This is a cool castle that I took my family to over the summer. I enjoy visiting random unique…read moreplaces. It's one of my favorite things to do in exploring and adding things to help. So of course we had a great time at this castle in Lagrange

TikTok really has opened my eyes to hidden treasures everywhere. I'm sure that I'm not the only one…read morethat feels this way. When you doom scroll, you come across many different places that are true hidden gems. Door To Nowhere, or Heigold House, is definitely an oddity and salute to the past. Some housekeeping, you know, things to know about this place. BE CAREFUL. This sits on a roundabout island with steady traffic. Be mindful to the traffic flow and businesses nearby (I parked at a nearby business off the road and walked over here). Be kind to the natural beauty that surrounds this. And most of all, be respectful. As I said, this sits on a roundabout with flowerbeds surrounding it. Whether you are facing front, as in looking at the front of the façade, or looking from the rear, please stay on the sidewalks provided. Take in the informational plaques as well. Built by Christian H Heigold, a successful stonecutter. Majority of the house was completed in 1853. Heigold was a master at stonecutting and completed the home with busts of Presidents George Washington and James Buchanan. Heigold was also a staunch opponent of the 'Know Nothing Party,' and anti-immigration political party and I would like to think that he built his house with all the busts was a big middle finger to those that were anti-immigration. This façade sat in what was known as the The Point neighborhood, which was favored by those that moved to the city from the New Orleans area. Once Louisville diverted the Beargrass Creek away from downtown, this place started to flood annually. Shifting people away from the neighborhood and then the Great Flood of 1937 happened. Slowly the city started buying houses and demolishing them. Ultimately using the land as a dump site. Then this façade was listed on the National Registry of Historical Places. Remained in that area which became Thruston Park. That is until a developer bought the land adjacent to this and build condos. They moved this massive beast, 70,000-pounds, across River Road to where it sits today.

Such amazing history, a must see spot ! Right off a main road but there is parking nearby !read more

I was in the Franklin area for a work obligation and finally made it over to see the famed "Grave…read morein The Middle of The Road." One of the more unique graves around, this grave nearly always shows up on any list of Indiana's most unique roadside attractions. Of course, this isn't "roadside." It's in the middle of the road and serves as a sort of divider in the road. The grave is for Nancy Kerlin Barnett, married to William Barnett. Fun fact: William was the great great great grandson of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. Nancy passed away on 12/1/31. She was buried here - a place that used to be a hill overlooking Sugar Creek. Over the years, the area became a small cemetery. Eventually, a small footpath was made. Finally, they wanted to put a small county road here. While it's not certain, it's believed that most graves in the area were moved. However, Nancy's grave stuck around as one of the son's protested moving it. Eventually, they wanted to widen the road - this time around, per report, grandson Daniel showed up with a shotgun essentially saying "Over my dead body." So, she stayed again. They built the road around her and a concrete slab was placed over the grave. On August 8, 1912, a historical marker was also placed. To this day, the grave remains and is definitely considered an "attraction." Anyone who visits roadside attractions in Indiana will eventually make it here. It took me way too long. Surprisingly, it's also fairly accessible and the road is really fairly lightly traveled. It's not hard to stop and see it, though given it's a hill you do have to be a bit cautious even with slow traffic. Is this the best roadside attraction you'll ever see? Of course not. It is, however, a cool sort of cultural icon in Indiana and worth a stop for those in the area. It's definitely not what I'd call a destination attraction. Franklin is a great community to visit, however, I'd certainly not drive down just for this unless you're truly a gravesite person.

This was on a list of unusual things to do/see in Indiana so I had to check it out. The story goes…read morelike this. They were developing the road and it was going right through where the grave is. So they decided to dig the grave up, to which the grandson of the deceased said, ohh heck nawww. It ain't going down like that, and he grabbed his shotgun and threatened the powers. to be so bad that they came up with the compromise of incorporating his gam gam's grave into the new road. So, here we are. Down the center line of the road you will find a tombstone covered with pennies and an occasional flower or two. There is also a historical road marker on the side of the road as well, detailing the significance of the spot. This stop is just or brief stop or drive by. There is really no good place to pull over. I had to be creative and pray. To my favor was that the street was not very busy. An occasional car would pass by. Well now, I can check off "seeing a grave in the middle of the road" off of my bucket list. On to the next adventure.

I look forward to going to Eminence to enjoy the Small Town local flavor. Located in the next…read morecounty from me it is just a short drive to Henry County. Henry County is located in north-central Kentucky in the outer Bluegrass Region. Eminence is the largest city in the county with an estimated population of 2,231. Eminence is located 69 miles northwest of Lexington; 38 miles northeast of Louisville; and 65 miles southwest of Cincinnati, Ohio. Henry County was carved out of a population of Shelby County in 1798. The county was named for Patrick Henry, famous for his "give me liberty or give me death" speech. The city of Eminence was not formally surveyed until April 1854 when a local man named Gideon King gave the right of way through his land for the railroad. The plat was laid 330 feet to the inch and the locations of the New Castle Turnpike, I. C. & I. Railroad, the Christian Church lot; D. Thomson's lot and G. Kings residence are marked. When railroads were obtaining their right of ways, it was Gideon King who persuaded the powers that be to run their road over his land. He gave them land, not only in track and station, but also for the freight house and cattle pens. So the road was "detoured" to pass through Gideon King's Farm. The railroad (completed in 1849) crossing the New Castle-Shelbyville Turnpike on its way from Louisville to Frankfort was the catalyst for the growth of Eminence. Eminence, which means "high place", is the highest point along the railroad between Louisville and Lexington and lies 900 feet above the sea level. Bringing the train through Eminence is credited with increasing the population of the city, making it larger than the county seat. At one time, the county boasted seven railroad depots. The Eminence passenger depot is still a focal point of the downtown property and only one of two remaining in the County.

The Ripley County Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places. The current building…read morewas built in 1860 following the destruction by fire of the first courthouse. James Pattison was the architect. The Courthouse stands on a prominent square in the center of Versailles, Indiana. The Greek Revival building is brick with a bell tower. The structure has undergone remodeling throughout the years 1912, 1971, 1992 and 2024 to modernize and expand. Current remodeling, had the building closed to visitors, so I could only visit from the outside. The building will open in April, 2025. The building houses the County Circuit Court and County Superior County (which are temporary housed in the County Building across the street). Historical markers indicated that General John Morgan's Calvary (Confederate) raided the courthouse on July 12, 1863, removing the treasury. A second marker indicates that abolitionist and resident, Stephen Harding, gave antislavery speeches locally. A Civil War canon sits on the southwest corner of the square. A Veterans Memorial is also located on the Square. There is a lot of interesting history at the Courthouse and I will return to visit the updated interior of the building. Free parking surrounds the Square.

Pretty. Nothing spectacular but neat. I was looking for things to do local in Cincinnati that are…read morefree and this came up as a option.

Commonly known as the Channel 9 castle, you won't find armored knights protecting our local news…read morestation. Elsinore Castle was erected in 1883 by the Cincinnati Waterworks to house a valve for water to be transported to Eden Park. The company was interested in enhancing the view of the park, and this location was the former main entrance. The castle was built be renown architect Samuel Hanneford, modeled after Kronberg Castle, which was featured in a local play of Hamlet. The real Kronberg Castle can be found in Denmark. When the Cincinnati Art Museum opened in 1886, stairs were placed at the base of Elsinore Castle. The steps were too steep to ever become popular and the Elsinore Castle soon lost its appeal as an entrance to Eden Park. A mere 100 years later, it was integrated into the landscaping of Channel 9 and is seen more as a landmark of the news station than of the park. Set alongside Gilbert Avenue, the public can still stop and photograph the castle, however it was sadly never used for anything magical, like kings and armored battle. Viewing Time: 15 minutes

The body pepper house is a cool little landmark in La Grange Kentucky. My family and I came across…read morethis and I saw the historic house and on the outside it has a sign describe what it is. It also has a nice little cut out statue landmark of I'm assuming buddy himself so it's cool to check out in the neat little town of Lagrange

The Buddy Pepper House is going to be undergoing a renovation to bring it up to date and really…read moreshowcase the life of Buddy Pepper. You can learn about him and his life by watching this link: https://www.pepperatpiano.com/?fbclid=IwAR33n855kyfjXujwMDNsHoszDdN-VH44tyqRlHUq2NexFfXIzpa04gleDSk

Fairytale-like house [Cincinnati OH]…read more We couldn't just drive-by this whimsical house without stopping and doing a double take... and staring. This is the Mushroom House in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Cincinnati. The amount of detail is really breathtaking: circular steel steps, deck rails of wood shingles, stained glass windows, tiled ceilings... of course, I had to snap some pics. How often do we come to Cin City. The original owner/builder by the name of Terry Brown has passed away in 2008. The house is currently not on the market and occupied as a private residence as of 2021. Here are the deets in Zillow: 1 beds, 1 baths, 1,260 sq-ft. If you are curious about the inside of the home you can click on this link and watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pVUFwH9Q6fk Review #3885

A cute spot for a quick stop and to admire! There's no indoor access, but seeing the outside…read moredetails was an experience in itself (plus the garden).

Such a beautiful, powerful and peaceful part of history. A unique find and very glad we did it.read more

I didn't find the Garden but I did find the historical marker that describes the site and the…read morehistory. It is located at the corner of Bradley and Presidents. The marker reads, "The Grotto (D.X. Murphy & Bros., Architects) was dedicated in 1927 as a place for contemplation on St. Joseph Infirmary grounds. Two-story, half-domed, concrete apse is faced on inside with stones and rubble. Modeled on natural grotto at Lourdes, SW France, where Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858." And on the reverse, "Their statues adorned Louisville Grotto. Masonry walls enclose Grotto's Garden. Fourteen arched niches, since filled in, held mosaics of Stations of the Cross, events from end of Jesus' life. Dwane Beckhart painted modern replacements. Named state landmark by Ky. Heritage Council, 2001." I'll come back and look harder. [Review 20182 overall - 223 in Kentucky - 1159 of 2023.]

This castle is a well kept secret for those from Cincinnati-Dayton area. Built back in World War I…read moreby hand. It's $5 for admission with kids being free under a certain age. You will learn how one man's dream created an amazing castle here in Loveland, Ohio. I first visited this place when I was dating my husband as he was trying to "smitten" me with fun places to visit back when I lived in Dayton, Ohio. We found this place by accident but loved the history behind it. Man's love for midevil history creates an interesting castle. Coming back to it this day, I like how they updated some things with the castle to keep up with past history. Definitely worth a visit for those of you who would care to visit historical places is Loveland, Ohio.

If you are in the area this is worth a visit. There is a small parking lot and parking is free. The…read moreadmission fee can be paid via cash or card. There is a short video that tells you about the property and then you can tour. Everything is completely dog friendly but some areas do have steep steps. The employees were kind and ensured any questions we had were answered.