Halloweekends, Cedar Point, OH

Hi friends! I hope your week has gone well! I had the pleasure of taking a trip up to visit family in Ohio this past weekend. There are many things I love about Ohio, but one of the big things is Cedar Point Amusement Park. I may be a little biased because I grew up going to Cedar Point; however, I know I am not biased when it comes to LOVING Halloweekends. Every September Cedar Point transforms itself into the spookiest and coolest Halloween-themed park! I can say that Cedar Point is definitely the best scary theme park that I have been to (beating out Six Flags Fright Fest, Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream, and I would even say Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights). I know that sounds kind of crazy, but if you are looking for the most spook and fun for your buck, I highly recommend Cedar Point! Let’s get spooked shall we?!

Cedar Point offers six scare zones where trouble seems to lurk at every corner! With heavy fog and people who seem to walk almost silently, you’ll definitely be jumping and holding on to a friend or loved one! Some of my favorite scare zones are Tombstone Terror-tory, Harvest Fear and Carnevil!

This year Cedar Point is offering two new haunted houses (six total) and I must admit, they are pretty amazing! The people who are scaring you are really good at distracting you to one side, only to be scared when you turn around! If you love haunted houses, you are in for a treat! I highly suggest Freak Show (new), G.A. Boeckling’s Eerie Estate, and Zombie High School!

The best time to visit Halloweekends is on a Friday or a Sunday night. Saturday tends to be a nightmare (pun intended) of crowds and it will make it almost impossible for you to see everything. You can also ride some of the rides while there! I suggest my favorite ride since I was a kid, The Mine Ride. This year they added a haunting new twist, you have to find out #WhatsInTheShed

The fee for Halloweekends starts at $43/person, but that gets you into all the scare zones, haunted houses, and rides! You would be paying almost the same to get into somewhere like Six Flags (who doesn’t include haunted houses in their ticket prices… like idiots… sorry, I’m a bit salty from our recent trip there) but you will be getting so much more!

If you are ever near Sandusky, Ohio you MUST visit Cedar Point (Halloweekends or not)! It is such a fun amusement park and I highly recommend visiting at any and every opportunity! Also, if you have any fun other haunted/spooky/Halloween-themed locations that I should visit, please comment below! I always love suggestions!

Have a spooktacular evening!

❤ Abbie

P.s. All of these photos were taken from my phone, so I’m sorry they aren’t the normal quality of my photographs. However, I must admit I am pretty impressed at how well my phone actually did. Anywhoooo… have a good night!

Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, OH

Hello friends! So, I’ve been going back and forth about whether or not I wanted to post about some spooky/supposedly haunted places because the last time I did I received some negative feedback. However, it is something that has always been of interest to me, and I feel I need to be true to myself. With that being said, I want to start this post off by saying I don’t necessarily believe that these places I will be sharing are “haunted.” I am just going to tell some facts and share some experiences had by others and I will let you make the call. Or don’t make a call and just enjoy some spooky stories! Anyways, somewhat soapbox over. Let’s get to some spooky!

Today I am sharing one of the cooler places I’ve visited in Cleveland! Lake View Cemetery is the resting place of many famous Clevelanders throughout the years. Buried in the rolling hills of Lake View are people like John D. Rockefeller, Elliot Ness, and James A. Garfield (tomb is pictured above), just to name a few. You might be surprised at some of these names, but back in the late 1800s/early 1900s Cleveland was actually home to more millionaires than any city in America. The oil and railroad trades boomed in Cleveland, making it a very wealthy city! That meant the wealthiest could afford to be buried in the most beautiful location in Cleveland, Lake View Cemetery.

The cemetery itself is massive, spanning over 285 acres. With all this land and lots of twisted pathways, it’s not hard to get lost. But, that is the beauty of Lake View, getting lost for an hour or two looking at all of the beautifully haunting graves.

It’s amazing to me the detail that was put in to making some of these graves. The beautiful mausoleums, intricate gravestones, and hauntingly realistic sculptures greet you at every turn. It’s not hard to get the sense of not being alone.

One of my favorite graves is for a family named Haserot. It is perhaps the most photographed grave in the entire cemetery because it is so foreboding. Nestled back behind some tombs sits the Haserot angel.

The name of the dark angel is actually “The Angel of Death Victorious.” The angel sits with an extinguished torch upside-down to symbolize life being extinguished. She stares straight ahead, unmoving. The eeriest part of the Haserot angel comes from years of being exposed to the elements; the bronze has worn and it looks as if she is crying black tears. Even if you see nothing else in the cemetery, you must  visit the Haserot Angel.

The final grave I would like to share comes with a bit of a story. Hans Tiedemann was a German immigrant who came to live in Cleveland in the late 1800s. He built an incredible home called Franklin Castle.

If you are from Cleveland (or Ohio in general) you have most likely heard of this house. Franklin Castle is known for being the most haunted house in Ohio. Years and years of stories and mystery have shrouded this home and they all trace back to the supposed horrors of Mr. Tiedemann.

Tiedemann and his family built the mansion (shown above) from 1881-1883 in one of the most influential and wealthy parts of Cleveland. He moved into the home with his wife Louise, and their two children. The Tiedemann’s lost several children due to the common diseases of the time, but rumor had it that more people had died in the home (of not so natural causes, if you catch my drift). The home switched owners several times through the years. Some say it was built above part of the underground railroad. Others say in the 1920s during prohibition, the basement was used as a speakeasy. Some even say it belonged to a group of Nazis. One thing always stays the same however, the owners always say the house is haunted. What is most commonly seen is a woman in black standing on the second floor balcony. People report mysterious mists appearing and the feeling of being pushed. I’m not quite sure if we’ll ever know what really happened in Franklin Castle, but it sure makes for a good spooky story! If you want to hear more creepy details about Franklin Castle I highly recommend the book “Haunted Ohio.”

Well, that’s all for this weeks spooky wandering post! If you ever get the chance to visit Lake View Cemetery in Ohio, it’s worth the trip! Say hello to the Haserot Angel for me… and let’s all hope she doesn’t say hello back.

❤ Abbie

Sweetwater Creek State Park

Atlanta is a busy place. Everyone seems to be going 24/7 and sometimes it seems hard to slow down. However, right outside the city is a sanctuary perfect for slowing down, Sweetwater Creek State Park.

The park is full of beautiful hiking trails and a large creek that flows near the ruins of an old mill! We started out walking the Red History trail. This trail runs right down the creek and goes to the mill.

The creek has many rapids along the way. There are lots of big rocks scattered around that are perfect for crossing from one side of the creek to the other. We enjoyed sitting on the rocks and watching the beauty of the area (also watching people slip off the rocks and fall into the water! Hah!)

New Manchester Manufacturing Company was a textile mill that burned during the Civil War. The remains are in the park today! You might recognize the exterior from “Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1.” Katniss and Gale are out hunting in District 13, and they show the remains of the old mill!

Sweetwater is such a beautiful park and we can’t wait to go explore more in the future!

❤ Abbie

A Stroll Through Notting Hill

When traveling to London, I don’t feel like many people say, “Hey! Let’s go to Notting Hill today!” There are so many other “typical London” things to do that I feel like someplace as adorable and Instaworthy as Notting Hill gets shoved to the back-burner. But, the blogger in me couldn’t miss out on that opportunity! Especially since about 4 months prior I started following some amazing London bloggers/Instagrammers (which I’ll tag below) and most of my favorite posts were in Notting Hill. So, Jackson and I meandered over to Notting Hill for some pretty strolls and antiquing on Portobello Road!

The first stop was food. Portobello Road holds the UK’s largest antiques market, some yummy restaurants, and some adorable shops. We stopped for lunch at Arancina, an adorable Sicilian pizza restaurant. How could you not stop with a window as adorable as this??

We chowed down on some yummy pizza and a coke! I highly recommend Arancina!

Next, we walked around Notting Hill to look at all the gorgeous row houses! The good part of Notting Hill is that it is all pretty centrally located. You don’t really have to walk a million miles to see some pretty things!

Now to the biggest bummer of the day. Make sure to pay attention to the day you go walk around because some of the shops might be closed! I was really excited to go to Alice’s Antique Shop, but alas, it was closed. Most of Portobello Market was closed also. There were still some small antique shops open, so the antiquing part wasn’t a total bust.

All in all, Notting Hill was definitely beautiful and good for a nice stroll! I would say if you have some time to spend in London, you should definitely check it out!

If you’re not in London, but you want to add a little bit of beauty to your Instagram feed, you should check out the following Instagrammers:

@siobhaise // @prettycitylondon // @clairemenary

You won’t be disappointed! Have a great day dreaming of London!

❤ Abbie

Wanderings: Arthur’s Seat, Scotland

An actual Europe post?!?! WHAT?!?! Look who is being productive!! I thought this would be a great first post on our incredible Europe trip! Hiking Arthur’s Seat was one of my favorite (and most sweaty) parts of our Edinburgh stay! I would say that this should be top priority on everyone’s Edinburgh bucket list!! Also, one of my best friends, Adele, is heading to Edinburgh next week so I thought I would give her yet another thing to look forward to!! So Adele, this one’s for you! Today we will be making the trek up Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland!

Now from the bottom this thing looks like a mountain (while hiking it also feels like a mountain) but it is technically considered a hill. It is located next to Holyrood Palace, which is where the Queen stays when she comes to visit Scotland. It’s a beautiful house and you can tour it when she isn’t visiting!

You can start the trek by going left or right to get up to Arthur’s seat. Left is quicker and less of a trek. Right takes you on a bit of a wander around the base and middle of the hill (which is also scenic). Really either way you go you are in for a treat! I suggest left, because we went right first and were a bit confused on how to actually get to the top! (Side Note: If you want to click on any of the photos in the galleries below it should blow them up to normal size for you. It’s just impossible to have all of the full size pictures in one blog post. It would be insanely long! So please click away!)

I probably should have said this sooner, but I definitely suggest wearing hiking boots. The way up and the top tends to be a bit slippery, so you will definitely want some traction. I also suggest not wearing a ton of layers, even if it is 40°F. That hike up there can get a bit sweaty, trust me! I had 4 layers on and was dying.

The views while going up the hill are incredible.

You can see all of Edinburgh laid out beneath you! You can see the hill that Edinburgh castle sits on. You can hear church bells ringing off in the distance. It really is a dream and pictures just do not do it justice.

❤ My adventure partner

There are several places to sit once you are near the top. If you are really feeling fancy, try to bring a picnic basket with you and have a picnic! You’ll have the best view in the whole city!

Once at the top I suggest you just take it in. To this day sitting at the top of Arthur’s Seat is one of my fondest memories of our whole trip. Enjoy every moment.

❤ Abbie

P.S. Another huge “thank you” is in order to my husband Jackson for taking some killer shots of me. He really is the best.

So What’s the Deal with AirBnB?

AirBnb seems to be one of the newest trends in travel. If you are unfamiliar with it, let me fill you in! AirBnB is a service where you can rent nights in people’s homes, instead of staying in a hotel. The idea is genius, but is the execution as good as the thought? Today, I’m going to share our AirBnB experiences and hopefully this will help you make your decision about using this service!

Courtyard of our AirBnB in Edinburgh, Scotland.

So how does it work?

First, sign up with the site and make a personal profile. You can’t rent anything until you complete your profile. Once you’ve done that, you can choose your location, dates, and room sizes. The really cool option is that you can rent anything from a couch to an entire home. The price of the location is on the main page to make sure it’s within your budget. Once you choose your place to stay and dates, you can request to book your stay. The owner of the location will email you giving you all the information you need to know about the home and the approval to stay. You can also email back and tell them a little about you! Then you are all set!

What makes this different than staying in a hotel?

Staying with AirBnB is always a unique experience. You are literally staying with normal people (who know the location well, because they live there) and in regular houses. The stay feels more like home, in our experiences. You also will pay (9 times out of 10) less than you would for a hotel. We would find homes for rent right in the middle of big cities for almost half than a price of a hotel in the same location.

Inside our AirBnB in London, England.

What are some perks that are unique to AirBnB?

The hosts are a huge help. All of our hosts were very friendly and informative. In almost every occasion, our hosts gave us maps, pamphlets, and advice on what to see in their city! Locals know better than anyone what to see, where to eat, and how to get around! That alone, was enough to make each trip a success! You also get the perks of staying in a home. Whether you rent an entire place or just a room, you get privacy. Most places allow you to use their appliances as well. When we were staying in Cork, Ireland we needed to use a washer and dryer, and our AirBnB hosts let us use theirs! We used the kitchen when staying in Edinburgh, Scotland. You can save a lot of money by using the kitchen provided, rather than eating out! Those are just some of our favorite perks!

Free breakfast in our London stay.

Is it safe staying with people you don’t know?

We never felt unsafe at any of our AirBnB homes. While AirBnB doesn’t preform background checks on all hosts or guests, they do allow you to see past guests’ comments which can allow you to weed through the homes. Reading comments and ratings is actually one of my biggest suggestions! Guests are required to leave comments after every stay, so you really get to see what it was like! Trust me, in my searching I’ve seen stellar comments to scathing comments; at least people are honest! You can also check out the neighborhood guides on the hosts page to see what it would be like to stay where they live! Also, it’s way safer than staying in a hostel. I never felt nervous or anything about leaving our stuff (including expensive camera equipment) in our room while we weren’t there. It’s more expensive than a hostel, but you’ll feel much safer in the long run.

View from our AirBnB in Cork, Ireland.

Are there any downsides to choosing AirBnB?

The only downside we experienced was in Paris, when we rented an entire loft. Our host kept changing plans on how to get the apartment key and give the key to back after our stay. It wasn’t awful, but it was a tad inconvenient. So, I guess the only inconvenience is in the arranging of arrival and departure. However, we only had an issue at one out of the four locations we stayed.

View from our AirBnB in Paris, France.

Would I recommend AirBnB?

Absolutely. To be honest, in all of our experiences we had a fantastic stay! It was great to be able to meet new people and stay in cool places! We also saved a ton of money by choosing AirBnB. Our stays ranged from $50-$70/night, where a hotel would have cost us at least $100+/night. Overall, I would 100% recommend AirBnB!

Behind our AirBnB in Dean Villiage in Edinburgh, Scotland.

I hope this has been a helpful guide! Have a fantastic day!

❤ Abbie

Wandering Wednesday: Jekyll Island

One of my favorite things to do is to take a little more time on a road trip. That might sound counterproductive, but I find that when we take some extra time it leads to exploring. So that extra hour of time that we gained by leaving early can be useful for stopping at a cute restaurant or checking out a cool park! Some of my favorite places were found by just driving by and deciding to stop! For example, when we found this insanely beautiful little park in the middle of nowhere in Georgia! Happy accident!

Today, I’m going to share with you another place we decided to just wander around, Jekyll Island! You can find this adorable little island off the coast of Georgia. You drive down this seven mile strip of road with beautiful swamp areas surrounding you. There are signs warning of sea turtle crossing as you journey along. You do have to pay $5 to get onto the island, but it is well worth the money. As you get onto the island we were pleasantly surprised to find an adorable little community. Tons of cute houses and small hotels dot the tree-covered island. There are many different places to see, and I hope in the future I can do a more thorough post on this adorable little place.

We mostly stopped for the famous driftwood beach. After a little bit of driving around, we finally found the beach. You have to pull off to the side of the road and walk through the woods a little, but on the other side is an incredible sight.

Hundreds of huge pieces of driftwood are embedded into the Georgia shore. Some of these pieces are at least 10 feet tall.

The driftwood stands like pieces of art. It is a beautiful sight.

I wish we could have stayed longer and enjoyed the view. We plan to someday travel back when we have more time and can explore the island even more! However, this just goes to show that wandering can often lead to something beautiful!

Hope you have a dreamy Wednesday! Go wander!

❤

Abbie

WW: Two hours in Savannah, Ga

Let me start this whole thing by saying that two hours in such an incredible and historic city is just not enough. Seriously. A whole day wouldn’t have been enough to explore Savannah. That being said, this is just going to be a brief post about the things we discovered just walking around for two hours. Now, you might be asking why we only spent two hours in Savannah. To be honest, we just didn’t have time. We were driving back home from Myrtle Beach and just happened to be passing near Savannah. You should know that Savannah has always been on my list of places to visit in the U.S. I’ve heard of it’s beauty and historical significance almost my whole life. So to drive by it without stopping (if only for two hours) was absolutely unthinkable! Let me tell you, I am so glad we stopped. In just the short amount of time we walked around we saw a lot of really beautiful things. Hopefully in the near future we will be going back to spend a long weekend there (you know my birthday is coming up… hint, hint). So until I can do a full-fledged Wandering Wednesday I’m just going to leave this little beautiful snippet right here.

I mainly wanted to focus on the historic district, of course, so we parked on the east side of the beautiful Forsyth Park. Sometimes when you have such a short amount of time in a location the best thing to do is just wander. I find that most of the time just wandering around can lead you to some beautiful things. I’m not necessarily the type to always have everything planned out which is always interesting. So, we walked.

Savannah is full of beautiful and huge churches. It is always incredible to see the pure size of these places! Some churches will even let you tour the inside!

One of my favorite parts was just walking around and seeing all the beautiful historic homes. They are beautiful and they are everywhere. Some of these mansions date back to the 1800s! You know you’re in a cool place when they have a Victorian District.

The day we went to Savannah was just a measly 98 degrees and humid as all get out, so as you can imagine we started to get pretty thirsty. We just happened to be passing by this cute little cafe called Art’s and noticed that there was a double-decker bus inside, so we stopped. The cafe is across the street from the Savannah College of Art and Design, which is housed in an incredible building itself! Definitely stop in for a drink at Art’s, it’s a neat experience!

There are so many adorable little shops hidden in basements and second floors of these historic buildings! If you have the time, stop in a few of them! I highly recommend stopping in The Book Lady. This adorable little bookshop and cafe is located in the lowest level of an old building, and is easy to miss if you aren’t paying attention. When you walk in you feel transported to something that would be in Harry Potter. Books line the old brick walls, and a worn leather couch surrounds an old fireplace. I imagine in the winter it would be the perfect little hideaway. Come dream with me. You’re lounging on the comfy couch, sipping on hot apple cider while the crackling fire lulls you into relaxation as you read a book. Yeah, this place is dreamy.

After you’ve awakened from the dream that is The Book Lady (and you step outside into the humidity, really feeling that non-Christmas vibe) we highly suggest walking down to Forsyth Park. It’s a beautiful little area! I love parks in the middle of big cities. A little bit of a nature sanctuary is always needed!

I hope this has inspired you to spend some time in Savannah. I am planning a second, more thorough post and will hopefully get that to y’all before the year is out! I hope y’all have a killer Wednesday! Go wander!

❤

Abbie

Wandering Wednesday: Myrtle Beach

Well y’all, I’m back from a much-needed vacation. I got the pleasure of spending five days exploring and relaxing on the beautiful South Carolina coast! Last September (on my birthday to be exact) my Dad retired from the Sandusky Fire Department! As his retirement gift he wanted to get our family back to Myrtle Beach where we had vacationed something like 8 years prior. So, that’s exactly what we did! Today, I’m going to share with you some of the fun things to do in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina!

 It’s a beach, so obviously relaxation is key. The really cool thing about M.B. is that it’s on the Pacific Ocean, so there are almost constant waves that are perfect for boogie boarding. And those waves wash up a lot of cool stuff too, like seashells and shark teeth! The amount of shark teeth you can find just walking to the pier is crazy. My dad found 28 teeth in less than a mile walk! Fun fact! Did you know most shark teeth that are found are black because they have been buried in the sand and start to soak up the minerals found there? And most are super old so they are more like fossils than actual teeth!

If you are tired of chilling and you want some fun stuff to do, you can walk down Ocean Blvd. and you will pass tons of things to do. Whether it’s riding the huge ferris wheel, talking a stroll down the pier, or eating some yummy food, you are sure to have a good time! I suggest getting these delicious smoothies made inside a pineapple! You can find them at Le Cupcake Cafe on N Ocean Blvd. So yummy. 

Putt-Putt is a family tradition at Myrtle Beach! We stopped and played a game at Captain Hook’s Adventure Golf! Very cool place! I mean how often do you get to play putt-putt inside of a skull cave?!

 

And if being on the ground is just not thrilling enough we highly recommend taking a trip by helicopter! You’ll see signs all over Myrtle Beach advertising for Helicopter Adventures (although the signs say $20 it’s more like $40) taking you on a tour of M.B. We hopped in a helicopter and got to see some pretty amazing sights! It is a bit pricey, but really, how often are you going to get that kind of an opportunity?

You should also check out the Fun Plaza Arcade! I only have one word, skeeball. You’re welcome, earth!

Lastly, Myrtle Beach is a great place to propose! Yes, you read that right! I would not be able to write this post without at least commenting on one of the most exciting moments of our trip! My brother Michael finally proposed to his amazing girlfriend (now fiance, obvi) Paige! I’m so crazy excited for these two and we feel so honored to be a part of that special day!! Love you both!!

As you can see Myrtle Beach is full of fun things to do, but it’s also the perfect place to relax! I hope one day you get to make the trip!

❤ Abbie

And one more thing…

Congratulations Dad! We are so proud of your hard work as a fireman all these years!! In a world that finds it hard to thank people like fireman and police officers, we sure do appreciate the sacrifices and the times you put your life on the line for others!! Love you!!

Wandering Wednesday: The Ringling

Happy Wandering Wednesday everyone! I am so beyond excited to share this post with you today! Last week Jackson and I both had Friday off so we decided to take a day trip! I have to say that since we both started working full-time it has been difficult to get the same day off, so we took advantage of it! We thought about going to St.Augustine, but we have already been there 3 or 4 times. We love it, but it’s not new. After much thinking and Googling we found The Ringling Museum in Sarasota. It was only an hour away from us, which was perfect! On Friday we headed to the museum!

The museum pass includes the Ringling Art Museum, Circus Museum, and a first floor self-guided tour of John and Mable Ringling’s Venetian Gothic mansion, Ca’ D’Zan. We got to the museum around 2:00 and we weren’t able to get in the mansion until 4, so we decided to go through the Circus Museum first! It was so stinking cool! I have this bizarre fascination with the circus and carnivals, so I was beyond excited!

They have actual costumes, banners, equipment and old photographs from different famous circus performers and circuses! They even have certain acts you can try and take photographs doing, like walking the high wire or trying to fit in a tiny car!

After you are done with the main room, you have to go in the Howard Brothers Circus section. Inside is the largest model circus in the entire world. It is so amazing! It’s hard to describe how cool this thing is, so I’m just going to tell you it’s a must-see!

After we finished up at the circus museum, we still had a little time before we had to be at the house for the tour, so we walked over to the art museum to look around for a bit! And let me tell you, it felt like we weren’t in America. I felt like we had been transported to somewhere romantic like Italy. The building is made up of several sections, some had modern art, some had Renaissance art, there was even an Ancient China exhibit going on. There was so much to look at!

The building makes a U-shape, so we did one side before we made it into the central courtyard. And let me tell you, I about died when I saw the courtyard. Perfectly manicured gardens, statuary, and an incredible view of the building were just some of the many reasons this place is stunning.

The classical art sections were definitely my favorite. It’s an incredible feeling to be right up next to massive paintings. Painting is one of the talents that I wish I were good at, so I tend to find them particularly interesting!

After we made it to the courtyard it was time for us to take a tour of the house. We walked under the banyan tree covered paths, and made it to Ca’ D’Zan (“House of John” in Venetian dialect).

The house was built in  Venetian Gothic style because the Ringlings had spent many vacations in Italy and had fallen in love with Italian architecture. The mansion was used as their winter home. While going through the mansion you can just imagine 1920s flappers hobnobbing on the terrace. It’s so Gatsby, and I was loving every second. The tour takes you through some of the incredible rooms and allows you to go onto the terrace which overlooks Sarasota Bay. It’s not hard to see why the Ringling’s picked such an incredible location!

The Ringling was so incredibly wonderful. I definitely suggest getting there sooner than we did, however. Three hours was hardly enough time to see everything and take in the beauty. If you liked this blog post, go check out my super awesome husbands’ vlog about our day trip here. I hope that one day you take the opportunity to take a short drive from Tampa and check out The Ringling!

❤ Abbie