Just across the river from Louisville in Ohio there is a very interesting park. In this park there is a massive fossil bed from where the river has receeded. Fossil collecting here is illeagal, so there are lots of fossils to be seen.
There is a museum on site that tells you what all the different fossils used to be and why there are fossils there, but I never really payed much attention. I was far more interested in going exploring to find fossils. At that point in my life I wanted to be an archeologist so I was so excited to be there.
What I do remember is that there are fossils there that date back to the times when the earth was covered by ocean. There was also some giant fish fossils there. I remember thinking that the fish was large enough to eat me (I was proably 8 at the time).
Looking back, it's interesting to think that the whole area might have been built over had Louisville been built on the Ohio side of the river. The city of Louisville stretches right to the edge of the river. About ten years back they built a boardwalk right along the river so giant paddle boats could dock. Had this occured across the river, all those fossils may have never been found.
It makes me wonder what might be underneath Louisville.
North Carolina
One summer, my best girlfriends and I went to our friend's step-father's time-share in North Carolina. To get there you drive to a town called Duck where the road ends. From there you take have to take a 4x4 truck a few miles down the beach to get to the house.
The house is pretty secluded. The only people you see are others who live in surrounding beach houses. The house is on stilts to avoid flooding from hurricanes and has about 5 rooms and a loft. Besides that there isn't much, but we didn't need much else.
The beach there is gorgeous. On one night we had the perfect girly fantasy: it was sunset and wild horses were running down the beach while dolphins jumped 50ft out from the beach. No joke. I know it sounds sounds like a Paul Frank folder from first grade, but it really happened.
Most days were sunny and we layed out from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. periodically taking breaks to cool off in the water or re-apply sunscreen.
The water was very cold, but there were perfect waves for boogie boarding. A few times my friends had to force me to go back to the beach because I was starting to turn blue. However, even when we weren't in the water, the waves were the perfect kind that are really pretty to watch.
That trip was the last one all of my high school friends took before we went to college. I will always have very fond memories of North Carolina.
The house is pretty secluded. The only people you see are others who live in surrounding beach houses. The house is on stilts to avoid flooding from hurricanes and has about 5 rooms and a loft. Besides that there isn't much, but we didn't need much else.
The beach there is gorgeous. On one night we had the perfect girly fantasy: it was sunset and wild horses were running down the beach while dolphins jumped 50ft out from the beach. No joke. I know it sounds sounds like a Paul Frank folder from first grade, but it really happened.
Most days were sunny and we layed out from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. periodically taking breaks to cool off in the water or re-apply sunscreen.
The water was very cold, but there were perfect waves for boogie boarding. A few times my friends had to force me to go back to the beach because I was starting to turn blue. However, even when we weren't in the water, the waves were the perfect kind that are really pretty to watch.
That trip was the last one all of my high school friends took before we went to college. I will always have very fond memories of North Carolina.
New York
Near the art gallery PS 101 in New York there is a large outdoor grafetti gallery. Artists apply to paint a certain part of the building and the management approves their grants and they get about two weeks to put something up.
The gallery is set inside a courtyard between a few buildings. The art goes up 5 stories covering doorways, fire escapes, and every brick surface. There is even a loading dock that has been painted.
I think grafetti is a very underrated art form. I've watched similar legal grafetti be created in Venice Beach. It is incredible what some people can do with spray paint. Even though the medium is usually the same, spray paint on brick, it can take on so many forms.
Seeing so much grafetti in one place is very overwhelming. Each artist gets a space about 10 feet by 10 feet and they fill it all. Even though it was raining and cold when we visited, my friends and I spent about 45 minutes walking around.
I'm not sure it's exact location but any NYU hipster could tell you where to find it.
The gallery is set inside a courtyard between a few buildings. The art goes up 5 stories covering doorways, fire escapes, and every brick surface. There is even a loading dock that has been painted.
I think grafetti is a very underrated art form. I've watched similar legal grafetti be created in Venice Beach. It is incredible what some people can do with spray paint. Even though the medium is usually the same, spray paint on brick, it can take on so many forms.
Seeing so much grafetti in one place is very overwhelming. Each artist gets a space about 10 feet by 10 feet and they fill it all. Even though it was raining and cold when we visited, my friends and I spent about 45 minutes walking around.
I'm not sure it's exact location but any NYU hipster could tell you where to find it.
New Jersey
Last summer I took a trip to southern New Jersey. We stayed in a friend's beach house. There were plenty of beds and we were only a few blocks from the beach.
Unfortunately we went down during a heat wave. We would wake up at 9 a.m. to 90 degree temperatures and it only got hotter as the day went on. It was so hot that we couldn't stay inside and would sit out on the porch all day.
Most days would start out with a cold shower in the outdoor shower, make a drink, and sit wrapped in a towel until all the water evaporated from my skin and I got too hot. Then I would repeat. We took turns using the shower and making frozen drinks. It was almost to hot to walk down to the beach, we only made it their twice the whole week.
There is a restaurant in south Jersey called Dino's. Supposedly it is famous locally. We made a special trip to go there. Jersey subs are ridiculous. They are at least a foot and a half long. I watched people eat a whole one by themselves in amazement. And in case a person can't get to Dino's they deliver to the beach or anywhere else in the country you might be.
Before I visited I had always heard bad things about Jersey, but from my time spent there I don't think its so bad. I had fun. It is a little weird that you can't pump your own gas though.
Unfortunately we went down during a heat wave. We would wake up at 9 a.m. to 90 degree temperatures and it only got hotter as the day went on. It was so hot that we couldn't stay inside and would sit out on the porch all day.
Most days would start out with a cold shower in the outdoor shower, make a drink, and sit wrapped in a towel until all the water evaporated from my skin and I got too hot. Then I would repeat. We took turns using the shower and making frozen drinks. It was almost to hot to walk down to the beach, we only made it their twice the whole week.
There is a restaurant in south Jersey called Dino's. Supposedly it is famous locally. We made a special trip to go there. Jersey subs are ridiculous. They are at least a foot and a half long. I watched people eat a whole one by themselves in amazement. And in case a person can't get to Dino's they deliver to the beach or anywhere else in the country you might be.
Before I visited I had always heard bad things about Jersey, but from my time spent there I don't think its so bad. I had fun. It is a little weird that you can't pump your own gas though.
Missouri and New Hampshire
I've driven through both of these states but have never spent more than a hotel stay or meal in either of them. They seem like nice enough states. Maybe a special trip to each is in order.
Mississippi
I spent one or two Christmases in Mississippi when I was very young. My grandparents rented condos on the beach in the winter and we would go down and visit.
I remember thinking it was odd that there was no snow and my mother telling me that the white beaches were kind of like snow. Ever since, when ever I see that really white sand I think of snow and feel a little cold even if it is 90 degrees out.
I remember thinking it was odd that there was no snow and my mother telling me that the white beaches were kind of like snow. Ever since, when ever I see that really white sand I think of snow and feel a little cold even if it is 90 degrees out.
Michigan
There are three ways to get from Buffalo to Milwaukee:
1. Drive south around lake Erie, through Chicago, and north
2. Drive north into Canada, through Ontario, through Detroit, and up around Lake Michigan and south
3. Drive north into Canada, through Michigan, and take a ferry across Lake Michigan.
I've never tried #2 but it seems very long. #1 takes about 12 hours and #3 is hell if you get sea sick. This blog entry is about #3
There is a ferry that starts in Michigan and ends in Wisconsin. Its an old tank boat and it hasn't been spruced up in about 15 years. The trip takes about 3 hours and is pretty boring.
The last time I took the ferry I got very sick. I often get motion sickness and on this boat I got it the worst it has every been. So I tried to amuse myself with the entertainment provided.
On one deck they were showing the movie "Hope Floats." It stared a famous 90s actress like Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock or someone like that. I remember there was country dancing and that was about all that I remember.
On another deck they were having a game show where you heard the beginning of a song and had to identify it. I remember I got a question right by identifying Train's new single and I think that my sister got Eiffel 65. That is how long ago this trip was.
The ferry across Lake Michigan isn't horrible, but the drive is a lot more interesting. If you ever find yourself trying to make a decision between the two, I'd go with driving.
1. Drive south around lake Erie, through Chicago, and north
2. Drive north into Canada, through Ontario, through Detroit, and up around Lake Michigan and south
3. Drive north into Canada, through Michigan, and take a ferry across Lake Michigan.
I've never tried #2 but it seems very long. #1 takes about 12 hours and #3 is hell if you get sea sick. This blog entry is about #3
There is a ferry that starts in Michigan and ends in Wisconsin. Its an old tank boat and it hasn't been spruced up in about 15 years. The trip takes about 3 hours and is pretty boring.
The last time I took the ferry I got very sick. I often get motion sickness and on this boat I got it the worst it has every been. So I tried to amuse myself with the entertainment provided.
On one deck they were showing the movie "Hope Floats." It stared a famous 90s actress like Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock or someone like that. I remember there was country dancing and that was about all that I remember.
On another deck they were having a game show where you heard the beginning of a song and had to identify it. I remember I got a question right by identifying Train's new single and I think that my sister got Eiffel 65. That is how long ago this trip was.
The ferry across Lake Michigan isn't horrible, but the drive is a lot more interesting. If you ever find yourself trying to make a decision between the two, I'd go with driving.
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