I spent most of today in outer neighborhoods. It was not by choice; I had errands to run. I finally got my camera repaired , ran laundry, and cleaned months of grime off my car. It did have one redeeming feature; the skyline. The clouds were gone, so I finally got the impressive view I had missed on the drive in . Driving back to my hotel provided an experience very different to the other skyscraper city I know, New York. Manhattan Island is surrounded by large rivers, so the transition from low buildings to a forest of skyscrapers requires crossing a bridge or tunnel. In Chicago, the buildings gradually rose along the streets as I drove downtown, until I found myself among them looking up. This is yet another drive where a convertible is both ... read more

I’m in Chicago this morning, and I’m depressed. The horrible weather from last night continues. I went outside, and saw skyscrapers rising into clouds. Drippy rain is falling on and off. If that wasn’t bad enough, it’s pretty cold. Definitely not the type of day I was looking for in one of the greatest cities in the United States. A solution to this problem sort of exists. The Chicago Blues Festival is this weekend. The blues was born in the Mississippi delta (see ), but it grew up in Chicago. Many poor Mississippi musicians took the train to Chicago for a better life (so many that the Illinois Central depot in Clarksdale features in several songs) and brought the music with them. In Chicag... read more

My first item for today was another Midwestern art museum, the Cincinnati Art Museum. Like the other Cs, Columbus (see ) and Cleveland (see ), it’s a midsize comprehensive museum. Just like the other two, most of the museum is a little bit of lots of things, leaving me wanting more. Art of Cincinnati The museum does have one incredible exhibit, called the Art of Cincinnati. Like most newly rich areas (see ) wealthy Cincinnati residents supported the arts to gain cultural cache. Unlike many cities in this area, they were doing so as early as the 1830s, when... read more

I’m now in the second of Ohio’s three Cs, Columbus. Today was the day to explore one of the most important historic sites of the trip. First, however, I went to yet another art museum. The Columbus Museum of Art is easy to spot for anyone in the correct area, because the road has a huge archway over it that spells out Art. Columbus Museum of Art The museum just recently reopened after a major restoration. The permanent galleries are located in what appears to be the standard for the Midwest, a Beaux Arts building opened in the early 1900s. On the inside, it features marble and granite lined corridors that really echo when people walk through them. The ceilings are painted to look like mosaics. The galleri... read more

In the popular imagination, Ohio is definitely part of the Midwest, flat and mostly farms. Most people, including some state residents, don’t know that the southeastern part of the state is very different to the stereotype. This part resembles a miniature version of eastern Kentucky across the Ohio River, all rounded hills and sandstone valleys. Like its neighbor, it has some fantastic sandstone formations deep in the woods. Unfortunately, this area also shares two other things with eastern Kentucky, rural poverty and a long history of coal extraction. In the early 1930s, the best of the sandstone formations were incorporated into the Hocking Hills State Park. The trails in this park are described by a plaque at the main entrance as the most fascinating in the state of Ohio. In many places that wo... read more