Travels with Kelli

  * Sean Brady artwork on display on Market Street, Wilkes Barre. As I've been around doordashing through Wilkes-Barre area, I've past many murals. Curiosity has gotten me and I went searching to find out about these beautiful murals.  1. The Strange and Unusual.  Its a black and white mural located on the side of the Strange and Unusual Oddities Parlor with the Steamy Hallows coffee shop. I believe it started out as a Harry Potter themed. The shop has eclectic items from skulls, bugs, to collectibles and t-shirts. With the pandemic the seats that usually are occupied by customers are now filled with skeletons.  Art work by Karilyn Alex 2. Below the Surface This is probably one of my favorites. The colors just jump off the wall. It is located at Empire Arcade and features two native species of turtles - the red-eared slider and a painted turtle swimming in a pool of bright aqua water.  by Evan Lovett 3. Common Grounds Coffee Shop Who couldn't love this creature? I'd lov

*wall art from Pottstown, Pa. Is hard to see but the faces on these miners come right off the wall, quite life like when seen in person. Let's start at the beginning, Wilkes-Barre was founded in 1769 and formally incorporated in 1806. Like many of the mining towns in the early 19th century, located throughout the north eastern part of the state, it prospered and grew.  As the city grew it became known as "The Diamond City" due to the abundance of coal mining. Migrant workers came and were the laboring forces for the local mines. The mines reached the height of prosperity in the early 20th century before the collapse of the industry following WWII.  I will say I love driving around the city and seeing the homes that were built during this time. Some are still homes that have been kept beautify, others have gone into disrepair. Those are the houses I just wish I was rolling in dough and could just bring them back to the glory they should have stayed in.  Another town that w

  I have on many occasions fallen into the deep hole called Ancestry. A few months ago I came across the "find a grave" website, which is a good site if looking for a grave, duh! This website looks for people to photograph graves in your area. Since I always have my camera, I signed up. Seemed easy enough. First one took me to an old cemetery called Freytown.  The cemetery is on a back country pothole infested road and all the graves were unmarked as you can see from the picture. So that was a bust.  Next go around was to a small cemetery in Albrightsville. So old and small that it was not easy to find through google searches. Luckily a guest at the hotel was familiar with the area and was able to find it and off I went in search of the headstone.  The last person to be buried in that cemetery was buried back in I believe it was 1976. So this fine gentleman I was looking for couldn't have been buried there, he died in 2019. Another busted adventure or so I thought. While

 Going off the beaten path again today and I found Lehigh Tannery. What is this Lehigh Tannery? First it was a town named after the Tannery that was manufactured there. It seems that in the 1860's it was the place of tanning of leather hides industries. This was such an important part of this town which is located along the Lehigh river. Before the tannery it was a very small town but during the operation of the tannery it grew and had over 100 families living and working in the facilities that was part of the plant. (icehouse, canal workers, railroads)  It has been mentioned that it was the largest of its kind in the US during that time period. During its heyday it produced 80,000 hides a year. The Tannery lasted approximately 25 years.  Another thing I found out was that part of the reason for this tremendous out put of hides was largely due to the abundance of eastern hemlock (the state tree) and white oak forests. The bark from these trees is essential in tanning leather.  I al

  It was a perfect day for a walk on the beach, folly beach. MP ran it, and we walked it. Our destination is the lighthouse. But this lighthouse is not accessible by land, it is situated on Morris Island.  The lighthouse was built at the entrance to the Charleston River and was first lit in 1876. It was a beacon for ships out in the Atlantic Ocean. Over the years the weather has tried, unsuccessfully to bring it down this 161 foot tower. A cyclone partially destroyed it. An earthquake shook the lens out of place and created a crack in the tower. But it’s real down fall was the water itself, by 1962 it was to close to the shore due to erosion. This lighthouse was replaced by the Charleston Lighthouse that came be seen on Sullivan Island. (There’s a post here about it) The lights that once burned brightly has been distinguished, and as of 1982  it became a historical site with a cement barrier to further preserve it. One thing I learned in my research that I think is pretty cool is the l