Next Stop: Cincinnati (via WV)

The picture above isn't Cincinnati. It's the Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia. It was a steamy hot Sunday and NOBODY was around. We didn't make it to Parkersburg, but I thought about the Stouffers when we passed the Parkersburgh turn off.
In West Virginia I found myself drawn to the little abandoned (?) houses we saw everywhere. I could only imagine the lives that were spent in them and felt grateful for all that I have with each one.

We saw this Nuclear Power Plant in West Virginia and Gunther figured it must be where Homer Simpson works.
Now on to Ohio. Cincinnati is a gorgeous (through the eye of the beholder) historical city. It has the largest collection of Italianate buildings in the U.S. and some very rich historical sections. I LOVED all the architecture. Cincinnati also has a LOT of abandoned buildings that are hundreds of years old. Quite amazing.
The courtyard of one historic building where we met the artist who lived and worked there. She gave us a lot of "insider" information on the town.
One quick example of the Italianate buildings with a little modern expression (?) on the side.
We all enjoyed the new Contemporary Art Center in Cincinnati. Here Gunther and Hannah are in a little trailer made entire of old signs found along the highway.
One of the absolute highlights of Cincinnati for me was seeing an exhibit on Charley Harper (and his wife Edie who is also an artist) who is one of my all time favorite artists. I think he was 50 years before his time. Charley just died in June. He was incredible. We even drove to his home and studio which was listed in one of the books. We didn't knock, however, as it was also his residence. If you're not familiar with his work you should google it. He really was a pioneer, doing work many years ago that would only be done by computer today.