Cincinnati, Ohio Trip ~ July 2023

Here's the next installment of the summer Kentucky adventures. :) 

On the 12th of July, my friend Debby and I drove to Cincinnati, Ohio to explore. We parked and walked along the river, then over a bridge. Enjoy this chronological picture journey of our day. 🙂 (Remember you can click on any picture to enlarge.) 

"American Queen Paddlewheel"

The American Queen paddlewheel is a tribute to the grandest steamboat ever built. The American Queen was constructed during 1995 by the Delta Queen Steamboat Company, which traces its roots back to the Green Line Steamers founded in 1890. The centerpiece of the National Steamboat Monument is an exact replica of the three-story paddlewheel steamboat in the world. Cincinnati continues to welcome the Delta Queen Steamboat Company tourist boats throughout the spring, summer, and fall each year. 

Our first stop was to walk the John Roebling Suspension Bridge. You can see it off in the distance in the picture. It spans the Ohio river, connecting Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky.

A bit of history at this place. 

Lots of beautiful flowers and trees everywhere. 

Views from the suspension bridge...

At first we were only going to walk halfway across the bridge, but seeing the murals off in the distance intrigued us so we walked the whole way. :) 

Each mural was masterfully well-done; a piece of history with a date and title attached to it. This first one was called The Great Buffalo Road: 1800 B.C. 

1782

 G. Rogers Clark, Simon Keinton, & Daniel Boone: Meeting at the Point

1805

Kennedy's Ferry

1856

The Flight of the Garner Family

1862

Pontoon Bridge

Jacob Price ~ African American Community Leader

1867

Vision and Ingenuity

1890s

Henry Farney (1847-1916) & Frank Duveneck (1848-1919): Artists in Residence

1921

Latonia Racetrack

1840s ~ 1940s

German Heritage of Northern Kentucky

Covington: Religious Heritage

1913

"Play Ball" ~ The City of Covington

1914

Centennial 

1922

Daniel C. Beard: Founder of Boy Scouts of America

1937 Flood

1951

Devou Park

2008

Covington Riverfront Tall Stacks Celebration

John A. Roebling: Designer of the Covington Cincinnati Suspension Bridge.

Amos Schinkle: Financier 

These mayflies were everywhere around the murals. They're very interesting insects. 

This suspension bridge was completed in 1865. 

I was impressed with how clean the city and buildings were. There wasn't any graffiti or trash laying around. 

We walked a little bit in Covington, Kentucky, then crossed back over the bridge into Ohio and visited the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. 

This statue is called "Freedom." The inscription by the sculptor on the plaque underneath reads: Mama said, "Go. . .it's our time to be free, too!" With those words, this young boy and his conductor began their trip on the Underground Railroad. But he was so confused...what is this thing called freedom? As the artist, I think these two travelers reached the river and made it to freedom that night. But I have left the details up to you.

Scenes of the city from the top floor in the museum. 

After the museum, we paused to enjoy some great food and fellowship at Taste of Belgium. 

We went back by the museum, even though it had closed, and read some memorials they have out in front. Here's a piece of the Berlin Wall. The inscription says: 

On August 13, 1961, the totalitarian government of East Germany split Berlin with a wall of concrete. Free expression of thought disappeared. From 1961 to 1989, some 130 people were killed attempting to escape through this brutal barrier to freedom. Many others were injured. In the autumn of 1989, hundreds of thousands of East Germans began peaceful marches against the oppressive regime. These courageous acts of resistance were inspired by the civil rights movement in the United States. Their chant was 'wir sind das volk,' We are the people, implicitly a reference to the United States Constitution. Ultimately the Berlin Wall could not withstand the desire for freedom and on November 9th, 1989, the wall fell. This section of the wall, a gift of the City of Berlin, honors those who have died seeking freedom without walls. 

Reds Stadium

The building architecture is just amazing! 

Debbie and I really enjoyed walking through the downtown admiring the old [church] buildings.

We saw many pig statues in the city...

Including this Hamlet, established in 2001.😅

More beautiful buildings.

In a different part of the city, we saw this little bird enjoying someone's leftover food. And that concludes the end of that daytrip. 

Here are a few more pictures of the sky and some from a lake a friend and I visited. 

This was my view on the way to work. 

This is Boltz Lake, named after Dr. A. W. Boltz who was Kentucky's first conservation officer in 1904. 

This dog appeared at the lake and swam after sticks we threw in the water. He was super sweet and we enjoyed playing with him. I couldn't help but take lots of pictures. 

That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed. 😊

June 2023

Hi Friend! 

I'm a little behind in posting from the summer, so this post contains June adventures. :)   

Even though June consisted mostly of work, I got to visit several different churches and go hiking with my good friend Debby. 

One Sunday, Debby and I passed this beautiful field of wild pink thistles, and of course we just had to stop and take pictures. :) 

This summer I saw several gorgeous rainbows after storms.

One benefit of working the closing shift was getting to see the Ark lit up in rainbow colors at night. 

So much beauty in the sky...

On June 28th, Debby and I hiked 2 different trails. The first trail was Rock Bridge Arch in the Red River Gorge. A little about the arch: It's located near the midpoint of a 1.3-mile loop trail. It's the only example in the Red River Gorge of a type of arch known as a waterfall arch. It was formed by a waterfall flowing over a resistant rock layer, cutting through it, thus creating a natural bridge over the stream that flows beneath it. 

It definitely was hard rock climbing without much to hold on to, but I managed to climb up on top of the bridge for a picture. :) (It's not really part of the trail.) 

This waterfall flowed into the river down below. 

The rock layers we spotted along the trail were simply fascinating. 

Along the trail, we often spotted many unique types of mushrooms. 

The next hike we did was to see an arch.

More neat rock layers along the trail.

And there's the arch with a singular tree blocking a nice view of it. There was a steep path to continue up farther, but we decided not to since it was already late into the afternoon. 

Do you like hiking? Have you hiked recently? 

Happy Veterans Day

 Happy Veterans Day!

Thank you to all those who have served for our country. I've recently been reminded that many veterans are still suffering from their service. All veterans gave up their lives when they joined the service- they left their livelihoods, their families, and fought for something that was way bigger than themselves. Some died; others lived and still live on. But some live with horrible effects from war. War imposes significant damage on a person's body and mind, and often I've forgotten that many veterans live with very horrid, vivid memories of what they endured. 'Thank you' seems an inadequate response, but I am immensely grateful. I will never forget their sacrifice, and I thank God for them. 

Psalm 116:1-2, 5

I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. 

God Is Near

Adventure. What comes to your mind when you hear that word? For me, it's a positive image of trying something new or exploring a new place. The adventures I've taken have always been fun, even if at first I was a little hesitant to try it. 
Well each one of us is on this adventure called life. Sometimes it's fun and sometimes it's just downright hard. But it's not the final destination. The adventure is just part of the journey. Think of a plane ride. When you're on a plane, you cross a lot of land, maybe some ocean. You may have a small idea of where you're at during the flight, but you don't know specifically. And if you're crossing the ocean, there's definitely no landmarks to tell you where you are. All you know is that the plane keeps moving forward. That's similar to our life. The pilot is the Lord, and we might go on what we think are detours, but those detours just may be a part of his plan. We don't know exactly where we are at on our journey, but we know we're moving forward, headed for a better destination. Storms arise but take comfort. They only last for a season. How about drought and desert times? They too only last a little while, though they're hard to endure while stuck in the middle. But God stays faithful. He is with us.

Isaiah 41:10 says, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
 A preacher noted in a chapel message recently that this verse contains 2 "I AM" statements, 2 "not" statements, and 3 "I will" statements. Consider them. 
Isaiah 41:13 says, "For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee." What a precious picture this is. God has a hold of your hand, he's not letting go, and he's walking with you in whatever you're going through.

I am: "I am with thee" and "I am thy God."

Not: "Fear thou not" and "be not dismayed."

I will: "I will strengthen thee," "I will help thee," and "I will uphold thee." 

Psalm 16:8 ~ "I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved."

Psalm 138:7 ~ "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me."

These verses give such comfort that no matter what you go through, good or bad, God is there. I'll close with a song that's come to my mind, "When God is Near."

Make me know your presence Lord, the King of glory here,

You know each thought and action, hope, anxiety and fear,

How can I hide from Thee? Can darkness hide iniquity,

Oh, how can I unfaithful be, when you are very near to me. 

When God is near, all the world seems far away,

When God is near, every fear is set aside,

When God is near, how can I stray, how can I falter?

I'll stay upon the altar; I know my God is near. 

Make me know your presence Lord, when I feel so alone,

You know each trial and testing pain, the hurt that is unknown,

Oh why can I not see, your hand so firmly guiding me? 

Oh how can I untrusting be, when you are very near to me? 

When God is near, all the world seems far away, 

When God is near, every fear is set aside,

When God is near, how can I stray, how can I falter?

I'll stay upon the altar; I know my God is near. 

Dear friend, may you feel the presence of God so very near to you today. 

❤️Ashley 

*Picture taken by Deborah S.