The Casual Corner with Karen

Our relationship is by no means casual. But we aren’t super serious about anything…except food. We enjoy participating in a variety of fun activities. Some good enough to share. Click on an image below to see the story.

2024 Hocking Hills Hiking Adventure

2024 Hocking Hills Hiking Adventure

South Bass Island had not been kind to us the first two times we tried to camp at the state park there. In fact, the weather downright tried to kill us both times. So we had some doubt when we decided to give it a third chance and booked a cliff-side campsite once...

Daffodil Disappointment

Daffodil Disappointment

A day (or week) late and a daffodil (or a hillside) short One of the yearly acts of nature we try to catch is the annual blooming of Daffodil Hill at Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland. We took some beautiful pictures among the yellow-filled hillside a couple years ago....

2024 Eclipse Music Mix

2024 Eclipse Music Mix

Music to watch an eclipse by We've been looking forward to the April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse that is hitting parts of North America for a long time. I bought a special camera filter to take photos of the phenomenon. We bought really nice Eclipse glasses a couple...

2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame Steelers Exhibit

2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame Steelers Exhibit

It's less than an hour and a half away! Karen and I visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on Saturday, January 27. This was the first time Karen has ever been there. I was there a couple of times...in the 1970s. Karen wanted to go see the special Black...

We did some rocking, but only a racoon came knocking

We did some rocking, but only a racoon came knocking

Two years ago, I took Karen for her first trip to Put-in-Bay. We set up our tent in the South Bass State Park Campgrounds. We had a site right on the edge of the cliff overlooking the western basin of Lake Erie. The first of two nights we were there we experienced a...

Sand Sculptures, Lego Sculptures and Beautiful Flowers

Sand Sculptures, Lego Sculptures and Beautiful Flowers

A Sunday Adventure We are so lucky to live in an area where we have such diverse options for fun activities. Before we spent about an hour on a kayak one Sunday, we made two stops. There are three sets of photos below. First we visited Headlands State Park Beach in...

New York City 2023

New York City 2023

Sure. Let’s go to New York City. Thanks to Covid, our trip initially planned for 2020 had been postponed until June 12 - 17, 2023. We got there, but not before we thought we were going to have to wear masks. But not for Covid. Read on to see our adventures. Click on...

2023 Orchids at Botanical Garden

2023 Orchids at Botanical Garden

Each year, the Cleveland Botanical Gardens holds an Orchid Show. Karen and I spent a couple hours there. Here are the resulting photos. [gallery type='google' view='photos' album_id='ADMlvRDabl-9EktZWukPcHLBxSRBUya_qA-9ULMpNXIO9A31d12Ohqk9P03bxfYTEF1FzUeuq_yO'...

2022 Fall Foliage Tour

2022 Fall Foliage Tour

Karen and I took advantage of Second Summer on October 23, 2022. The temperatures were in the 70s and there were tons of people out taking advantage of the nice day. Images below are from Chapin Forest, Holden Arboretum, and the Lake Erie Bluffs. [gallery...

Niagara Falls River Gorge Hike 2022

Niagara Falls River Gorge Hike 2022

Karen and I decided to take a day trip to Niagara Falls, NY. We had heard that there is some great hiking along the gorge below the falls and we were not disappointed. It was only about a 4 mile hike in total but it was difficult and we had to descend and then ascend...