Fort Wayne, IN

We spent only one afternoon and night in Fort Wayne, but we squeezed in quite a bit.  We opted for outdoor activities, rather than seeking out museums or exploring the downtown sights - a nice change of pace for us.  The quick stop through town made it difficult to pick up on the vibe of the city, but it does seem that the town really values the outdoors - thinking of it now, it's likely the culture of Fort Wayne led us to spend so much time outside.

Fort Wayne has a trail system that spans 68 miles, 50 miles of which are interconnected. The trail system is continually growing and flows through the city, parks, riverbanks, and protected greenland. We took Theodore and Shelby out for a short 8 mile ride on the Towpath trail, taking in the views of marshlands and what seemed to be farmlands.

At night, we went to cheer on the Tin Caps at Parkview Field. A minor league baseball game is on our list of things to do while on the road, and we couldn't have picked a better place - Parkview Field was just named the #1 minor league ballpark! We could see why - the park was beautiful and had the most amazing option to sit on the lawn. It was the cheapest ticket ($5), but probably the coolest seat! Although it got really chilly, it was a such a fun night of watching the game and seeing all the kids and families enjoying the Great American Pastime.

On our way out of town, we were sure to walk around the grounds of the Fort, which is a replica of the Fort built in 1816 - it was a cool look back in history.

We also spent some time at the rose garden in town, and we will put up a separate post on that.

-Amanda



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Ohio Bike Trail | Cleveland, OH (Plus a Video!)

While visiting Cleveland, OH, we stayed about 20 miles south-east of the city. One morning, we took a bicycle ride on the Ohio Metroparks' Bike & Hike Trail. This was our first real bike ride on this trip, and we were excited to clock some miles on Theodore and Shelby (we went 12 miles that day). The 33.5 mile trail is one of the first "rails to trails" conversions in the country. We've had some previous experience with converted railroad trails - part of our Portland, ME to Portsmouth, NH trek was along such a trail in southern Maine, and Boston has its own Minuteman Bikeway.

The ride was just great! It's exactly what our bodies needed after all the highway miles in the car the week before. The trail wasn't crowded at all, the weather and scenery were beautiful, and wildlife accompanied us the entire way - we saw a ton of birds and one wild bunny.

At the end of our ride we decided to go another mile to cool down, and it's a good thing we did!  We found a very pleasant surprise: the 65-foot Brandywine Falls. Coming from Niagara a few days earlier, there was no direct comparison, but the Brandywine falls were awfully cute and had a great trail around them, allowing visitors to get pretty close to the waterfall.

-Taras

PS: Here's a looks at the waterfall in action.  This was before we learned to flip the iPhone for filming!

Introductions, et cetera

Hello, friends!

We'd again like to thank all our guest bloggers from last week: Sarah, Amanda, Emily, Natalie, and Nicole. Your favorite spots from around the US have us even more excited to explore this beautiful country!  We had such a great response to our guest posts that we have decided to feature one guest post each week - email us if you'd like to be added to the line-up!

Also, welcome to all our new friends!  It's time to formally introduce our little travel family:

Taras: The leading man, designated driver and bicycle repair specialist. He's excited for the first time he gets to launder his boxers in the river (using biodegradable soap, of course).
Amanda: The professional car napper, trip budget coordinator and excessive shoe packer. She dreams of hosting a dinner party at a campsite picnic table.
Zion: He was a little sad to leave his beloved prior family, where he could play with an adorable little girl and a fluffy dog.  So far, he's adjusting well to the new gig and just got his tires rotated and oil changed today!
Theodore: Taras's trusted companion.  He's been in the family for a few years now, enduring his share of scrapes and bruises.  Poor guy had the first mechanical casualty of the trip when he popped a tire yesterday.
Shelby: She is the newest addition to the family! She's sporty and lightweight, making her the perfect companion for our cross-county adventures.

If you'd like to know more, check out our about us section.

-Taras & Amanda

Portland to Portsmouth by Bike | Day 1

One of the most adventurous trips Amanda and I have taken to date was a bike ride from Portland, ME to Portsmouth, NH over Labor Day weekend in September of 2010.  We covered over 100-miles of coastal Maine during our 2-day ride and fell in love with cycling in a completely new way. We outfitted Theodore and Caroline (that's right, our bikes have names :) ) with bike racks and panniers, prayed for good weather, and set off on the one-way Amtrak from Boston to Portland on Friday night. I've been to Portland a couple of times as a teenager, but we were excited to explore the city together and see what the hipstery, foodie hype was all about. Dinner at Caiola's was fantastic: the bruschetta dish featured the chicken of the woods - that mushroom cap looking growth you see on trees. It was delicious, and, true to its name, resembled chicken. The cannelloni and paella were also incredibly tasty.

We spent the night in Portland. After a hearty breakfast the next morning and frolicking around town a bit, we headed out on the first long leg of the ride. The ~40 mile trek on Saturday was the more challenging of the two days, with a lot of up-hills and not-so-amazing scenery. Part of it is my fault as I mismanaged our expectations with the following logic: we'll be biking right along the coast, it cannot possibly be that hilly. Epic fail. My lightweight road bike made the experience bearable, but Amanda's 7-speed steel-frame comfort cruiser almost made her cry on a couple of occasions. A special mention goes to the hill that we climbed, only to realize we were going the wrong way. I take the blame for that one... We did find a neat path built along an abandoned railroad tack. Part of a national effort to convert unused railroads to bike and recreation trails, the Scarborough-Saco Trail had some amazing natural scenery.

-Taras

These figures were made from foil wrappers used at Ohno Cafe to wrap bagels and the such. I made Amanda her own foil figure!

Portsmouth on Dwellable

Portland to Portsmouth by Bike | Day 2

Arriving at Kennebunkport Saturday afternoon was a treat - we changed out of our sweaty biking clothes and took some time to walk around the cute coastal town. We even managed to take some pictures of the Bush family's waterfront summer home. We had dinner at Mabel's Lobster Claw and thoroughly enjoyed the well deserved meal. We even splurged on dessert, which we took back to our inn and ate in the adirondack chairs while stargazing - best dessert ever! Oh, and the bike ride to the hotel after dinner was terrifying - the 2.5 mile trip would be a piece of cake during the day, but after the sun sets, Kennebunkport differs from Boston in that there are no lightposts anywhere, and the road is literally pitch black.  The safety lights on our bikes work fine in the city to forewarn cars, but they do little to light dark roads. We made it safely, but next time we bike in the dark, we'll invest in some heavy duty Maglites.

On the second leg of the trip we had more beachfront views and had an easier ride overall. We went through a few New England beach towns (Wells, Ogunquit, and York) enjoying the town centers and antique shops along the way.  By the time we made it to Portsmouth, NH that evening, we had managed to hit the 100 mile mark and spent the night and Labor Day morning with our family.

-Taras

Carbo-loading with an everything bagel before heading out of Kennebunkport, ME.