Pittsburgh, PA

After visiting the Flight 93 National Memorial we drove into Pittsburgh to catch a Pirates game. We roamed around the area near PNC Park for a while, snapping photos, and having a few drinks before heading into the game. I've always enjoyed visiting this city - I wish we had a little more time here.

Flight 93 National Memorial

Last Friday my family and I visited the Flight 93 National Memorial with students from Green Schools who are involved in the 93 Cents for Flight 93 program that has raises money for the memorial. There were also two buses of students from Washington D.C. there for the day. Todd Beamer's parents spoke to the students, Todd was one of the heroes on the plane on September 11th. The rangers also gave a detailed account of everything we know about what happened that day on the flight. Walking the memorial and reading the names of the crew and passengers on the wall made me think about if I would have had the guts to do what those passengers did - most likely save the Capitol Building and possibly hundreds of lives - at the expense of their own.

Food Truck Friday

If you work in the downtown Akron area you should stop by Child Guidance and Family Solutions' "Food Truck Friday" - which kicked off its Summer season last week. Every Friday from 11am until 1:30pm there will be roughly 5-10 food trucks to choose from. A portion of the profits benefit CG&FS so you are eating for a great cause. The event is located at 18 N Forge Street(You'll see it from Market Street) and they update the weekly truck participants on their face book page. See you there!

Open Streets Akron

Another Knight Foundation event took place over the weekend in Akron - The Open Streets Project had Main street shut down to motorized traffic between Bartges Street and the Cuyahoga Falls Ave(where the Better Block was taking place). The event was proposed my soon-to-be-mayor Gary Moneypenny who said, "....I am really excited for this event and I can’t wait to walk across the Y-bridge with fellow walkers, bikers, skaters, and runners, and take in the City from this unique perspective.” There were different activity stations set-up along the way - miniature golf, yoga, chalk drawing, food trucks, performances and more. I rode with a group of Better Block organizers and we spent a couple of hours riding and taking it all in. The weather cleared up and it was an awesome afternoon.

Akron Better Block

In Temple Square (Cuyahoga Falls Ave. and North Main area of North Hill) over the weekend the Knight Foundation sponsored the Akron Better Block. Better Block is an organization that helps select and set up areas to showcase what they could be like(usually for two days). Temple Square was made bike and pedestrian friendly, vacant store fronts were filled with local "pop-up" shops, there was outdoor seating, musical acts, a craft fair/farmers market, beer garden and more. There was definitely a festival atmosphere. North Hill's large immigrant community gave the event a cultural vibe - it looked more like something you would see in NYC. To me though it was more than a great weekend - it was a chance for some permanent change - AMATS has already recommended a road diet for North Main and protected bike lanes. I've heard that some of the pop-up shops may become brick and mortar businesses.

The Wild Flowers

The spring wild flowers along creeks, the apple blossoms blowing in the breeze, the greening of the trees, the birds chirping - it is Springtime in Akron.

Gritty and Grainy(Expired Film)

I had this roll of film sitting on my desk for a while now - I finally remembered to get it developed the other day. It was some long expired Kodak Gold 400 that I picked up an estate sale. I ran it through my trusty Nikon L35AF, Nikon's first point & shoot auto-focus camera.

Blue Heron Homecoming

On Saturday the Akron’s Water Reclamation Facility(which I believe used to be called a "wastewater treatment plant"(everything has a brand these days)) was open to the public for a festival. The parks, zoo, Canalway, schools and more had interesting and educational booths set up. There was free lunch and shuttles to the Heron rookery. ReWorks was there and set up to make it a zero waste event. The highlight, though, was the tour of the facility itself. I was impressed at the large turnout - basically so many people interested in what happens when you flush.

Jane's Walk Four

On Sunday afternoon I took part in my last Jane's Walk of the weekend - this time it was Portage Lakes led by Kaley Foster. The tour was shorter on walking than many - which demonstrated one of the challenges of the area - that it is not particularly pedestrian(or bike) friendly. The walk was long on information and discussion though - and finished with a trolley ride through the beautiful Lakes on a perfect day.

Jane's Walk Three

The third Jan'e walk I participated in took place on Saturday evening - it followed in the footsteps of the ArtWalk and was led by Suzie Graham. The ArtWalk takes place the first Saturday of each month. We started at the Summit ArtSpace, walked down Market to the Historic Cultural District, and then to Northside.

Jane's Walk Two

On Saturday afternoon I went on my second Jane's Walk - this time Kenmore - led by Greg Burke and Nolan James. Greg is a lifelong Kenmore resident and we joked that he made it the, "Kenmore Dad Joke Comedy Tour". Great leaders and neighborhood champions - not to mention the other longtime residents who showed up and could answer any question about Kenmore history you had. This "walk" was a little different as we took a trolley around the area and then would get off and stroll. This was a Jane's Walk that truly changed my perception of an area of the city. Yes, Kenmore has its challenges, but it is not that place that many believe it is. I really thought that parts of Summit Lake were a no go zone - they turned out to be one of the most beautiful parts of Akron.

Jane's Walk One

On Friday at Noon I went on the first of 15 Jane's Walks happening in Akron this weekend. This walk was about the city's infrastructure and engineering - led by Renee Whittenberger and Christine Jonke. We learned about some of the things people rarely think about - the underground utilities and drainage, bridges, and the history of it all. As with every neighbor walking tour(Jane's walk and Akron2Akron) I've come away with some interesting facts I never knew about Akron and met a few interesting people I wouldn't have otherwise.

Barberton Ride

My friend, Wes, and I met at the dog park on Memorial, rode the Towpath south, and then detoured into Barberton on Wednesday evening. We left around 5:45PM and it was absolutely gorgeous out. Riding along Summit Lake was a highlight. We were riding pretty hard but I still managed to get my camera out and snap a few photos - it was the kind of light where just about any photo looked good - even from a moving bike.

On a Field of Blue

From Wikipedia:

"Mertensia virginica (common names Virginia bluebell, Virginia cowslip, lungwort oysterleaf, Roanoke bells) is a spring ephemeral plant with bell-shaped sky-blue flowers, native to eastern North America.....The word ephemeral means transitory or quickly fading. In regard to plants, it refers to several distinct growth strategies. The first, spring ephemeral, refers to perennial plants that emerge quickly in the spring and die back to their underground parts after a short growth and reproduction phase."

...and they sure are beautiful growing all along Furnace Run in the Cuyahoga Valley.

Akron2Akron: Middlebury

Yesterday afternoon I went on the latest Akron2Akron neighborhood walking tour - this time - Middlebury. We started at the Open Assembly of God Church and the non-religious organization LINKS. There were long time residents of the area helping out with the tour. It was interesting to hear about the way the neighborhood had changed over time, its challenges and the wonderful effort that the church and LINKS are putting in to make it a better place.

Mustill Store

Yesterday there was an event called "Block to Lock" - a group biked from Highland Square down to the Mustill Store, where there was food, music, volunteer canal clean-up, a fire and more. Unfortunately I was busy in the morning and couldn't make the whole event - but decided to bike down later in the day. I caught part of 'Acid Cats' set and explored the cool little museum about Akron's Canal days and the building's life as a grocery store. Cascade Locks Park has long been one of my favorite spots - even before the Towpath ran through and all the displays were added.

Walk A Mile

Last evening I went to Lock 3 for the "10th Annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" event that raises awareness of sexual violence. It is hosted by the Rape Crisis Center. I wanted to grab some photos of my TorchBearer friends in their heels - but I also ran into a bunch of other friends who turned out and raised money for this great cause. It was a fun event about a serious issue.

Down South

On Friday morning I had a photo shoot down in Canton. After the shoot I decided to hang around town for a bit and take some photos. I find Canton to be visually pretty interesting because so many of their old building in the commercial district remain - especially compared to Akron and Cleveland for its relative size. Also, and as I've written here before, I'm impressed with how much seems to be going on in Downtown Canton. Like many Rust Belt cities Canton has the problem of being a shrinking community and there is plenty of vacant buildings - but it seems Downtown had already bottomed out and is on the rebound. I would venture to guess that their are more good restaurants there than in Akron - and with the Arts in Stark Grants there are a bunch of galleries in the Art's District. I know your supposed to kick it on the next city down the line(Cleveland>Akron) but right now I'm a fan. I hope things continue in a positive direction.