Tag:

Travel

Maple Grove Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup August 29, 2016

If you thought I was going to go to New England and not come home with a thousand cemetery photos, you clearly don’t know me very well. These aren’t quite as interesting as the ones with the creepy faces from Old Bennington Cemetery and not even a quarter as awesome as some I found at another cemetery I visited the next day but this was still an excellent stop.

I had passed this cemetery on my way to Pemaquid Point but was driving too fast to stop since there were cars behind me. I chalked it up as a loss, and had completely forgotten about it until on my way back to the hotel I ended up at the red light across the street and figured I haaad to stop! Right after pulling in the sky opened up and it started to pour. My plans for the evening included swimming in the hotel pool anyway, so why not get wet a little bit early?

Back in March I visited and blogged about Mound View Cemetery in Mount Vernon, Ohio. One of my favorite headstones there was one that just said “Carrie”. Since that one finding headstones that only have the first name on them has become one of my favorite things. It’s so mysterious. Of course, one could presume it’s because family is nearby but some of them are so far from other headstones it’s hard to tell if they’re related to anyone else there. In this cemetery I actually found a few of them. My favorite of which is “Annie”, seen below.

xoxo

Giant’s Stairs

by Kaylah Stroup August 25, 2016

Pemaquid Point didn’t quite satisfy my urge to explore tide pools. I mean it was obviously an awesome spot but I needed to see more of the coast! Giant’s Stairs trail was another spot I found listed as a favorite by the same person who recommended Pemaquid Point. It was a little over an hour away from where I was but the tide was still low enough, and the photos looked cool enough that I figured it’d be worth it.

…Aaaand it was! I followed the trail for a few minutes before dipping down off the path to climb around on rocks. Same luck as before though, I still wasn’t finding anything alive. Despite all my research tide pool exploration is still a bit of a mystery to me. It kills me that I don’t get to do this more often. If I lived near the ocean I would be at a spot like this every single day at low tide to search for critters. It’s so
amazing that this world exists and for a small amount of time we get a
peek of it.

After an hour or so of watching waves crash in, I climbed back up to the trail ready to head back to my car. It was then I realized the path went on a lot further than I had thought before. Despite being tired and ready to head back to the hotel (+ the hot tub!) I figured I might as well keep on walking because when would I get a chance to explore here again anytime soon.

Not too far from where I climbed up I stumbled upon the actual Giant’s Stairs. Seen above. I guess I thought the whole area was just the Giant’s Stairs. My photo does them no justice at all. They really are giant stairs!

I’m already aching to get back to the coast. One half day is not even close to enough time. I always hear people always say stuff like “I was born in the wrong era.” but I was just born in the wrong state – which, luckily, is something I can fix. I definitely picture myself living on the coast some day. I am an ocean gal through and through. I’m half terrified of it which I think is so much of why I love it. It’s frightening yet calming. I don’t quite know if that makes sense at all but the ocean definitely has me feeling some kind of way.
xoxo

Pemaquid Point

by Kaylah Stroup August 24, 2016

The whole reason Jeff and I took the roadtrip to Maine was because a friend asked him to shoot their wedding. We had been talking about going up to Maine for a while but this was exactly the push we needed to finally get on the road. Saturday while he was busy doing wedding stuff I had the day to myself. Our hotel was in Waterville, about an hour and a half from the coast but I figured if I was already *this* close to the ocean there was no way I could not spend the day there.

I spent a great deal of time before the trip researching tide pools. My one and only experience with them on the west coast last summer left me anxious for more. I found a blog based around tide pool exploration in Maine and they listed one of their favorite spots as Pemaquid Point. So, when Jeff left the hotel to go shoot the bride getting ready I set off toward the ocean.

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I arrived around an hour and a half before low tide, and basically had the place to myself. The weather was cool, and damp, a huge relief from the summer heat in Ohio. I wandered around the water by myself for a while until a stranger called out “Finding anything good?” “Nope! I’m not having any luck. This is only my second time at a tide pool.” I responded. He walked over and pointed out a few things including a cute little crab that I didn’t even end up photographing.

Despite the fact I found no other live creatures, it was still absolutely worth the drive from the hotel. I ooo-ed and ahhhh-ed at plant life, and exercised all my self control to not bring home every single shell and claw I found.

The ocean is pure magic. Don’t get me wrong, I love Lake Erie but the ocean is just...wow. Until we meet again, Pemaquid Point!
xoxo

Acadia National Park

by Kaylah Stroup August 22, 2016

After Old Bennington Cemetery Jeff and I continued on our route to Maine. The second big stop of the trip was going to be Acadia National Park. While researching I had read a post somewhere written by a park ranger that if you only had one day in the park you should do Park Loop Road so that was our plan. We have a pretty bad habit of not giving ourselves enough time in National Parks and this time was no exception. But hey, visiting for only a few hours is better than never visiting at all, right?

One half of the loop is one way traffic and the other half is two way. We ended up taking the two way traffic route, getting to the bottom, and realizing that the one way traffic half of the loop was in the opposite direction of what we were heading. We were already tired from being in the car all day, not to mention the fact that traffic was pretty bad on the way into the park. No phone service coupled with poor signage meant it took a very long time for us to find our way back into the loop at the top. I wasn’t even sure if we’d end up trying to do it again just because we had wasted so much time. Eventually we made it in, the correct way, and the beautiful scenery was so worth it.

Our first stop in the park was Thunder Hole, a natural inlet where waves crash in with a thunderous boom. We didn’t actually get to see Thunder Hole because holy tourist city!! but the surrounding area was everything I dreamed Arcadia would be. It was beautiful! Just like the Grand Canyon*, I was kind of surprised how you were just allowed to go wherever you wanted. Some parks are so strict, do not leave the path, but following the lead of just about everyone around us we climbed around on the rocks for a while.

After finally making our way around the loop successfully we kiiiind of got trapped inside and made a second full loop. D’oh! Jeff was beyond tired, and we were both ready to just check into our hotel (an hour and a half away!) and sleep but what are ya gonna do?

On our accidental second trip around we stopped at Sand Beach which was just stupid beautiful. I was squatting down to get some shots of the waves when one completely soaked by butt. The water was pretty cold but I couldn’t resist getting the rest of myself wet. The waves were crashing in so I stood in water, about knee deep, and let them hit me. It was perfect. I could have done it hours.

Acadia National Park, passport stamp, np passport

So, Acadia NP could probably label their routes better. I’m sure we’re not the first people to make that mistake, but Park Loop Road is a great way to experience the park when you’re short on time.
xoxo

*Obviously this is a lot less risky than climbing around at the Grand Canyon but I’m pretty sure it’d still be super easy to get hurt here climbing around.

Old Bennington Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup August 18, 2016

Old First Church Cemetery , Old First Congregational Church Cemetery, Vermont

Jeff and I just got back from a “mini” road trip. I’m putting mini in quotes there because since I found out we’d be doing this trip I always just kind of thought it would be a quick get away buuut I think it’s safe to say we killed this trip! Nine states, and just over two thousand miles. For now I think the easiest way to blog about it will be to go in chronological order…

Thursday night after Jeff got off work, we loaded up the car and headed toward my parents house. I thought the plan was to spend the night there and leave early in the morning but Jeff had misunderstood and thought I wanted to leave right after dropping Klaus off. Aaaand that was totally cool by me (because that is exactly what I actually wanted! I just thought a little bit of sleep before a twelve hour drive would be the responsible thing to do.) So we drove through the night, took turns sleeping, and made pretty great time.

Although it was slightly out of the way, Jeff really wanted to take a detour into Vermont. No real destination in mind, just wanted to cross it off his list as it was one of the only states on the east side of the US he hadn’t been to yet. We choose a town at random, Bennington.

I was rambling about how cute Vermont was when to my left I spotted one of the most beautiful houses I had ever seen. Seeee?! It was massive, decrepit, and honestly just looked like the perfect haunted house. We HAD to stop and get photos. While I was busy taking shots with each of my three cameras (one digital, two instant film. I’m a v. serious tourist, okay?) Jeff thought it would be a good idea to check and see if there were any geocaches nearby. Perfectly enough, there was! “Say Hi to Robert Frost” is the name of the cache and it was located in the cemetery right down the street. That’s how we randomly ended up in the cemetery Robert Frost was buried in!

Old Bennington Cemetery, Vermont, Bennington

Honestly, Robert Frost isn’t very exciting to me. I’ve just never been interested in poetry, it’s nothing against him. I’m always happy to check out the grave of someone famous though, no matter who they are. Also, any excuse to stop into a cemetery is fine by me. …Well, it turns out that Old Bennington Cemetery is packed full of history and the most beautiful headstones. I was only inside the gates for a matter of minutes before declaring it a favorite!

Do you remember last month when I blogged about Workman Cemetery and was all excited about that one headstone with a creepy face on it? Yeah, this cemetery was literally packed full of them! I have SO many photos of them. It’s just crazy how much detail and work was put into these. They put modern headstones to shame.

Pretty awesome first official stop of the trip, right!? Old Bennington Cemetery is absolutely gorgeous, and totally worth a detour. I have never seen old headstones in such amazing shape. This place is an absolute treasure!
xoxo

Save

on the cutting room floor – road trip edition!

by Kaylah Stroup August 16, 2016

A sort of different version of my regular on the cutting room floor series today. Jeff and I just got back from a road trip late last night. While I still haven’t even begun to go through all my photos there were a few I knew that didn’t fit into any of the posts I’d end up writing about the trip. I naively thought that we’d get home earlier yesterday and that I wouldn’t be exhausted today so I didn’t queue anything else but sharing some photos from the trip seems like a solid plan, right? Right!

Old friends of Jeff who now live in Maine asked him to shoot their wedding which he gladly accepted because it was a perfect excuse for us to take a trip. So last Thursday night after Jeff got off work, we dropped Klaus off at my parents house and hit the road. In four days we covered just over two thousand miles, and nine states! I fell stupid in love with New England (and all their amazing, old cemeteries.) I have SO many photos to sort through and tons and tons of things I can’t wait to talk about with y’all.

You guys, JUMANJI!

Quick highlights;
▴ THE OCEAN. Duh.
▴ Stumbling upon old cemeteries.
▴ Surprising Kristina in Boston. Seriously, the look on her face was worth the mile walk in the heat!
▴ DONUTS MADE FROM POTATOES. Literally the best donuts of my life. If you go near Portland, Maine you have to visit The Holy Donut. A friend recommended them, told us there would be a line, and that we should just get a dozen. Jeff and I both agreed there was no way we’d be able to eat a dozen of them because they were just donuts, right? NO. We could have killed a dozen of them, no sweat. All donuts are not created equal.
▴ Visiting NYC for the very first time + being able to see the Statue of Liberty from our hotel room.
▴ Finally visiting a beach that’s been on my list for a very long time.
▴ Exploring my second abandoned hospital!

…And
probably a million other things I can’t think of right now. Jeff and I
have this rapid fire way of traveling. We like to hit lots of spots in
short periods of time. It’s funny because we end up doing so many
amazing things that for a brief moment you can forget the
amazing thing you just did. It’s fun, and a little stressful but totally suits us.

Well, I’m off to start catching up on everything including pet snuggles because my three babies sure missed me! I’ll share more about our trip oh so soon.
xoxo

the end of an era

by Kaylah Stroup March 8, 2016

If you asked me what my favorite camera was I wouldn’t even have to think about it. It’s my Polaroid land camera. I bought my first one back in 2011. I was in love almost instantly. I even wrote a post about it which you can read here. It became something I lugged around with me everywhere.

Then in 2013 Fujifilm announced they would no longer be producing FP-3000b, the black and white film that worked with this camera. After Polaroid announced they’d quit making 600 film I guess I thought it meant it would be a little bit harder to find but you can get anything on the internet, right? Well, not necessarily. I wasn’t going to risk that again. I immediately stocked up. I mean I bought A TON of that black and white film…like a couple hundred dollars worth. The price soared shortly after my investment and it continues to rise to this day. It’s still available for purchase through Amazon and other photo websites but the price is just under five times what was when I started purchasing it. (AKA I have a gold mine in my refrigerator!)

When that happened I decided I’d save that film that I stocked up on, only using it when I felt it absolutely necessary. I’m just looking out for future Kaylah who might desperately need black and white film for her land camera someday. I started using FP-100C, the color film, on a more regular basis. It was only around eight to ten dollars a pack so I’d buy it when I needed it instead of stock piling like I do with my other films.

Last week Fujifilm announced the heartbreaking news that they would be ceasing production of FP-100C as well. My eyes instantly welled up. I might have shed a few tears, and I definitely let out a string of colorful words. I know it’s not really something you’d understand unless you shoot this film but this is devastating news for me. It’s weird how you can become to attached to something like this.

I felt like the best way to grieve was to sit down with my albums and pore over the photos. I realized I hadn’t shared any from 2015’s big road trip. These are some of my favorite photos I took on the trip. Some from the middle of the desert, and other from the Pacific Coast Highway, all very special to me.

It’s scary how film is becoming harder and harder to get your hands on. I have a handful of patches and pins that say things like “film is not dead” and as much I want to believe that I have to admit, film is dying… or at least becoming really really unobtainable. It’s such a bummer to watch prices soar!

I love digital and I’d basically be lost without my DSLR but using film is something that just can’t be replicated. Shooting with instant film is such a great feeling, and peel-a-part film like FP-3000b, and FP-100C is just the bees knees! It’s so satisfying. While it’s still available buy alllll the film that you can!
xoxo

patch by Asilda Store

Mound View Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup March 3, 2016

I love cemeteries, y’all know that. They’re peaceful and no matter where they’re located they’re almost always devoid of all people. Last week after visiting the Knox County Poorhouse I headed to Mound View Cemetery. It didn’t seem like it would be that big of a cemetery. My main reason for going was to search for a headstone I had seen a photo of online that read “Little Men”. I really really love headstones that say things that are a little bit out of the ordinary. Upon a little bit further research I found that these “little men” were actually the Wild Men of Borneo. I didn’t really know too much about them but I felt like I had heard that name before so I was definitely interested in finding the headstone.

Hiram and Barney were two mentally disabled brothers from Knox County. They were apparently sold to Doctor Warner in 1852 by their desperate mother after the passing of their father. Hiram and Barney were given new names, Waino and Plutanor, and a sensational back story about being from the island of Borneo, where they had been captured after an intense struggle. They were each around 40 inches tall and weighed about 45 pounds but could perform feats of great strength such as lifting heavy weights, and wrestling with audience members on stage. It is said that they could each lift around 300lbs on their own. They eventually became involved with P.T. Barnum and his traveling show. During their 25 years with him the pair made over $200,000 which in that time was an incredible sum of money.

I’m very interested in sideshow history and any headstone I can find information on is pretty cool my book, so this was definitely an awesome find. I’m actually surprised it took me this long to hear about it. I’m curious who chose to put “little men” on their headstone though. “Wild Men of Borneo” seems like a better fit if that’s what they went by…

The Wildmen of Borneo, Waino and Plutanor, Mound View Cemetery

Anyway, before even being able to find their headstone I was already more than impressed with this cemetery. It was easily in my top ten, mostly because it was absolutely teeming with symbolism! Lots and lots of older headstones have symbols on them. It’s nothing new for me. Over time I’ve become familiar with many of them. Some are so common I don’t think anything of them when I see them but everywhere I looked in Mound View there were symbols! It ended up being the majority of what I photographed.

I’m going to list a few of my favorites, see if you can find them in the photos…
anchor – hope or eternal life
arch – the passage to heaven
dove – peace, messenger of God
hand pointing up – hope for heaven
lamb – innocence, often found on the gravestones of children
upside down torch – the end of life, or a life extinguished
willow tree – perpetual sadness or mourning
wreath – victory in death

We have some really incredible cemeteries in Ohio, like this one. The one thing we don’t have going for us is that we aren’t very old, at least not compared to some other parts of the US that are a little further east. Symbols on graves aren’t all that popular anymore and haven’t been for a while so there are tons of them I’ve never actually seen in person. That’s not to say they aren’t in my state, I may have just not found them yet. I even have a list of symbols I’d love to find. Ranking high near the top is a skull and crossbones, just because it seems so stereotypical and like something that would a Halloween decoration instead of a real headstone, I guess. Thinking about finally finding one gets me all excited. Heading east this year is a must!
xoxo

Save

Knox County Poorhouse

by Kaylah Stroup February 29, 2016

If you’ve been reading a while, you might recall how after I got my license I took a lot of little day trips to silly places as often as possible. After moving to Cleveland I kind of fell out of the habit. I’ve been missing it a lot lately. For 2016 I made two goals that would be accomplished by getting back into the habit of taking these trips; to explore Ohio, and be brave and be alone.

I spent last Sunday night researching places I might want to stop at. While browsing all my regular sites, hoping something would spark my interest, I thought of the Knox County Poorhouse. It’s one of those buildings I had known about for a while but never made it a point to go and check out. On June 26, 2015 the poorhouse caught fire. I thought that I had missed my opportunity and that was a huge bummer. It was an insanely gorgeous building. I did a little research, and found some recent photos. It didn’t burn down completely, it had caught fire. While the building was obviously in very rough shape, from what I could find online it still looked like it might be worth a visit. I decided I was going to make the drive, what was there to lose?

Built in 1875, The Knox County Poorhouse was a place for the poor, and indigent. The mentally ill were sometimes left there by families who could not afford the proper treatment. Many other residents were elderly who had no other place to go. It didn’t take too long before rumors that something wasn’t right began to swirl. Horrible conditions led to more than a few deaths over the years. Supposedly remains were even found in shallow unmarked graves in more recent years. Eventually, 1953, the building was found structurally unstable by a county engineer and subsequently closed but not for too long… The Knox County Poorhouse reopened as a bible college in 1957. It was open for 31 years before closing yet again in 1988. Finally, in it’s last incarnation the poorhouse was used as a haunted house. In 2006 four of the floors collapsed. Since then it’s sat completely abandoned.

Monday morning I hopped in the car, equipped with multiple cameras, and headed off with a few spots mapped out. The drive was beautiful. The further I got from home the foggier it got. I absolutely LOVE shooting photos in fog so I nixed my other stops and headed straight to the poorhouse. Much to my dismay around ten minutes before arriving the fog had lifted, I was disappointed to say the least. I turned down the road and there she was. After a long drive, the feeling of seeing what you came for off in the distance is incredibly satisfying. It no longer mattered that it wasn’t foggy, I was just happy to be there. Even in the state the building was in, she was beautiful!! I couldn’t wait to get out of my car and take pictures.

Then I spotted a truck… Seeing that the property is clearly marked “NO TRESPASSING!” there’s no playing dumb and really the property isn’t that large so sneaking around wasn’t an option. Did I really just drive two hours only to see the building and leave with no photos?! I parked across the street, contemplated my options, did a bit of pouting then decided to put on my big girl pants and just go feel out whoever was parked over there. In case y’all need a reminder, I am insanely shy. Things like this, while no big deal to most people, are a huge deal to me. I rehearsed it a few times, “Hey, do you own this place? Would you mind if I took some photos?”, before actually working up the nerve.

I drove over, rolled down my window, and took a deep breath. “Hey!” I blurted out. “Hey!” the man mimicked back in the same tone. I stuttered out my rehearsed speech and to my surprise, he said yes! We traded introductions, and spoke briefly about the building. His name was Larry, he and his wife purchased the poorhouse in September of 2015, shortly after it caught fire. They had plans to turn it into a banquet hall but soon realized it would cost a lot more money than they had anticipated. The city was pressuring them to do something with the building immediately due to the dangerous conditions. The day I showed up to photograph it? Demolition day! What are the chances?! I gathered all my equipment and started off to photograph what was left of this incredible building before it was gone forever.

I don’t know about you but there are just some people I instantly feel at ease with and Larry was definitely one of those people. He joined me after my first lap of the property and together we walked around discussing the building’s history and how sad we both were to see it go. Larry grabbed a flashlight from his vehicle and we both explored inside for the first time. “My wife wouldn’t let me come inside” he joked. It was really special to be able to experience that with a stranger, especially one who is from a totally different generation. To be able to find common ground like that is really awesome. We poked around inside where it was possible, and peeked in all the windows to see the spots we couldn’t otherwise access. My plans for the day were just to get some exterior photos so I definitely got more than I ever expected.

Larry searching for the perfect souvenir brick for me to keep.

I’m bummed I never got to see the poorhouse in all it’s glory before it burnt down but I guess it’s pretty darn cool to be able to say I was one of the very, very last people to explore and photograph it before it was torn down. I can’t even begin to tell you how much of a success I consider that little day trip to be. I conquered a fear of mine and was repaid enormously with a personal tour of an incredible piece of history.
xoxo

A million thanks to Larry for being so kind as to let me photograph his building and giving me a tour. Words cannot express how thankful I am! Part of me couldn’t imagine that it was actually being torn down that same day but a news report along with photos confirm the sad news, the poorhouse is gone forever.

Newer Posts

Older Posts