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A Fun & Delicious Day in Butler County-Part One

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I almost always use this blog for a story representing each day of a trip. The idea is to be able to talk about all the little things I don’t have a chance to put in published stories. Sometimes I need to break with tradition, and this trip was one of those exceptions. We had so many things to do, and I have so many photos, on day two that it deserves two blogs! One of the things I was told about Butler County before I arrived was that they have a Donut Trail. I’ve never been one to shy away from baked goods so this sounded like a scrumptious addition to the weekend. Heather, Teddy, and I got started with the trail first thing Saturday morning at Holtman’s Donuts in West Chester, just a few miles from the Marriott we were staying at. It became instantly apparent that this was going to be a challenge and I wasn’t backing down. The crew at Holtman’s was waiting for us with a box of donuts. I asked them, as I did on all the following stops, what their most unusual and popular donuts were...
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The Attractions of Olympic Park in Atlanta

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I started my morning at The American Hotel , a Signia Hotel by Hilton, with breakfast from their Friendship Market. My niece, Moriah met me at about 11:00 for a day of fun at Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park. The National Center for Civil and Human Rights was under construction and closed, but we planned to visit the rest of the attractions that surround the park. A CityPass helped make this easier. With one, I didn’t have to worry about lines to get tickets for each place.   Centennial Olympic Park was opened for the 1996 Olympics. It has been maintained quite well and it’s hard to believe it is 40 years old. Remnants and dedications to the Olympics are represented in the middle, including the Quilt of Nations, Gateway of Dreams, and Olympic Ring Fountain. Our first stop was the Georgia Aquarium. If you have followed my work, you’d know I love Aquariums and visit whenever they are near where I’m staying. This one was only a couple of blocks away from the hotel.   Th...
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Girls' Getaway Weekend in Atlanta-Day One

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I have flown through Atlanta more times than I can remember, but it has been about 10 years since I got out of the airport. My niece, Moriah, decided to get her MSN in nursing at Emory and I had another good reason to go. The flights to Atlanta, Georgia, went well. I used frequent flyer miles for this trip. There is a direct flight close to here in Bloomington, Illinois. I did not have enough miles for that roundtrip so I and took American Airlines from Champaign, through Chicago, to Atlanta. It was the first time I was texted a photo of my wheelchair being unloaded from the plane and it was reassuring. I have previously had issues in Chicago with getting wheelchairs and having mine delivered to me in a reasonable time. Before the trip I did what I always do first after booking: I make sure I have transportation to the hotel. It turned out to be more difficult than I expected. There is a train from the airport to downtown, but my flight was getting in right at rush hour, and I wa...
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Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
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Apple, Xfinity and the Defective IPhone

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Update 2/16/26: Ten days after I finally received my IPhone back, it stopped working again! This time I was in California and I was unable to make or receive calls.  I contacted Apple and, after some troubleshooting, we determined I once again had a hardware issue. I went the next day to an Apple store and they immediately wanted to send it in for repair (once again, Xfinity would take not responsibility. I reminded them that the phone was only six months old and it had been kept a month for the last repair. I felt it was time I got a new phone and that's what I was told would take place if this happened again. They claimed that wasn't possible. The trip home was a bit tricky without a working phone and I went into my local Best Buy to see if they could fix it. I was told the insides of the phone would once again need to be completely replaced. The part took a week to arrive and I had to bring it back, then precede to reset my entire phone for the third time in six weeks. Needl...
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Location: Champaign, IL, USA
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An Unforgettable Hotel Before Surgery

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I was able to sleep late in the morning because my surgery wasn’t until the afternoon. It was the first time I had been told before surgery that I could even drink clear liquids until a few hours before I went in. I was in the right place for the best coffee, and to spend a free morning. Have you ever walked into a hotel and just said out loud, “I love this place?” That was the reaction the first time I walked into The Verb . I booked it because it looked unusual and accessible, but it certainly went beyond expectations. I have never been in a place quite like it and I doubt I ever will.   The Verb is all about the music, mainly Rock. It’s about the feeling of relaxation through the music and how music and life intertwine. You’ll see it everywhere: in the lobby which looks like you remember the 70s, with colorful couches and tables; on the walls full of pictures from concerts and moments of the stars you’ll never forget. The check-in area looks more like a bar top. You can take...
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Location: Boston, MA, USA
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