Winter road trip photos

[David]

Here are some photos from a 10 day, 2,000 mile road trip I just went on. The only familiar city for me on this trip was Atlanta, so i've left those pictures out. The rest I had never been to before.

Downtown Knoxville, TN:



Their downtown revival is well under way. Very walkable, plenty of places to eat, drink & shop nearby. There's still a ton of historic buildings in the area awaiting rennovation.

I had to spend 36 hours in Lexington, KY because of this:



A native Floridian driving in a snow storm, not good.

I opted to ride the storm out by talking to the locals at this fine establishment in downtown Lexington:



It reminded me of Boomtown. Low light, plenty of couches along with a ton of books and a bit of theatrical entertainment thrown in for good measure.


Cincinnati:







It may have been the 20 degree air temp mixed in with the freezing rain and snow, but Cincinatti gave me the impression that it's in a bit of a downward spiral lately, so I wasn't surprised to read they've been losing population in both city proper and the metro area as a whole:

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060621/NEWS01/606210361

I wasn't sure what to make of one of the famous Ohio chilli joints:



Cinnamon in chili? that's whacky!

Onward:

Columbus, OH turned out to be a nice treat as I had the impression it was a smaller college town similiar to Gainesville, not ....this:









I wish I could've taken pics of the short north at night, the arches were lit up as far as the eye could see. Quite beautiful. I'm also quite jealous that a city in Ohio's got this much progressive momentum going while Jax still struggles to revive it's urban core, but that's for another thread.

My final destination was Pittsburgh, PA



I had a neutral opinion of Pittsburgh going in, but after my friends showed me around and after listening to the locals talk about how much they value the history of their city, I really started to enjoy my stay there. I'd definitely like to go back. They've also suffered from a shrinking population throughout recent decades but it appears to be reversing itself as of late.













The VW's happy to be back in warmer weather after going thru this:

[thelakelander]

Sounds like a great trip.  Short North (Columbus) is a pretty impressive place.  My hope is that one day, our Main Street will become just as vibrant as that stretch.  Out of all those places, I would agree that Cincinnati seems to be the worse off.  However, its sort of like Jacksonville.  DT leaves a lot to be desired, but there are a ton of vibrant neighborhoods just outside of its borders.

[David]

Sounds like a great trip.  Short North (Columbus) is a pretty impressive place.  My hope is that one day, our Main Street will become just as vibrant as that stretch.  Out of all those places, I would agree that Cincinnati seems to be the worse off.  However, its sort of like Jacksonville.  DT leaves a lot to be desired, but there are a ton of vibrant neighborhoods just outside of its borders.

I had noticed that from getting off the interstate and wandering the side streets in Cincinnati, but I only spent a few hours in town and didn't get the entire feel for it. It does seem very much like Jax, you really need to know where you're going in order to apperciate it.

I wish I could've spent more time in the shorth north of Columbus, 24 hours there wasn't enough! They've turned what was formerly a depressed area around in just a matter of 10-15 years, so if we could just get that spark to ignite in Springfield, it wouldn't take long at all really.

[BridgeTroll]

This view looks similar to one from our Main St bridge... or what our version could look like...

[jbm32206]

Nice photo tour...I see you managed to navigate through the snow

[ProjectMaximus]

Looks like a great trip, David! Thanks for the tour.

I used to have the same college town impression of Columbus til several years ago when I met people from there who told me differently. Then I looked up the numbers and yeah...I mean, Columbus is a bona fide city with or without OSU. Kinda like Austin (another city that I thought was just a college town til I saw MTV's Real World there, lol)

[David]

Nice photo tour...I see you managed to navigate through the snow

Thanks!

I pretty much played it safe and waited until the roads were thawed out before attempting travel again. I didn't want to take a crash course in winter driving at my insurance company's expense. My car was sliding all over the interstate before I pulled off in Kentucky, black ice covered with snow topped with more ice. Nasty stuff! But it was still enjoyable since snow is magical to us native Floridians. I'm not used to seeing water in that particular form.

[thelakelander]

So how was Skyline Chili?  Did you get a chance to try a Primanti Burger in Pittsburgh?

[David]

Skyline was decent, it's not the typical chili you might find in the south. Had a sweet tinge to it. I’m told they use cinnamon in the recipe. I didn't get to try the other regional favorite, goldstar chilli, but i'm told it's pretty similar.

I did try a Primanti burger and it was insanely delicious. They put the fries on the sandwich, how cool is that? It's all going to the same place so why not? I also had a few other things on the menu during my stay there, I could almost move there based soley on the dining options. There's a strong Italian population in the burgh and they really do know the secret of packing a lot of flavor into a meal. I believe at least 4 local restaurants in that city alone have been features on Diners, drive-ins & dives. Not the healthiest of foods, but good regardless.

[David]

Looks like a great trip, David! Thanks for the tour.

I used to have the same college town impression of Columbus til several years ago when I met people from there who told me differently. Then I looked up the numbers and yeah...I mean, Columbus is a bona fide city with or without OSU. Kinda like Austin (another city that I thought was just a college town til I saw MTV's Real World there, lol)

Hah, yeah Austin's also known as the live music capitol of the world as well. I haven't been, but it's next on my list of cities to visit. They've adopted the slogan "Keep Austin Strange" But I also saw that out in Portland, Ore soooo, someone's copying someone there.

[CrysG]

I've been to Cincy twice spending a total of 2 weeks there. There are a million places to see in that town. I fell in love with the city and if it was in my power I'd move there tomorrow. Downtown has stores like Tiffanys and other high end places. Going out from down town there are museums and gardens.

IMO it isn't anything like Jacksonville.

[David]

I've been to Cincy twice spending a total of 2 weeks there. There are a million places to see in that town. I fell in love with the city and if it was in my power I'd move there tomorrow. Downtown has stores like Tiffanys and other high end places. Going out from down town there are museums and gardens.

IMO it isn't anything like Jacksonville.

Yep it definitely has a bigger city vibe than Jacksonville does, for sure. But when I travel, I compare other city's downtowns to ...well, other city's downtown. Not Jax's DT because, it's just not fair. We're still a major work in progress here.

I was under the assumption Cinci was bigger and more bustling. You know, from growing up with krp in Cincinatti on tv and all.

This is just an observation from a 3 hour period spent while passing thru though,  I didn't check out any of the neighborhoods/musuems/nightlife. Plus during my visit the weather was 22 degrees with sleet.

[ProjectMaximus]

Plus during my visit the weather was 22 degrees with sleet.

The one very clear advantage Jax has over Cincy at the moment...

[thelakelander]

From my experience, DT Cincinnati is no Loop or Manhattan but its twice as dense and vibrant as DT Jax.  Many of the things some here hope for (ie. convention center, DT retail, modern architecture, large scale museums, etc.) are already in place in DT Cincinnati.

[Matt]

i like the building in the top (and a little to the right)! looks like something from BATMAN!