CJD68's VirtualTourist Home Page

Welcome!

Please look around and feel free to rate my pages or e-mail me with commments or questions.

A little about me. My wife was the real motivator in getting me to see the world and living more of life. Growing up, my family took vacations together to places like Orlando, FL; Washington DC; Niagra Falls; Kentucky Lake, KY and San Diego,CA (plus Tiajuana, Mx). These were all really nice trips, but there was no desire to leave North America. It was all about relaxing, family time and enjoying the simple pleasures of life.

Then came my girlfriend, Lisa, who is now my wife. Her dad is retired military who met a local girl in Germany and married her. He was honorably discharged from the military and moved back to the USA. My wife has traveled with her mom and sister 15+ times to visit and stay with her German relatives for the summer. Since she had family in Europe and because she experienced it at an early age, she and her sister "have" the travel bug.

Stories and photographs from my wife's trips left me spellbound. As a result, I took the leap myself and went to Germany on my own in 1994. It was an incredible experience. To explore new cities, meet new people, taste local foods, see historic sites, meet her family and to be in complete control of my travels was awesome. Since then, we've been taking big vacations each year and going overseas about every other year.

After being married a while, we decided to start a family. We now have two children, a boy and girl. They are young, so my wife and I decided that being at home for them was more important than making more money. So that brings us to present day. With two little ones and fewer funds, major travel plans have taken a temporary back seat. Now smaller, more frequent trips are the norm. We haven't stopped, we've just redirected ourselves for a while.

Have a great day!

October 17,20+24 - Cincinnati.
Enjoyed the child oriented Halloween activities at the Cincinnati Museum Center (BooFest), Hamilton County Park's Parky's Farm at Winton Woods park (Halloween Nights) & the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens (HallZooween). Safe, fun, not-so-scary stuff for the younger children to enjoy - dressing up in costume, hay rides, hay mazes, magic show, puppet show, haunted train ride, simple games, pumpkin art, and of course, candy.

October 18 & 19 - Madison, IN.
A B&B get-away weekend for my wife & I at the Schussler house. Styaed in the Rose room. My wife loved the canopy bed and the owners went out of thier way to make your stay relaxing and enjoyable with delicious food and lots of "extras". Also shopped a little in town, walked along the Ohio River & hiked at Clifty Falls State Park.

October 18 - Cincinnati,OH.
Went down early in the morning to see the riverboats at TallStacks before heading out on our B&B weekend. It was cold and there was a lot of fog, but the ships were beautiful and the people in good moods. There were lots of activities we missed because we had other plans, but it looked like you could spend at least half a day looking at the boats, browsing the booths and playing in the Tom Sawyer Village.

October 4 - Cincinnati, OH.
College football game. Univ. of Cincinnati vs. Southern Mississippi at Nippert Stadium on the UC campus.

September 27 - Indian Lake / Russell Point, OH.
Went up to look around the annual craft fair (last weekend in September). Enjoyed lunch & dinner out then was treated to a boat ride by a friend who owns a cabin on the lake.

September 21 - Cincinnati, OH.
The annual Oktoberfest Zinzinnati celebration in the downtown area. Went down during the afternoon to make sure it was a more family orient time. There were amusement rides, music, dancing, souvenier booths and FOOD & Drinks (beer) everywhere.

September 20 - Harveysburg, OH.
The Ohio Rennaissance Festival with entertaining shows, man-powered rides, games of skill, souveniers, food & drink all with a medieval theme.

August 23 - Cincinnati, OH.
Germania's Oktoberfest. Games, rides, food, drink and music celebrating the German Heritage of the area.

August 12 - Cincinnati, OH.
Cincinnati Reds baseball game at the new Great American Ball park. Great views all around, lots of concession stands and restrooms. Just wish the Reds had better players to put on the field.

August 10 - Mason, OH.
Paramount's Kings Island. Combines a water park with action, adventure and thrill rides for adults and kids. Good roller coasters and some descent entertainment.

July 24 - Fairfield, OH.
The Butler County Fair. Rides, animals, food & crafts for some family entertainment.

June 20 - Harrison, OH.
Campout at Hamilton County's Miami Whitewater Park. Hiking trails, rental boats & bikes, playground, waterpark, frisbee golf and more...

June 15 - Connersville, IN.
Thomas the Train day in Connersville. A train ride plus shopping, rides, games and other kid related activities based on Thomas the Tank Engine.

May 16-31 - Germany.
Visiting family & doing some site seeing along the Rhine & Mosel Rivers.

April 19, 2003 - Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens, Cincinnati, OH. Enjoyed a special "Easter" day at the zoo with several stations where kids could receive treats, get temporary tatoos, have their face painted, and make bunny ears - for no additional charge. Besides checking out the animals, the spring flowers were incredibly beautiful and we caught some relaxing moments on the 7 minute train ride.

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Howard holding KK

Loss of Loved One

Just before Christmas 2002, my wife's father died unexpectedly of Myocarditis - a virus that attacks the heart muscle. Thank the Lord that we had the pleasure of his company on Thanksgiving and the week leading up to it. While he did have symptoms of a cold or "the flu", no one suspected that he was dying.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving he left to return to his home in Florida. They broke it into a 2-day trip with his oldest daughter and wife driving the entire way. He kept telling everyone that he just needed a few days rest in the warmth and sunshine of Florida to shake the cold.

They arrived home late on Sunday evening. He was so weak that he went immediately to bed without even taking time out for a shower. The next morning he was no better. His wife found a doctor to immediately see him. Initially, he was diagnosed with double pneumonia and told to go the the hospital. Once there, they tested his breathing and it resulted in him having a coughing attack. To ease his discomfort, the hospital asked everyone to leave and they sedated him and put him on a respitrator. No one suspected that would be the last time they would speak to him and see him awake. A week later it was discovered that his heart muscle was critically damaged by a nasty virus. He never regained consciousness and died shortly after in the hospital.

My father-in-law was a wonderful human being. He would brighten a room when he walked in. You rarely saw him without a smile on his face or telling a story. He was the patriach of his family and his love, wisdom and companionship are sorely missed.

For the time being, we are all grieving his loss. Before we can go out and see the beauty that I know is in the world, we must heal our hearts.