, Virginia

Avenel House Bedford, Virginia

The town of Bedford Virginia is one of character, charm and lots of history. If you ride through Main Street and out onto some of its bordering drives, you’ll see residents taking morning runs, kids playing in yards, owners giving their furry friends their daily dose of exercise, and those avid gardeners working diligently to maintain their botanical masterpieces which, of course, adds to the beauty of this charming place. If you’re lucky enough, which I have been on several…

Read More Read More

Doing Disney Without The Kids: A Mother’s Confession

Doing Disney Without The Kids: A Mother’s Confession

I know, I know, the title alone sounds like some kind of cruel and unusual punishment. Like, what kind of sick and demented parents (or grandparents) would ever commence to such a heinous act?! I thought the exact same thing, but hear me out.   So it was January, and as I was marking our calendar for the new year, I noticed that we had a timeshare week we had bought into years ago that was about to expire. It…

Read More Read More

    The Greatest Love Story Ever Told… Mine

    The Greatest Love Story Ever Told… Mine

For the sake of my children, I add this disclaimer so as not to gross them out too awful bad… This work is a piece of fiction. Any similarities to real people (or your parents) are purely coincidental….     I’ll be honest, right off the bat it wasn’t really a love-at-first-sight sorta thing for me. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he definitely caught my eye and all, ya know, especially with the whole long hair, rocker thing going….

Read More Read More

Punderson Manor, Newbury Township, Ohio

Punderson Manor, Newbury Township, Ohio

In late September, my husband and I were, once again, back up in Ohio, but this time we “planned” our stay a bit ahead. We decided to spend one of our nights at the Punderson Manor Lodge, in Newbury Ohio. When we called for a reservation, there were several rooms in the “new wing” available that fell within our budget. This kinda bummed me out. If I was gonna stay in a “historic” hotel, I wanted to at least stay…

Read More Read More

The Steele Mansion, Painesville, Ohio

The Steele Mansion, Painesville, Ohio

  In mid-September, my husband and I were headed back to Ohio for another visit, this time it was for family. With our visits to the Tudor Arms, and Blennerhassett, we had made up our minds that we would try and be consistent in staying at one-of-a-kind accommodations instead of your run-of-the-mill chain hotels. Face it, if you’ve seen one Holiday Inn, you’ve seen ’em all. Now, I’m not knocking regular hotels, but they certainly don’t measure up to the…

Read More Read More

The Blennerhassett Hotel, Parkersburg, West Virginia

The Blennerhassett Hotel, Parkersburg, West Virginia

“It was late. The onyx-colored sky grew darker and darker as the midnight hour was drawing near… The weary travelers just longed for a place to lay their heads. It was calling them… It was luring them from miles away into the depths of its 128-year-old walls. It was waiting… The Blennerhassett Hotel sat patiently in the dead of night for its long-awaited guests to arrive…” Photo courtesy of The Blennerhassett Hotel, Andi Roberts photographer Jokingly, I posted the above…

Read More Read More