Bruce K.

The world is not without good people and not without evil ones. Otherwise, how would we know which ones are good.
-Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861)

On a traffic island near the Tipperary Hill neighborhood, this statue commemorates a hero of Ukraine. Larger than life size, he stands on a stone base that is about three feet tall.

The engraving at his feet reads, "Taras Shevchenko, bard of freedom, Ukrainian poet and artist born a serf and orphaned early passed a wretched childhood in the service of a brutal sexton. He was apprenticed to Icon and Mural painters until he was bought and freed in 1838 by a group of intellectuals who recognized his talent. Shevchenko became a prominent Realist painter. While his Ukrainian ballads were being published he joined a Ukrainian nationalist society writing bitterly against serfdom and Russian autocracy. It was his poetry that inspired the Ukrainian movement for independence in 1917 and encouraged forces within Soviet Union to continue their struggle for freedom. Banished to an appalling military existence in Central Asia for his Liberal ideas, he wrote exquisite lyric poetry and numerous novels in exile (1847-1857). Dogged by terrible misfortune in life, the poet died seven days before the emancipation of serfs was announced."

There is a second plaque, "I am pleased to add my voice to those honoring the great Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko. We honor him for his rich contribution to the culture not only of Ukraine, which he loved to well and described so eloquently, but of the world. His work is a noble part of our historical heritage. John F. Kennedy"

I had a pleasant time at another brewery but I felt like it was time to move along. So I checked the Yelp and here I am. The big bonus here is that they are not in the touristy area and they have a free parking lot!

Very comfortable and cool here on a hot day, the hostess found me a quiet table next to a power outlet. I enjoyed two beers over three hours, quietly sipping away and surfing the internet. Very, very nice.

They do have a big music stage so if live music is a thing for you, check their schedule. They also have some huge doors so on a nice day, it's great to be inside but with the fresh air.

A really nice park with a playground and a splashpad neither of which I used today but were still looking pretty awesome. Tough to get a picture of them without including the kids and being "that guy."

Great to sit in the shade after biking all around Niagara today.

Beautiful. Absolutely stunning work on display here. Only two blocks from the Columbus Museum of Art and worth it before or after your visit. I have never seen anything like this before, certainly not to the scale or precision that they have done here.

They have legit turned a two-dimensional painting into a three-dimensional scene with bushes and trees. It's amazing.

Do not miss this in Columbus.

Stuck in stop-and-go traffic on the interstate, I was able to enjoy this park at 5 to 10 miles an hour. A surprising little bright spot in an otherwise frustrating afternoon and affectionately nicknamed "Mount Rush Hour" (like Mount Rushmore but with traffic).

The park has 18 foot tall busts of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen F. Austin, and Sam Houston. (Yes, for you non-Texans, the cities of Austin and Houston are named after those last two.)

The park is operated by Harris County and these artworks by sculptor David Adickes were added in 2012. He titles them, "A Tribute to American Statesmanship."

Enjoy if you're going slow. Or if you want a better look, the park is open to the public but not directly accessible from the interstate.