And we're off.
The flight was good and seemed to go by quickly unlike Christmas Eve and how it's the longest night of the entire year for a child. For the first time ever, I was able to see the Grand Canyon below and it was incredible.
In just under four hours I had crossed the country without a single layover or driving for 30 straight hours like we had done so many times all those years ago. It was amazing. {I think I just sang that as if I were an angel myself} We landed, found our rental car, and headed out for some chili spaghetti at none other than Skyline Chili in downtown Cincinnati.
We followed the direction on the phone and ended up right next to the Cincinnati Reds stadium. We walked up the street and I asked a lady if she knew where the Skyline Chili was. Without saying a word, she pointed her finger across the street right there in front of me.
We walked in and were quickly taken back to a table where it was quiet. We looked over the menu and the cute waiter brought out a sample of the three way Chili Spaghetti in tiny bowls. We decided to order it along with a chili dog. He quickly returned with two little bowls on his tray. I was wondering what kind of bread or cornbread he might be bringing. Well, how about oyster crackers to be eaten with a fork? Oh man, we were laughing and off to a great start on our trip. When our meal was delivered we cut both meals in half and shared so that we could both try two different things, (which we ended up doing the rest of the trip). The chili was sweet and reminded us of Indian food with cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa, and allspice. We weren't super fans with the spaghetti, but we both agreed that the chili dog was better with a line of mustard and bun wrapped around it. It muted the sweet flavors of the chili and was pretty good actually. While sitting there, leave it to Sheri, she found the recipe on Pinterest and had it pinned to make in the future.
While eating we asked the waiter if there was going to be a Reds game in the next few days. He said that there would be one that night and that we could get tickets from people standing outside the stadium. Oh man, it was tempting. Being right there, something that is so not us, and spontaneous sitting in the stands at a professional baseball game. Our husbands would be shocked!! But, we couldn't rationalize the cost of $60-$100 a game just to say we did it with no intention of staying the entire game, so we decided against it. (Until on our flight back when we sat next to a man from there telling us we could have gotten tickets for $10 on opening night! Say what??!
Walking back to the car, the field was just down the street so we decided to try to get selfies with the stadium behind us. We were laughing our heads off as the wind was blowing our hair across our faces and it took everything I had not to pee my pants from laughing so hard. As we ran back up the hill to the car, I realized that I hadn't saved my picture so I had to run back to get another one. Sheri was in the car when a man came up to me asking me if he could take a picture of me taking a selfie of myself with the stadium behind me. I told him sure. So, I took selfies of myself for awhile wondering what Sheri was thinking. He explained to me that he was taking pictures for the Instagram and Facebook pages for @IloveCincinnatishout and he'd also like me to do a little video clip saying I loved Cincinnati. I ran up to the car and insisted to Sheri that she get out of the car and that we were going to be famous! She wondered what I was talking about but quickly got off her phone and got out of the car. We walked over to the sidewalk and I was handed a mic and then I was supposed to talk as he started taping. What the heck? The wind was crazy and I'm not even recognizable, but it was fun as I sounded like a dork proclaiming that we loved Cincinnati. Just as promised, we found our pictures and videos not long after.
While trying to make our way out of the city and over to Louisville, we saw some fun things. Wall murals, fonts, and words were all over including Kentucky. We loved it.
The Bengals stadium was just on the other side.
I got this Flying Pig Marathon picture for B knowing she's all about pigs. Then I found out why it's a 'pig' marathon. I guess Cincinnati used to be the pig processing capital. haha
Nick name for the city.
The John A. Roebling Bridge is the oldest suspension bridge in the United States. The Brooklyn Bridge was made afterward to look like it.
We left the city with such fun memories of the random location we had chosen, the crazy wind, the opening game that night, and having our pictures taken.
It was strange driving to Louisville that evening not recognizing anything. The trees weren't full of leaves yet and the vines hadn't grown across the limbs, but I began recognizing exits and town names. As we took the exit for the motel I recognized the area and we were just a couple blocks from our second apartment near the Jewish Community Center and Bowman Field. We drove by the apartment and I honestly had no good memories there. Driving away I remember D wanting to throw a brick through our landlord's window. It was that kind of a memory. LOL
The motel room was less desirable than we would have liked, but it ended up just being a place to sleep at night. (I mean seriously. No maid service, outside entrance, granola bars for breakfast, half an ounce of shampoo for two people for a week, etc.) We talked of the next day and where we would be going and what fun places to eat. Just as we were about to head to bed, I handed Sheri my book I had brought with me and asked her to read the first five pages. I felt a little silly asking her to read it, but I had never told her why I was really returning and what my intentions of the trip were. We talked about it for awhile afterwords and I was relieved to have her finally know, before I started to drag her around the next day.
We turned out the lights and I went to bed so happy thinking about what a great first day we had had.
Get Sheri to Ohio. CHECK
Cincinnati chili spaghetti. CHECK
And then there would be tomorrow. The big day...
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