Cincinnati

Just typing that title I found myself singing the word and adding "WKRP" after it.  Yep, I am that old.

Alright, silliness aside, let's look at Cincinnati.  We spent that afternoon there, stopping for lunch, shopping, and sightseeing in one spot, then coming back for dinner and a walk in the evening.  We also came back into the city after checking out of the hotel the next morning, heading for a museum and lunch before making our way to the airport.  Not much time in Cincinnati - we saw even less of it than we did of Nashville - but I feel as though our appetites for more were whetted by comparison to Nashville earlier in the trip.

Speaking of appetites, we started off with lunch up in the Mount Adams neighbourhood. Cincinnati is the United States' version of a city built on seven hills.  It's a charming little part of the city, one that felt like a real little neighbourhood with its own community.  We headed for lunch right away, having sandwiches at Mt. Adams Bar and Grill,

before wandering around a small handful of blocks, taking in the top of the hill and what it had to offer. 

A few interesting pieces of real estate up there as well, but no, we are not intending to retire to Cincinnati.

From there it was on to Rookwood Pottery,

a place that one of Conrad's colleagues had recommended.  They had lovely pieces there, and I could well imagine having a tile fireplace or something like that as crafted by them.  Yes, we bought a few small things.  How could we not?  From there, it was downtown and a little jaunt through the Hilton to admire at least some of the fine interior of the Carew Tower.

John and Drew met us at the hotel early that evening for drinks before we all crossed back into downtown Cincinnati for dinner.  I still can't believe I got to meet John.  What an amazing man he is.  And Drew was an utter delight - I loved hearing his many stories. 

Dinner was at Yard House, and it was fine enough, but what was even better was taking advantage of a pleasant evening and all of us strolling across the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge to Kentucky and then back again, walking a little after that in the riverfront park in Cincinnati.  What a gorgeous bridge!  That walk gave me and John time to have some private conversation and share some personal things, too, and I valued that greatly.  But ah, the views of the cities, the river, and the bridge itself.  So wonderful.

John and Drew dropped us back off at the hotel after that, and Conrad and I had a nightcap.  A fine day done, and a little time the next day to get to see more.

The next morning we were back at Point Perk, but we also stopped at North South Baking, a lovely bakery nearby, for some excellent pastries to bring back to the room. 

A rhubarb cruffin?  Yes, please!  We packed, checked out, and headed across the river to the Cincinnati Art Museum.  We had enough time there to browse a bit (free admission, so the price was right) and have lunch in the museum cafe. 

It was off to the airport after that,

two flights to go, and a little stowaway joining us. 

The end of a truly excellent vacation with oh so many highlights to remember fondly.

on to Covington

80 months.  80.  That's approximately how long it had been since I last saw Rick in person.  An evening of dinner and drinks in Louisville.  He drove down to meet me when I was there for a conference.  What a great time that was - we ended up in a speakeasy place sharing drinks with the next table who apparently were part of some local pie empire.  I remain fuzzy on that detail after all these years.  Fun times.

We've stayed in touch nicely since.  Occasional cards, text messages, and even a few online happy hours.  That's how I first met Dave, his husband, and how Conrad and Van met them.  It was a real pleasure to be able to come their way and make time for dinner together as part of our vacation.  But not in Nashville, though.  We'd shifted locales, so let me back up to earlier that day.

We weren't in a particular hurry to check out of the hotel, so Conrad and I - as usual, up before Van - headed out for a little walk.  It was a very short stroll to the edge of the Vanderbilt University campus, and then we headed into the midst of it.  Very quiet there.  Not just a Sunday but (I'm guessing) also after the end of the semester.  I think we saw 5 other people total.  It's a good-sized campus, and there were some lovely old buildings and trees as well as newer and even brutalist ones. 

Ah, that library.  So charming on the one side,

so ugly on that other,

just the way so many universities have rebuilt their libraries.  From the campus, we wandered back to the hotel, stopping for Starbucks, and then setting to work on packing on our return.

We had a handful of hours to drive that day.  No lunch stop either, but we did take a little dip into Louisville to see the pretty little Old Louisville neighbourhood.  From there it was east, mostly tracking parallel to but not along the Ohio River.  Destination:  Covington, KY.

Why Covington?  It seems random, right?  We had wanted to end the trip with a couple of nights in Cincinnati - you'll have seen that meeting up with John was part of that reason, but Rick and Dave were another good reason.  Sadly, Rick's brother passed away months back, and Rick inherited his condo in the Cincinnati suburbs on the Kentucky side of the river.  We had thought that they would be moved in by the time of our visit, but no, not quite yet.  Still, they didn't mind the drive from their house, which is about an hour further away.  We so greatly appreciated that.

Anyway, Covington.  I had looked around at hotels to book, and for three men, a suite has become essential - yes, we can do a room with two beds, but I am not lying when I say that I have had nights in hotel rooms like that where I have set up a "bed" in the bathtub or the floor of the bathroom so that I can get some sleep.  Even at home or at Van's I spend most of the night in the spare bed simple so that I can sleep well and enough.  My search for hotels in Cincinnati was not going promisingly, alas, until I found a review of the Hotel Covington.  Not the cheapest, not the worst price.  It was a good decision.  The hotel is housed in a former department store and adjoining former YMCA.  Historic on the outside, cool and modern inside.  Great bar in the lobby, an even better one in the adjoining building.  Our room was in that second building (accessible either through the hotel or by a separate street entrance).  Our room was great.  Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, big living room. 

If it had a stove and oven, I would have paid rent and lived there.  Really fantastic place.  I honestly would love to go back and visit our friends in part just so I can stay at that hotel.

Rick and Dave picked us up to head to dinner, driving us a little farther east along the river to Chart House in Newport.  It was an excellent pick.  I mean, the food was fine - I liked my steak more than the one I had in Nashville, and the shrimp appetizer was pretty. 

Service was fine as well, and they made a good martini.  But what really sold the place was the view.  The massive Ohio River between us and Cincinnati, the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge linking the two sides nearby. 

We could watch traffic on the river - a sternwheeler or two,

a few industrial ships, and - this was a little disturbing given the immensity of the river and how polluted we knew it must be - jet skiers!  It was such a nice evening.

And, of course, there was the company. 

Just so easy and enjoyable chatting with the guys, and I was delighted to meet Dave in person and have Conrad and Van meet them both.  They gave us some excellent recommendations for our next day, which we took them up on and appreciated.  They drove us back to the hotel, pointing out a few landmarks, and dropped us off with many big hugs.  Van headed to the room, Conrad and I grabbed glasses of wine at the lobby bar, and came upstairs to unwind.  Another excellent day of vacation, a very comfortable room to finish it in, and such a welcome reunion with Rick after all this time.