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.

spring break vacation, Day 7

Day 7 we left New Hampshire.  Sigh.

It was a nice drive down to the Boston area, and thanks again to Ed for driving us.  We set out at a decent time of the morning, enabling us to stop in Lawrence, an outer Boston suburb, so that Conrad could visit a museum there and see a specific piece on exhibit.  The Lawrence Heritage State Park was a nice stop en route, I have to admit.  A fine little museum about the industrial history of the city including labour strife, disaster, and the growing presence and influence of a Latino community. 

And, sorry, but the person staffing the park welcome desk was a friendly and handsome mature guy.  Sue me, I'm gay!  ;-)

It wasn't long after that that we arrived at our hotel in the Seaport area of Boston.  I hadn't been in Boston in ten years, and the last time I was there, the Seaport area was rather less developed.  I'd had to stay out that way for a conference at the new (at the time) convention center.  This time I chose it because it is relatively easy to get from there to the airport across the water.

We were able to check in right away,

then we took Ed for lunch nearby (mocktail, shrimp tacos)

before sending him on his way home to Rhode Island.  We spent the rest of the afternoon napping (not pictured) and strolling around the area a little. 

Such beautiful spring weather!

I was excited for dinner.  No, not for the food, but for the company. 

I first got to know Robert ages ago, I think it was on Flickr.  We met once for dinner back on my last trip to Boston in 2016 (I had a cassoulet that was nowhere near as good as what I would have at Yoshi's), and I'd looked forward to another chance to meet again.  Oddly enough, we were both in Palm Springs last month at the same time but not realizing it.  We almost missed the chance to have dinner in Boston - Robert was booked to be in Hawaii on vacation.  However, the torrential rains that Hawaii has received in recent times had him reconsider, and that meant he was in town and free for dinner. 

Yay!  Conrad got to meet him, too, which was a bonus.

We met up at Woods Hill Pier 4 not far from the hotel, a nice little walk.  Robert was already enjoying a drink when we got there, and we soon joined him in that pursuit once seated.  The dinner was good, and I liked the food, but the only thing that stuck with me was the salt-roasted celery root.  The star of the meal.  Everything else was great, though. 

I confess, after a week of dining out and drinking, I was looking forward to getting home and maybe trying a little more of a regular diet again.

Anyway, a lovely dinner.  Robert is a character, and that is a compliment.  Stylish, a raconteur.  It was fun conversation. 

We walked him partway to where he could get transit

then headed the other way back to our hotel.  There was no rush for us the next morning, so we knew we could wind down and sleep as late as we liked.