Chase Adventure

Wan•der•lust (noun): a strong desire to travel. Growing up, my dad would travel for his job & return home with so many stories about what he saw, ate, and experienced. He’d also bring back treasures for me and currency from the country. Both his international travels and around the USA made me want to venture and explore this huge planet. Here I will be recapping adventures that I have had in hopes that you will be inspired to get out and create adventures of your own. Also, I'll be posting untravel related things like books I’ve read, quotes that inspire me, or recipes I've made. Enjoy reading & feel free to comment or send a message! **pictures are my own unless otherwise stated**

[wanderlustadventures513]

The natural Bridge is located within the Red River Gorge which is located in eastern Kentucky. It is a gorgeous place and a nature lovers dream. Plenty of places to hike, kayak, rock climb, fish, camp, and more!

Included in these pictures is Nada tunnel. This tunnel has existed since the early 1900s. Steam locomotives used to haul timber though the tunnel. Only one car can enter the 900ft tunnel at a time. It is amazing and I highly recommend checking it out.

Cave Run lake is also featured in these photos. The lake is in the Daniel Boone national forest which is a wonderful camping location.

Have you ever been to these places?

[andallshallbewell]

[wanderlustadventures513]

Well hello there! Hi, it’s me….

And I’m back with some HUGE news!!!! After being together for almost 3 years and living together for almost 2 years, on 11.5.22, I said YES to forever!

I’ve never been the kind of girl that dreamt of the perfect proposal or my wedding. But what my now fiancé (ahh that’s so cool to say!) did was just p e r f e c t.

Its been fun looking on Pinterest getting ideas for the wedding. Slowly I’m starting to see it all in my mind. We don’t have a date set and are really in no rush. Just soaking in each moment.

Also I’ve been working on a career switch and recently obtained a certification in personal training! Working on a nutrition/wellness certification that I hope bring exciting things in the upcoming year. I have some big ideas for this new career and I hope it all works out.

And reason for the MIA post on this blog is traveling wise, I have done much over this year. Between health things and life and such, there hasn’t been to much time to travel. I’m thinking I may post more recipes on here being, to me, travel and food go together like PB and J or chocolate and peanut butter. So look for posts like that. I’ve really gotten into baking a lot more this year and that’s been fun.

If you’d like to see anything else on this blog, let me know and I’ll consider it.

Thanks for reading/following along and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

[wanderlustadventures513]

Don’t blame me if you become addicted to this.

Travel not only means going to new places an experiencing new things, it’s also about the food and culture.

Yesterday I made a coffee cake from scratch. I've never made one before and it turned out better than I ever could’ve dreamed. This recipe is American but you can be transported to another place, or even back in time, from just food. Monday, I made a chicken pesto pasta casserole that made me feel like I was in Italy even though I've never been there before. I’ll post that yummy deliciousness in another post.

Obviously i need to work on my food pictures, lol, but this sucker is i n s a n e. Grab a cup of coffee and cut a slice of this and your day is off to a fantastic start. I reduced the sugar in the cake to one cup and doubled the ingredients for the strudel crumble topping/filling and it worked like a charm.

Here’s the link to the recipe. Enjoy and if you make it, please tell me what you think!

[wanderlustadventures513]

Historic Clifton Mill

I have always wanted to see these lights. Getting here is a little odd. After you pass the suburbs of Cincinnati, it’s mainly farmland. Then once you reach the town, the mill just kind of pops up on you. It’s kind of a blink and you miss it kind of thing.

Clifton Mill is one of the largest water powered grist mills still existing. The first mill was built in 1802 by Owen Davis, a revolutionary war soldier and frontiersman miller. The mill was built here to take advantage of the natural power of the concentrated water funneled into the gorge.

Also there was this huge miniature village that had so much going on it was crazy!

At one time, there were 100,00 mills in the United States. Now there are less than 100 still in their original operating condition.

The Christmas lights at the mill were nominated by USA Today as 10 best readers choice travel award for 2021. The lights have been going on annually for the past 32 years and have been featured in Midwest Living and Ohio magazine. 4 million lights illuminate the mill, gorge, riverbanks, trees and bridges.

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Natural Bridge part 3: The Skylift

Oh this baby. If you’re scared of heights I don’t recommend. The views though? insane and intense.

It is an 11 minute ride up to the natural bridge where you’ll either be loving it the entire time or have your eyes closed/white knuckling the seat until your feet are on the ground again. I was fine until i was heading toward the top because it feels like it’s a vertical straight up ride (not to sure if it is but whew that was hairy). Coming down, the ground just drops off and you feel up there in the air.

If you’ve never been on this, you’ll know what I mean and if you have, you get where I'm coming from.

And to think I want to zipline after riding this haha

[wanderlustadventures513]

Natural Bridge part 2: Fat Man Squeeze

I can’t find anything online that says if this was man made or not but it’s crazy. After you walk across the bridge, there are steps going down (with no railing) that lead to this. Somehow I could walk through just walking normally but my boyfriend had to turn sideways. It is narrow-I mean narrow. If you’re claustrophobic forget about doing this. Plus, these stones were so much cooler walking through than the surrounding air. It was also slick here with the unevenness and the sand but so awesome at the same time. 

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Natural Bridge: Part 1

Founded as a tourist attraction by the Lexington and eastern railroad in 1895, this natural sandstone arch bridge is 30’ wide, 78’ long and is over 75’ high. There is no railing and with the sand all around, it can get slick but these views, even though at first I couldn’t move, are insane.

When we first got on the bridge I couldn’t look out because the view was intense. I saw a man down on his knees scared to move. Ex marine, 27 years of service, and even he was scared to go across. I didn’t feel so bad then.

[wanderlustadventures513]

Who doesn’t love donuts and scavenger hunts?

I have heard of the Donut Trail but never knew what it was until I went to Stan the Donut Man store to get some one morning. Here’s how it works: at any of these stores, they have these passports. You take it with you to the ones on this list and they stamp it. After it’s all finished, you send your card in and receive a free t shirt.

It’s something fun to do not only on a weekend morning but to just try different donuts and enjoy their yumminess. I went to Holtman’s Donuts this morning and so far, them and The Donut Hole by Milton’s donuts have been the best.

It’s free to participate in if you’re around Cincinnati. If you love donuts, you have to play. It’s a lot of fun and not to mention delicious.

[wanderlustadventures513]

It’s Always Good To Take A Walk In The Woods

Sharon Woods.

I feel like I really have grown up here. I have so many memories in these woods. Want to know something crazy? The land that Sharon Woods sits on was carved out by glaciers. It was created 20,000 years ago by large volumes of glacial meltwater draining into the mill creek valley. Sharon Woods started in 1930 and was the first park created in the Great Parks system. It is a perfect place to reconnect with nature, have a picnic, do some fishing, enjoy a paddleboat ride, do yoga, or simply just be.

Plus, it is absolutely gorgeous in the fall. Hoping to get some beautiful winter pictures if we have one of those gorgeous snowfalls this winter where the snow sticks to the trees just perfectly.

[wanderlustadventures513]

Nashville in West Chester?

In future posts, I will post my travels from a trip years ago to Nashville. I grew up on country music and absolutely loved my time in Nashville-probably like most country music fans. Broadway is just electrifying. Also known a honky tonk row, it’s just filled with live music playing everywhere. When i was there, every place had their doors open and you were always welcomed to stop in, have a seat, get a drink, and just listen. What’s awesome about Nashville as well is famous musicians have been known to test new material at random on random nights in the city at the honky tonks or cafe’s around town. I just love it there. The atmosphere, the friendly people, the food...it’s just awesome. The night I was here, Stagger Lee was having their 40th anniversary bash. They are a local band who has been around for that long which is amazing!

So, how surprised was I to discover the what I'm calling, new hot spot right here in Cincinnati. Lori’s Roadhouse has brought that same Nashville feel to West Chester, Ohio (suburb of Cincinnati). This place? I went for the first time this past Saturday and I am hooked. First off, it is HUGE! 3 stages, a bar on one side that’s massive plus a huge dance floor perfect for line dancing! They have a wide variety of drinks well as food. I had a jack and coke (really 2) and a burger called “The Simple Man’ as well as regular French fries. It was delicious! Plus, they have line dancing on Tuesday nights. Seriously want to check this out.

They also have a variety of local acts, just starting acts, as well as big names such as Diamond Rio. They just opened toward the end of October 2021 and safe the say, they are already off to a great start. I’m looking forward to coming back here. I highly recommend checking this place out as well for a fun night out!

[wanderlustadventures513]

The Root Beer Stand

There are many brands of root beer that exist but to me, nothing tops root beer from this place. Cincinnati Magazine named it the best place for root beer with good reason.

The Root Beer Stand opened in Cincinnati  in 1957 and was known at that time as “A&W root beer stand”. Mick and Nancy Rideour were the original owners. The root beer is made at the stand and gets its distinct taste from water from a well that is 280 feet deep. Route 25 (known as Cincinnati-Dayton road) used to be the main road from Michigan to Florida until highways were created. Being The Root Beer Stand sits on route 25, it was a prime place for travelers as well as semi truck drivers, to come and take a break from travelling and get a root beer along with possibly a timmy dog or chili. Catherine Clark was an excellent cook and came up with the recipe for the chili you can get here. The same recipe is used today as well as the same recipe for the root beer made with the same equipment that was first used when the stand opened in 1957. In 1982, the name was changed to “The Root Beer Stand” and it has been known by this ever since. 

I have gone here so many times as a Cincinnati native i’ve lost count. One of the unique things they have here besides all of the hats hanging on the celling (ask about that when you visit) is the variety of games you can play while you’re waiting for your food/drink. The stand opens every year when the weather starts to get warm. Everyone who is a local here gets excited when the stand puts a sign on the windows stating how many days/weeks until they’re open or the date. On the day they open as well as the ones that follow, it is PACKED. There are also tons of seating behind the stand that you can sit on as well as playground equipment for the kids. You can bring your pet as well. It’s a nice local spot to just chill out and enjoy the weather as well as the food. 

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When you think of Ohio, do caves/caverns come to mind?

Believe it or not, you can find them here. Located 30 miles from Dayton is West Liberty, Ohio. Home to “America’s most colorful caverns”, Ohio Caverns is a 2 mile surveyed passageway ranging from depths of 30 ft-103 ft. below ground. The cavern system is a constant 54 degrees regardless of the temperature/weather above ground. 90% of all the stalactite and stalagmites located in the caverns are still active. Privately ran and family owned, the caverns were discovered in 1897 by Robert Noffsinger, a farmhand who worked the land. There was a sinkhole that kept forming for years. After a hard rain, the sinkhole filled with water and by the following morning, the water was gone. Noffsinger was curious as to why and began to dig in the sinkhole and hit the ground’s limestone layer. After finding a crack in the limestone, he broke through it and immediately felt the 54 degree air. Noffsinger wanted to know more and lowered himself into the cavern system. He told his discovery to the landowner, a farmer named William Reams. Reams explored the caverns and decided to open it to the public. As they say, the rest is history.

Areas of the cavern have names. For example, Crystal Sea and Natural Bridge, Fantasy Land, The Big Room and Good Luck Crystal. The Crystal King is the largest free-hanging stalactite in Ohio. At last measurement, it was 4′ 10.5″ long, weighed over 400 lbs. and is over 200,000 years old. The deepest point in the cavern system is 103 feet. 

Driving to the caverns, all you see around you is farmland and you wonder where you’re even going at times. There is a big sign saying “Ohio Caverns” that’s let you know you’ve arrived. The gift shop has a wide variety of gemstones, like amethyst, that are gorgeous. Your tour guide comes out to greet you, then you head to a door, go down stairs, and you’re in the caverns. Some places are very narrow where you can’t put your feet side by side to walk but it is so gorgeous. If you’ve never been, when you’re around Dayton/Cincinnati I highly recommend checking this place out. You won’t be disappointed. (information from ohiocaverns.com and Wikipedia)

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Have you ever seen anything like this?

Located in Hyde Park (suburb of Cincinnati, OH) surrounded by mansions and other stunning architecture, on the corner of Erie and Tarpis Avenue, is the mushroom house. Built by the late architecture professor Terry Brown, it was used as a second home for him plus an architecture studio as well as a teaching tool for students. He also has works featured in the National Building Museum in Washington DC as well as the architectural league in New York. Between 1992-2006, Brown used shingles to resemble the underside of a mushroom and bulbous roofing to add a “fungal” look. He also added some oddly wrapping staircases to just add to the overall look of the home. The home sneaks up on you on the street but is worth a stop and admiration when you are here. It is a one of a kind for sure! (information from thevalemagazine.com)

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The Queen City

I was born and raised in Cincinnati, OH. I moved to Jacksonville, FL then moved back a little over a year ago. There is something about living here that maybe everyone says about their hometown. It just feels cozy. The city itself is surrounded by seven hills and after living in an area for a few years that was flat, I forgot how hilly it is here. Another thing? All 4 seasons. Anyone who has lived for a time in Florida will tell you there’s only two seasons: hot and hotter. Experiencing all 4 seasons is just awesome.

Anyway, I always like learning the background and history of where I travel to. So I figured why not start where I was born and raised? Cincinnati was founded in 1788. We also have a few nicknames here: The Queen City, Porkopolis, and The ‘Nati to name a few. Many German immigrants lived here-reason why for our love of beer and the chicken dance that’s done at Oktoberfest every year. In the 1880s, Cincinnati was referred to as the “Paris of America” because of architectural projects like Music Hall, Cincinnatian Hotel, and Shillito department store. Also, riverboats were huge here and for awhile, there was an annual festival called Tall Stacks that brought all of the riverboats back for a time.

The food here is also unique. One dish that is known locally is goetta. Goetta is a combination of meat and grain. It’s like a sausage/pork mush. It’s from German inspiration as well. There’s also pin head oats and spices. I’ve ate it during breakfast and it’s really good. Another food that’s big here is chili. Cincinnati chili isn’t like normal chunky/hardy chili. It’s, well runny. And it has dark chocolate in it along with meat and spices. Personally I’m not a fan of it anymore but when you’re here, people will ask you which chili is better: Skyline or Gold Star. And at Skyline, you have to say if you want a 3-way, 4-way, or 5-way. Come here to find out what that’s about. Also, you can try other forms of chili at our 250 “chili parlors” that’s scattered all around the city.

Cincinnati also has a vibrant culture life with many performance halls, art, amazing architecture, world regarded zoo, a history museum that used to be a train station…I could go on. I feel personally that a lot of the things here are kind of hidden that you have to go and find. And that’s what makes it fun to live/travel here. For example, I found a place that by the description is like you’re in Paris but it’s a house. What? Stay tuned for that post. I have always loved Paris and can’t wait to check this out (information pulled from Wikipedia).