U.S Grant Birthplace Sign

Our second stop for the day was at the birth place of our nations 18th president Ulysses S. Grant who was born in Point Pleasant Ohio. The house were Grant was born has been restored and is opening to the public. It is a 1 story, 3 room white cottage that sits just off of Route 52 in Point Pleasant. There is plenty of parking right across the street ffrom the home and a short walk across Route 52 there is a small rest area with picnic tables, grills and rest rooms. The rest area is located just before the Grant Memorial Bridge which I will talk about in my next post.

President Grant's Birthplace

Front of Grant's Birthplace. If you would like find out more please click or copy/paste the link below for tour times, prices and more history about this home.http://www.ohiohistory.org/places/grantbir/

Simon Kenton Bridge

 North of Ripley Ohio you enter into Aberdeen we didn't make a stop in Aberdeen but saw a cool looking bridge that spans across the Ohio River over into Maysville Kentucky. The name of the bridge is the Simon Kenton Memorial Bridge. Following the bridge over the river it takes you right into the heart of Maysville Kentucky. The 1800's river town is well known for it being the home to Rosemary Clooney, a large amount of  historical sites, including the ole river row type homes, state parks and so much more. Since we didn't see much of Maysville (we were just getting wore out and it was time to head home) we are planning another trip back to the area along with the rest of Mason County. We did make a stop however along the river front to see some painted murals on the flood walls along the Ohio River. These were gorgeous and are pictures didn't do them justice at all. You can find the murals on the corners of Maysville-McDonald road and Limestone Road. When coming over the bridge from Ohio Route 52 on the Simon Kenton Bridge just take a right hand turn at the end of the bridge go down a couple of blocks and keep looking toward the right... u can't miss them! 

Maysville Front Street

Maysville Front Street Stone

Limestone Landing Mural

Limestone Landing Stone

Buffalo Trace Stone Maysville Ky

Buffalo Trace Mural Maysville Ky.

Buffalo Trace Mural

Russell Theater, Maysville Kentucky

Russell Theater, Maysville Kentucky. Where Rosemary Clooney performed as a child and is now being restored. There is a music festival in Maysville every year to help raise money to complete the restoration

First Stop, New Richmond Ohio

New Richmond is a very small river town. We drove along Front Street which hugs the Ohio River. I remember as a very young child coming up here with my parents and grand parents who owned a camp along the Ohio River and to also ride the ferry with my grandpa over into Augusta Kentucky. We had some relatives who owned the local Metzgers Hardware store years ago on Front Street. While traveling down front street I noticed the ole Metzgers Hardware sign and was surprised to still find it in business. It doesn't seem like much has changed here since years past. One day I would like to seek out the ole camp. I wonder if it is still around also?
If you would like to learn more about New Richmond Ohio please click or copy/paste the link below.
http://www.newrichmond.org/

New Richmond Ohio River Gauge

The measurements go up to 82 feet! There were different years posted on the sign but they were pretty hard to see. If I remember correctly the highest footage that had something written on it was in the high 70's range!

Ripley Ohio Tobacco Museum
Our next stop was in Ripley Ohio. We didn't get to see all of the museums, homes etc in this town so we plan on coming back. However, we did stop at the Ohio Tobacco Museum. A very nice man named Bob was our guide. The museum was well worth the donation admission of $2.00! There is a total of four rooms in the museum. The history room tells of the early years of tobacco including the tools used and how it was made in the civil war era.  In the river room it shows the influence the Ohio River had on the tobacco history. The tobacco farm room displays some of the earlier equiptment used in the cutting and storing of tobacco.
They have an extensive collection of match books, and old cigarette and cigar boxes and memorabilia. The museums most pride possession is the two boxes of cigars that belonged to Ulysses S. Grant back in the 1800's! Below is the link to their website and has information on hours, and other information.  

http://www.ripleyohio.net/htm/museums.htm

Front Street New Richmond Ohio

Ohio River Scenic Highway Route 52

The weather this past week has been beautiful! Nice warm sunny days, and cool nights. We were suppose to stay home this weekend and paint the underside of the popup base,pressure wash and stain the deck, but... We just felt we couldn't waste this gorgeous Saturday morning, so off we went!

I have been wanting to drive up Route 52 which winds along, adjacent to the Ohio River. A few weeks ago we did drive a little ways when we checked out Steamboat Bend Campground but I really wanted to go further up river and see the sites. I can't remember when the last time I drove this area but it is still a beautiful scenic drive with some nice parks and pulloffs for a picnic, taking a stroll or snapping some pictures of the barges going up and down river.

When I looked up this region I ws surprised how much there really was to see along they way! Our 18th United States President Ulysses S. Grant was born in Point Pleasant Ohio, there were locks and dams, two riverside parks, several homes that helped slaves escape and even a tobacco museum! I will try to tell a little bit of each stop along with some pictures.

We didn't get all the way to Portsmouth Ohio like we had planned. There was just too much to see and not enough time to see everything in a few hours. We did drive up to Ripley, Ohio then crossed a bridge over the Ohio river to Maysfield Kentucky to see what their river town had to offer. Maysville included some beautiful murals thate make their old flood walls just fantastic!
This was a memorable trip with beautiful scenic views and small friendly river towns. If you choose to set out yourself on a trip out Route 52 I don't think you will be disappointed.

Fishing Day at Cowan Lake State Park

I don't think it is much of a secret that Dennis and I love to go fishing! We try to go at least once a month if not more often. Our favorite place to fish (because we actually catch em here) is Cowan Lake. Cowan is part of the State of Ohio Park System. We also camp a few weeks a year there but we will tell you all about the campground in a later post. Cowan Lake is about 700 acres and you will see alot of pontoon boats, fishing boats on the lake on the weekends. They also have a sailboat club. There is also a marina where you can purchase bait etc.
Even tho parts of the Cowan Lake State Park are beautiful some, of the facilites have seemed to slipped by the state of Ohio in approvements and upgrades. (This does not include the campground which is very nice) We are keeping our fingers crossed that they are now going to upgrade some of the restrooms along the lake shore since we noticed that an old ranger station and bathrooms have been leveled. Here is a website link that will take you to a site that gives you all the information needed to see Cowan Lake!
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/parks/cowanlk.htm

Beautiful Cowan Lake !

Whoo Hoo! First fish of 2005!

View From Presiden'ts Tomb

Words On The Presidents Memorial

President's Tomb

The Step Entrance

Ramp Entrance

President Henry Harrisons Tomb

Sunday we also visted President Henry Harrisons Tomb. Again, living here all my life and I never knew where our Ohio president was buried. It has a beautiful view overlooking the Ohio river and the Northern Kentucky side of the River. Below is more information about the president and where is tomb is located.
Harrison's tomb and monument on Mt. Nebo in North Bend contains the remains of William Henry Harrison, ninth president of the United States.
An obelisk of Bedford limestone, with marble entranceway, rises 60 feet above the tomb. From the terrace visitors have a spectacular panorama of the Ohio River valley.

Harrison, who was born in Virginia in 1773, spent most of his adult life in Ohio and Indiana. He served as secretary to the territorial governor, senator, representative, and president, but he is most famous as a military hero. Harrison commanded the western army during the War of 1812.

For more information please click or copy/paste the link below.
http://www.ohiohistory.org/places/harrison/

Playground at Fernbank Park

Playground at Fernback Park on the Ohio River
This is a very nice park with a fantastic view of the Ohio river. Even tho when we were there the phase 2 construction wasn't complete they did have the childrens playground and a very nice shelter and paved walking trail. Also had very nice, clean bathrooms and plenty of parking.
Fernbank Park combines the former Lee Park (1912) and River Park (1913) with the former Fernbank dam site. The Fernbank dam was completed in 1911 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and then dismantled in 1963 due to the construction of three new high dams. The land was leased for park use by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and then transferred to the Cincinnati Park Board in 1974.




In March 2003, the Hamilton County Park District and the Cincinnati Park Board signed a cooperative commitment to improve Fernbank Park. This partnership enables the Hamilton County Park District to contribute approximately $2.7 million in park enhancements, in addition to assuming the operation, maintenance and Ranger patrol of Fernbank Park. Improvements accomplished in 2004 and open to the public include:







Riverview Shelter - renovated picnic shelter, 144 capacity, grills, horseshoe pits, play field, gated entry and parking area.


New restroom with covered entry area and vending, decorative concrete plaza, water fountain with dog fountain and parking area.


Playground - entire playground fenced with one entry/exit point adjacent to restroom, decorative metal benches and trash receptacles, poured-in-place rubber safety surface, 2 playgrounds for different age groups (2-5 year olds and 5-12 year olds), 3 "Cool Toppers" built into playground provide shade, one freestanding "Cool Topper" with bench seating for adults, "Thunderhead Climber" for rock climbing and discovery, "Gemini Slide" for racing, "Turbo Twister" tunnel slide, "Sway Fun" boat, curved track ride, multiple climbers and agility equipment, exceeds ADA requirements for number of ADA accessible/ground level components, various educational and learning panels as well as game panels
Paved walking trail and River Promenade provide views of natural areas and the Ohio River as well as seating and access to picnic areas
Phase Two improvements for 2005 to include the completion of paved park road and parking improvements, new paved multi-purpose trail, two new non-reservable picnic shelters, interpretive and information signs and various other site improvements

Mitchell Memorial Park Pond

Hmm... 3 times around the pond equals 1 mile?

Well we made it around once LOL!

Mitchell Pond

Even tho the pond at Mitchel Memorial is small it looks like it will be a nice place to put up a lawn chair and throw in a fishing line! When we visited yesterday there were only two people fishing and one had said he had caught a few. That is all Dennis needed to hear, we can't wait to get back and try our luck!

This past Sunday we decided to check out a few of our local county parks. Even tho I lived here all my life and Dennis has been here over 15 years we still have so much more to see before we live this area! So off the be a local tourist we go. Our first stop was at the Mitchell Memorial Forest. We had heard they had a catch and release lake here and we have been trying to find somewhere a little closer to home since gas has gone up to $2.25 or more a gallon!

  Mitchell Memorial Forest has 1,336 acres of beautiful huge old trees. It includes several picnic area, a playground, nature trail and a stone memorial shelter, along with a catch and release lake for fishing. The forest is located in the western part of Hamilton County in the Bridgetown area. For more information you can go to the following website: http://greatparks.org/parks/mitchell_memorial/index.html

FINALLY... SPRING! April, 2nd 2005

Wow! I was starting to wonder if spring was going to get to the Ohio area. Finally, a warm, sunny day yesterday, and we took advantage! Even tho we probably should have stayed home and work on the lawn and the deck we decided to take off and see a few of our county parks that we haven't been to before. Dennis and I love to get out and see different things. That is one reason we think think we will love the Rv lifestyle! I remembered to take my camera and actually remembered to take a few pics LOL! So the next few posts will be all about the places we visited yesterday. I am going to try my best to describe all the park amenities etc in the hopes it might help out other Rvers that might be visting the area someday. (That is if I ever put this blog out to the public :-)