Mini: Surprise Art (Video)

Due to how chaotic things are this week, I don't know if I will have a post for this weekend. But, I might. I didn't quite get a queue going like I had hoped. I did happen upon something odd between interviews though, and it isn't enough for a real post, but sometimes the blog needs to remember that err is part of the name.

King's Island Grand Carnival

 

One of the big events I looked forward to this year was the return of KI's Grand Carnival. [note: at the time of this post, I owned two units of Cedar Fair, the parent company of Kings Island.] It was something I was really looking forward to, especially since it was canceled last year due to Covid, and the year before I only got to see it once. Well, I actually did see it a little more than once, because that year I worked at the park, and trained a day to work the festival before an injury involving a swivel chair almost cost me my foot.

Part of what I love about the festival is that it reminds me a bit of New Orleans. After missing the event in '19, we made plans to go to NOLA for my birthday in 2020, and actually officially left there a week before they claimed Covid arrived. It is one of my favorite places, for reasons I may not ever fully understand. I love it there, and I always feel like I am missing so much on my visit. The parades there that I caught were similar in some ways to what KI had and very different in others. KI kept it family-friendly, and a lot of the parades in New Orleans are also family-friendly. I still hope to watch the Krewe of Thoth's parade one day, but that didn't align with our trip. 

We made three trips this year to KI for the parade, and also the food festival that came with it. We did go a little overboard with the tasting cards, and as a result, we may have about 5 packages of Macaroons still. I really enjoyed the Chinese food section, but I really preferred the Food and Wine Festival at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. 

A few of the floats were different this year, there was at least one I know was missing, or it was changed a lot. I can not say for sure, and since they ran this at another park at the same time, it might have shuffled them a little. 

I don't know if they will do it again next year, maybe they will send it to other parks. Maybe it would be worth seeing how other parks do it, and we might have the opportunity to travel to the other parks next summer. Of course, with the normal pattern of changing shows up after two years, Grand Carnival might be gone after this. Time will tell, as the world hopefully gets back to whatever normal really is. 

More photos...

Gem City Comic Con

 

I really didn't have a lot to do last weekend, other than a dinner at the local Masonic Lodge, and one of my friends called up and asked if I wanted to tag along to a local comic show. He had a computer repair job in the afternoon, so it was just going to be a short trip. Since admission was only $10, I couldn't resist. 

We headed down to the Dayton convention center and got a decent parking spot, arriving about half an hour before the show opened. Since we were there before it opened, we got a free signed print from Stuart Sayger, which was nice. (If awkward to carry around.) It did take a few tries to find his booth, but we did it.

I was just looking for anything that would catch my eye, and I did pick up a few things. Like the Funko Pop Deadpool Trex that I have been looking for all summer. (I bought two, my son wanted one as well, and it was becoming a competition to see who would get to find it first. I drive and have money, so there was a bit of an advantage.  There were other things that I might have bought if I had a real job, like a bust of Captain Picard face-palming. It was really tempting though! 

Even though the show was Comic specific, there were a few cosplayers, at least two that I saw from My Hero Academia. It was a small show though, and we actually paid the parking garage fee two minutes shy of two hours. (Saved a dollar or two!) 

My friend didn't quite find what he was looking for (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comics) and he was told by one vendor that they had them in their store nearby. So after the Con, we headed to Bell Book and Comic where he may have spent almost $200 on comic books. I'm not judging, I quit collecting comics in college, but I transitioned to Anime Cels for a while, then ran out of money. (I may have over 100 manga books now though. I would rather not count them. Most of Inuyasha and Full Metal Alchemist, and a number of others.)

While it wasn't as large as GalaxyCon was in Louisville, not by a long shot, it was still a nice local show. I might go back next year. It wasn't exactly expensive, and I could have (should?) completed my youngest son's Assassination Classroom manga set, so he would want to go for that alone. And besides, maybe next time I will have the money to burn just for Picard's Facepalm statue. 

Run to the Moon

I finally returned to the Run to the Moon race in Wapakoneta, after quite a few years. I avoided it due to issues that happened the last time I ran it, such as the finish line getting pulled due to a storm, and getting assigned a finish time that was not accurate. Honestly, that was 8 years ago, which was a bit too long to hold a grudge. 7 years, maybe, but by year 8...

Much like 8 years ago, it didn't take long for the rain to start. It didn't get as bad this time, but with my breathing problems, it was still rough. It also dug in how much speed I have lost. While I didn't take any walking breaks (I am sort of proud about that) I still only averaged a 16:53/mile for the 5k. 8 years ago, I averaged 13:43/mile for the 10k. (I also weigh a lot more than I did last time.) 

That being said, with my youngest and my wife both running, and my son being a bit faster than me last time, I hoped to improve over Fly Me to the Moon 5k. I was successful, cutting about 30 seconds/mile from my time. My son was more successful, no only setting a PR for himself, and only about half a minute behind my PR. From 9 years ago at a cemetery run. Neither of us even came close to my wife, who set her new 10k pr and got 3rd female overall. So yeah... She got an extra medal from a few astronauts. 

Since this was the sister race to Fly Me to the Moon, this race also gave out a series medal. I came home with two medals, as did my son. (My wife came home with three, counting her place award.) 

I don't know if I will do this again next year, but I probably won't skip it for another 8 years.

 

Davey Woods SNP

 

Getting back out to hike somewhere new is a rare thing anymore. It always feels like I am short on time, which doesn't help. Still, I managed to pull off a new location for a hike about half an hour from my house, and it was a nice change of scenery. My wife and I headed to Davey Woods, a State nature preserve not all that far from home. I bookmarked it last year to go to, but didn't ever make it. 

I found that the park was quite nearly the middle of nowhere, though I know there are a few State Parks nearby. Parking was just a small grass field, and a gate that was just there to keep cars out. 

I think this was the first time I have been to a State preserve, instead of a County based one. It was also the first time I have ever seen a warning about Feral Swine in Ohio. I remember a girl in college that I used to talk to, and she used to work with a blind person to hunt wild boar in South Carolina. I heard a few stories from her, and also some family members of mine that had moved down there. Honestly though, I had no idea wild bacon was a problem in Ohio. (I looked it up, and it seems like a problem on the far side of the state, but... they are edible. Thank you ODNR for that information.)

Walking past the wild pig sign, I have to admit, I still have the wild pig / wild boar joke from Robin Hood Men in Tights stuck in my head. Seriously, I don't think I saw any signs of pigs, but I could be wrong. Maybe it was just a pig-free day? 

There are only two trails at the preserve, and we were able to hit both of them easily. I think the trail was a bit more technical than we are used to, but not difficult. It wasn't nearly as bad as the trail at Kiser Lake last summer.

One thing that did stand out on this trail was a small cemetery. With what looked like three graves, and not really near anything else, it was a strange sight to see. 

Now, to be fair, they died about 150 years ago. I ran the numbers, and it was after the revolution, and we need to recognize that the local forest are often young growth.  There might have been trees before, maybe most were cleared out for lumber, and this is just reclamation. I am curious what it looked like there a century ago. I suppose I could just start carrying a tape measure in my hiking gear and measure a few trees to estimate their age. Maybe they are older than I thought, maybe not. (Part of me thinks it is too much hassle, but writing that into a program might be useful in a classroom. I think curiosity will win out.) 

Either way, I am glad to have gotten another hiking location out of the way, even if it wasn't going towards filling out my State Park guidebook.  I don't know if I would go back and hit this location again, purely due to it being out of the way, and not being all that long. At least it was a change of pace.

Summer

This summer has been less productive than I expected, I admit. I really hoped I would get the job I interviewed for at the beginning of summer, which didn't happen. On the plus side, I have had at least one interview each week so far, but summer feels almost gone now. 

I have had to cancel a camping trip I had planned, and a few other random things due to interviews. I had planned a weekend away while the kids were out of town with their grandmother, but a last-minute interview got scheduled, ending that. I got a rejection email not even ten minutes later. 

I felt like I've had some strong interviews, but nothing so far. Of course, there are some interviews that were crap shows of the finest degree. I don't think I will ever forget the phone interview while I was at the DMV with my son getting his learner's permit. I got distracted enough I put down the wrong eye color on the form. I thought they would have scheduled that interview for later, not just called and put me on the spot. 

I still have time before the school year starts to find a job, and I renewed my substitute teaching license just in case. I just don't know what to expect yet. I hope to at least make the time to update this blog some more. At least I know I have plans, a few races are scheduled, a concert. A few things did get canceled, but I am looking forward to the Renaissance Festival. King's Island is having Haunt and Winterfest again, those are always good times. Still, with some schools starting back within the next month, it just feels like there isn't enough time.

Fly Me to the Moon 5k

Last night I did a nighttime 5k, which I can not swear to if that is a first for me. The light show was unique though.

Fly Me to the Moon held their first 5k at the Neil Armstrong airport just outside New Knoxville Ohio, not far from where he was born. It only had one runway, which I suppose is normal. I'm not a pilot, I don't know. The race started at 9:30 pm with a Delorian for a pace car. Not really moon-related, but hey, a Delorian! I didn't see it in action much, since I am not fast, but there was also a bit of distraction from the sky filling with lightning. It was about 30 miles away and never got within 20 miles, so safe and disturbing while I ran.

I didn't hit 3 miles per my watch, though. I had 2.98 miles, my son had 3.03 and my wife only hit 3.08 which sort of robbed her of a 5k pr. 

After the race, they held a firework show, which was interesting with the concurrent lightning. We didn't have any of my good cameras with us, but my phone did decently. More or less. 

It was a largely uneventful ride home, though I did have to go into another lane to prevent the decimation of a raccoon family. I'm glad there was no oncoming traffic. It probably helped that it was nearly midnight. 

Food adventure!

When I first was thinking of making this blog, long before I came up with a title, I had the idea that it would include things like trying the different pizzas from the bars in New Orleans. You know, just going out and trying foods that may have been a bad idea, because of the call of adventure. 

I did have a post that touched on food last fall, but this one is all about a quesadilla that almost defeated me. Being defeated by a single dish is not normal for me, and the only time it has happened that really sticks in my mind was a time I couldn't finish a cheeseburger when I lived in Michigan. I still don't know how that happened, I've had bigger burgers.  (That was over 15 years ago though.) 

One of the schools near where I work was hosting MEXI-Q, a Mexican food truck, and since I have a very flexible lunch break I headed over there. Now I could (should) have been responsible, reasonable, or logical with my order. Instead, I decided to order the most expensive thing on the menu, their $17 quesadilla. Three meats, two kinds of cheese, and more! I sort of blew my lunch budget for the week, but come on! 

This thing was huge. It was in two different boxes, and even looking at the menu, I still don't know what everything in the second box was! I think it was some kind of pineapple stuff, but I really don't know. I ate it with a fork, as well as the corn salsa. I don't know if I would order that again, it was almost too much for me. I had to skip dinner after eating it!  I guess I could have saved half and ate it later... 

If I come across this food truck again, I'll probably order something else. The Quesadilla Grande was great, but it was almost more than I could handle that day. 

Carmel Marathon Weekend 2021

 

Carmel Marathon Weekend is sort of a sore spot for me. Not this year so much, but my first attempt was a dumpster fire that would have fit well with 2020's year of the plague. Maybe substitute my great 2020 R'n'R Nola race weekend with this one. 

Still, this was set to be a better weekend. I packed what I needed, and I only signed up for the 5k this time. I should have signed up for the 10k, partly because I could probably push myself that far, and also because I forgot my wife was signed up for the full marathon. (To be fair, she had signed up for the 2020 Marathon, which got deferred to this year because 2020. I signed up a week before the shirt deadline.)

We got to the downtown outdoor expo, got things in place, and went to find the hotel. I would like to say this was less of an adventure than last time, but the hotel was on a roundabout and the GPS thought it was a different exit from the roundabout. We finally found the right entrance though and got checked in. 

It was still early, so we headed over to Meijer for food for the hotel room. As we were finishing, my wife got a message from the Cincinnati rep of Half Fanatics, and we met her at a Mexican restaurant nearby. It was really good and cost us a bit less than what we pay locally. For us, it is better than pasta before a race.

The 5k for me went decently enough, especially since I really haven't been running a lot recently. I had almost the same pace as a race I did last December. I am still staying sub 50, maybe one day I'll get back to sub 40 again. (My pace for this race was very similar to the first 5k of the Half course from 2018)

It took another three hours for my wife to finish her race, which was a large PR for her. We had the hotel for an extra night, so we didn't have to rush back. That was nice, other than the higher cost from it being Easter weekend. I don't know if I will return to that race, though. If I do, it will need to be for a race longer than a 5k. It did have nice medals...

Lockington attempt #2

With Spring Break arriving, I had a little more free time, so I made another attempt at figuring out the Buckeye trail near Lockington Dam. The parking lot was still closed off, but luckily, there are two parking lots. The second one was still open, but there is a caveat. It's a mile from the main parking lot, across the top of the dam.

I'll be honest, I am not 100% sure I have made that full walk between the two sides before. I did ride my bike across many years ago though. It was a great day though, so across the dam I went.

There were a few blazes near the far side, including at the picnic area. Still, I couldn't quite figure out the path from there. 

I explored some more, down onto a dirt trail, which required getting over some fallen trees. I am glad that I have the hiking pole as I climbed, even with the camera around my neck it was a great help. After about a mile and a half of hiking, I turned around and headed back to the car. I saw another paved trail to explore, but it didn't appear to be related to the Buckey Trail. 

I finally broke down once I was home and ordered the digital trail maps for the Buckeye Trail. I hardly touched it on the hike, but now I know where that is. With the main parking lot closed though, it might be a few hikes to finish exploring. 

Testing out the new toys

 

I have been hiding out, waiting for hunting season to end, and finally got out with some new toys I picked up over the last few months. Winter is rough on me, but spring can be more fun, when it isn't raining.

I needed to put the new stuff through their paces, and get a solid hold on how they work. First out, I went over to Ludlow Falls, where I have taken pictures a few times before. Well, once, at least. I think it was long enough ago that it was on my Sony 828, although it might have been the Fuji S2. I can't find that archive at the moment, so it doesn't really matter. I arrived at the falls and parked behind a sheriff. I checked to make sure my parking job was ok, and he said he doubted it but didn't really care. He told me not to jump in the water and drove off. 

I'd like to think I am smarter than that. Largely because I can hardly swim, so yeah, I'm not cliff diving into a literal death trap. 

I headed to the upper observation area, and put on an ND1000 filter, and aimed for the waterfall. I have previously used ND filters to slow water down before, but I haven't done so in a long time. Even then it would have been with an ND 2 and 4 stacked. I am a little shaky on the math of it, but I think this new filter is about 3 times slower than the stack I had used before. 

But it worked great! Of course, the main observation area is nice, but... I wanted closer. By closer, I mean to the water, I was already as close to the falls as I could get. So I made my way down an old path to the streambed, and hiked back towards the falls, using my tripod for stability as I went. It was a little slippery, but I got as close to the falls and the middle of the channel as I could while staying dry. 

They may not be the most impressive falls in the land, but worth the hike. Still, I wasn't done testing out the new gear. I hiked back up to my car, and headed to another park I had only been to once before, and I think that was without a camera. 

The Blankenship Riverside Sanctuary is a small little park on the side of the road just outside Covington, Ohio. The most prominent feature seen as you drive by is the old closed-off bridge. Of course, driving by hides so much as well. Hiking the trail towards the fishing and canoe area (What kind of sanctuary allows fishing?) I noticed the bridge to the bridge.

From the road, and the parking lot as well, this looks like a driveway to the closed down bridge. The stonework on it was nice, and unless you hike down to see it, you wouldn't even know it was there.

 To me, it was far more impressive than the old steel bridge. 

I wasn't there though to play with the ND filter, I was instead putting my "new to me" zoom lens from KEH. It gives me much better zoom ability, but it is a heavy lens. I like the extra power it gives me, and it is a little easier to manual focus when I need to, but I like the lighter kit lens I started with for most things. This was really my third time taking the lens out, I used it once for some nice deer shots when I made sure it worked before my wife's birthday run, which I used it for as well. This was the first time I took it out using it to see what I could really do. Not testing it, not getting event pictures, but testing myself. 

I have plans to correct a wrong in a few weeks. Last year I went to Hocking Hills for astrophotography, I plan to go back and actually get pictures on the trails. I hear it is too good of a park to have missed it in the daytime. Then I will see what I can do, and both lenses are going to be pushed as far as I can take them.

Carriage Hill MetroPark

I headed out with the camera for the first time this year, and because I needed to hit Target, it set me to finding a park near the store. I had the option of a few parks but settled on Carriage Hill Metropark. I had never been there before, so I put on my hiking shoes and headed down.

The weather wasn't nearly as nice as they said, although it did refrain from raining. Still, with rain the day before, the trails had sections of mud and some standing water. I figure that having hiking shoes means nothing if I am not willing to walk in the mud and puddles though. I did almost slip a few times, but I stayed upright. 

The trails were mostly empty, I did see a few people near the parking areas, and a few footprints further back in the woods, but it was a nice and quiet few miles in the woods. I still wish I had a longer lens for my a6000, a few birds got away from the camera, but really, the hike itself is what I needed. Now if I could have had some sunlight too... 

Spring will get here, eventually. Probably. And maybe I'll just carry two cameras. That'll show the birds. Probably not. A short hike with two cameras just seems like overkill.

Busy few months

 It has been a busy few months, moving towards full time at work and the long daily drives that come from that. I haven't been out an about as much, as that really kicked in as I recovered from the injury I sustained at the Locks in October. 

That isn't to say that I haven't done anything, just nothing eventful per se. I  actually came in 3rd of 4 in my age group at a local 5k, and I did come up with a plan for hiking until hunting season is over. I might test that out this weekend, it is too soon to tell. 

I do need to find some extra time to explore next to where I work as well. A few weeks back, when I needed to get some fresh air due to health issues, I was going to do a quick walk to the park next to where I was working. In doing so, I found a trail! 

What is really strange about this was that when I looked up the park, that trail wasn't the trail on the park map. So... There should be at least an adventure worth taking on. Maybe that will be the next day off for me since I am not about to go hiking very far in my work clothes. Sure, I did go about 0.2 miles down that trail, but that isn't the same thing as 3 miles. 

I'll be glad when hunting season is over, I miss the State Parks. Still, I think I have found some safe places to hike until then, but only if I can get out the door.