Very nice picture... so where was this?

Disrupt IT

We stayed at the Trailside Inn pictured in the last shot.  While, in light of the gas crisis, the whole country is probably rethinking our rush to dismantle our rail lines, the Alleghany Rails to Trails project has been a boon to the mountain community in Maryland.  Train and bike enthusiasts are fierce. 

Locally, the Plain Press reports that the Midwest Railway Preservation Society's open house on May 3rd at the old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Train shelter and roundhouse at 2800 West 3rd St. attracted over one thousand visitors!  All aboard people! 

what a beautiful photo..thanks for posting this..so peaceful and with rich colors.

The families in my neighborhood can board their bikes for $2.00 and explore the Cuyahoga Valley with their bikes.  No gas needed.  Pedal power works in Brooklyn Centre.

Today the train took me to University Circle.  It was a big learning day for me.  On the way to catch the bus, I jotted down this website http://www.nhmsi.com/. It refers buyers to potential HUD homes for sale in my neighborhood.  I could feel the kismet.  When you jump off the bus to a waiting train, you know it will be a good day.

I got to the East 120th St. station in time to make my interview with history teachers from Revere High School.  The interview was held at the new student housing at Case, in House 3, which just happens to be at the end of what used to be my street in University Circle--East 116th St.  The interview will be archived as part of the Cleveland Memory Project.  I am scanning the waiver and will add it here. There were loads of people there today being interviewed.  It will be interesting to see the results. 

Deja vu.  It's always strange for me to wander around University Circle.  I lived there in the eighties and it had a unique energy for me then.  It's not the same, but I can't say that this is a bad thing.  Only different.  I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of walking going on and I bumped into Jon Cline, who gave me an update on his wife Eliesha Nelson's Quincy Porter Project.  Like everything that gets done in Cleveland, it takes one person determined to do it.  Jon said his wife got tired of waiting for funders and she did it herself.  Now that the project has wheels, she will hopefully find others to help her drive the final product.  He said that one major underwriter has stepped up.  So, here's good news that will hopefully lead to more good news.  I strolled along Murray Hill and was impressed with the work of this builder--Blossom Homes.

I rewarded myself with a dinner at Mama Santa's, caught the train at East 120th (which eerily reminded me of waiting at the train station in Puerto Rico), met a waiting bus in Ohio City and made it home in time to catch Darren and Johanna Hamm selling City Fresh produce

at the Brooklyn Centre Plaza.  Time for a glass of wine.  La Dolce Vita!

Plain Dealer comments on the resurgence of trains.  Crain's Cleveland discussed RTA's attempt to direct passengers to trains a while back.

  I think I have found a media man to love! WKYC reports on Strickland's efforts to kick start passenger rail connections between Cleveland and Columbus.  Ken Prendergast is one of the few reporters (Sun News/Plain Dealer owned), who covers the REAL stories affecting NEO residents' lives.  He is also affiliated with All Aboard Ohio.

  So glad to see folks from Maryland are visiting NEO.  I love Maryland.  It's my second home.  A great state--great people--and progressive law enforcement.   I am headed there soon.

Purple mountain majesties...what an amazing description.

Today is the last day I get to wake up and see the sun rising over the Allegheny Mountains. And, I forgot my camera.  I will just have to remember.

  It seems funny to me that folks will allow themselves to long for another place.  Here in Frostburg, I meet a woman from Calcutta--her husband teaches at Frostburg and she runs a charming local coffeeshop.  She likes Frostburg, but visits her friends in Cleveland.  While I am thinking that a "backwater" college town like Frostburg, MD is the best location in the nation, I can also appreciate that NEO has much more to offer immigrants, such as fellowship and a chance to celebrate a native culture and language.

I've been comparing the Allegany County promotional brochure with the CLE+ magazine I picked up from the car rental office.  They both offer a lot of information, but I think that CLE+ could benefit by highlighting locales that offer "your" language spoken here. 

We need to work it.  In my own neighborhood, I know that if pressed-I can line up folks who easily converse in Spanish, Ukrainian, Arabic, German, Serbian, Mandarin, Cantonese and many more--including native languages from African countries like the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Liberia.

The wonderful thing about REALNEO and the platform it uses (Drupal) - it allows me to store content.  See above posts.  There are a lot of crummy days in Cleveland, but for the most part, if I remember, there are also very good days.  

The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad bike aboard program (now $5 each way) allows me to explore local history and enjoy all that our beautiful Cuyahoga Valley has to offer.  I am going to Akron by train this weekend to explore the pool options available in Cuyahoga Falls, and to ride home on the towpath.  So many happy memories to be made here in Northeast Ohio, but I will always still dream of Frostburg's pool, first.