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.

Rio Grande Gorge

Alright, let's ease into the Taos blogging with the least complicated entry (of three planned entries, that is) and show you some landscape photos.

I'll comment a little more on the town of Taos in another entry, I think, but it was not what I expected.  Sitting in the shadow of Taos Mountain, spread out on the broad mesa below that complex of peaks, it wasn't the lush little river valley or something that I had sort of expected it to be.  From where we stayed outside of the town, we could see down to the mesa and the sweep of it, larger and flatter-seeming than I would have guessed.  Slashed through that flat expanse, though, was the Rio Grande Gorge.

Yes, that Rio Grande.  The same river that is the border between Texas and Mexico, its source lies north of that, in the mountains of Colorado.  From there it flows south through New Mexico, and as it exits the mountainous area in the north of the state, it gashes the earth deeply.  More deeply than you might imagine - at its greatest depth, it is some 800 feet deep.  There, at the bottom, at this time of year, at least, is a slight ribbon of a river. 

It really does give you pause.

The six of us remaining that afternoon made the drive west of Taos, crossing the gorge

on a bridge

on which it is now forbidden to stop or to walk because of suicides in recent times.  That's sad, and I hope the efforts prevent other such deaths.  Once across, we stopped in a rest area and took a few photos before following the gorge south and then driving down into it. 

We got down to river level, more or less,

crossed back over it,

and continued on to a picnic site.  There, in the afternoon sun, we toasted our day

with a New Mexico sparkling wine,

enjoyed a very good picnic, and took some photos by the river. 

Golden autumn leaves in the sun around us,

but the surprise of some yellow flowers in bloom on a branch as well. 

It was a lovely afternoon.

We packed up the picnic, climbed in the vehicles, and climbed up out of the gorge, heading to a - yes, truly - early dinner.  How cool, though, to have seen the gorge and the very famous river.