![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Ohio Halloween trip, 3 of 9
Oct. 29th, 2023 11:59 pmSUNDAY
I'd set an alarm for 9:30 AM, but woke up about 8:30 needing to use the bathroom and returned to bed just before Gary's alarm went off at nine. Gary rolled over and started surfing the web in bed, so I turned off the alarm five minutes early and rose for the day. When I was done with my shower and packing up my toiletries in the bathroom, Gary took care of his morning routine while I packed my bags. He packed right afterwards and we went downstairs to breakfast about 10:30. We were served coffee by a gentleman with dark, curly hair and beard.
After breakfast we exited the room, packed up the car, and checked out of the hotel. We tentatively planned to stop at a rest area south of Jeffersonville and have lunch at the Golden Lamb in Lebanon. However, traffic out of Columbus was rather heavy and we switched to the rest area south of the Morrow Bridge. When we arrived there, I thought it was a little early for lunch and saw that Fort Ancient was open nearby, so we decided to visit the museum there before lunch. The route from the rest area to the museum took us down a steep, winding road into the Little Miami River valley, and back up the other side. It was a pretty drive with the fall foliage though. We spent almost an hour and a half exploring the exhibits. While we were there, I received a message from Sheila asking our plans for the next couple of days. She told me she was working tonight (28 shifts till retirement!) and that Colleen wasn't feeling well.
Just after two we returned the way we had come and continued into Lebanon for lunch. When I pulled into the parking lot of the Golden Lamb, there was a bit of a kerfuffle because I had to stop suddenly to allow some elderly pedestrians to cross my path, but a driver backing out of a parking space didn't see me and was close to colliding with me before I leaned on the horn to get their attention. Disaster averted, I quickly parked the car and we entered through the Black Horse Tavern entrance around the side. We started with Coke Zero and fried cheese curds, then each got the turkey Reuben sandwich with tavern fries.
We took our time with lunch, leaving about 3:30 for some pictures of the inn, the city park and gazebo alongside, and the civic buildings across the street on either side: city hall and the public library. About ten minutes later we hit the road for the remaining half-hour drive to the La Quinta in Sharonville.
We got checked in, stowed our bags, and turned on the Bengals game vs. the 49ers in Santa Clara. I half-watched the game while completing my journal so far; Gary ended up napping. I checked in with Colleen to let her know we'd arrived, and she said she was only half-sick and expected to be better in the morning. Cincinnati maintained a 17-10 lead from halftime through the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, possession went back and forth four times in quick succession (three interceptions and a fumble) before Cincinnati made a touchdown, answered minutes later by San Francisco for a score of 24-17 with 8 minutes left. Cincinnati scored another touchdown with just shy of 3 minutes left, to ultimately win 31-17. Meanwhile the Seahawks squeaked a victory over Cleveland at home, 24-20, scoring a touchdown with 38 seconds left.
After the Bengals game concluded, I looked for a place to eat and watch Sunday Night Football, since the hotel TV was on Dish Network and they were having a tiff with the local NBC affiliate and not showing any of their programs. We decided on Dave and Buster's off Kemper Road. The place was nearly empty when we arrived. We were seated in front of a large screen which was subdivided into one large and three small screens on either side of the support column. (🎶 The Brady Bunch, the Brady Bunch... 🎶) The large screen and one of the small ones were showing Sunday Night Football, with the other two screens showing UFC (with the combatants in those signature tight cotton trunks 😊) and an NFL recap of the day. One of the UFC dudes was getting rather bloodied from the nose; Gary observed that was unappetizing to watch during dinner. We both ordered strawberry lemonade, and Gary had a chicken Caesar salad, while I had boneless wings in Nashville hot and Carolina BBQ sauces with fries. By the time we finished eating, the UFC match had given way to a Formula 1 race in Mexico City.
On the way back to the car, Gary suggested we follow the football game on the radio, but there was no Westwood One affiliate in Cincinnati. So instead, we caught the tail end of the NHL Heritage Classic, played outdoors at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, between the Oilers and the Calgary Flames. When we arrived in the room, there was a Nickelback concert going on during the second intermission. The Oilers won 5-2. After that game we tuned in to the local news. We prepared for bed around midnight.
I'd set an alarm for 9:30 AM, but woke up about 8:30 needing to use the bathroom and returned to bed just before Gary's alarm went off at nine. Gary rolled over and started surfing the web in bed, so I turned off the alarm five minutes early and rose for the day. When I was done with my shower and packing up my toiletries in the bathroom, Gary took care of his morning routine while I packed my bags. He packed right afterwards and we went downstairs to breakfast about 10:30. We were served coffee by a gentleman with dark, curly hair and beard.
After breakfast we exited the room, packed up the car, and checked out of the hotel. We tentatively planned to stop at a rest area south of Jeffersonville and have lunch at the Golden Lamb in Lebanon. However, traffic out of Columbus was rather heavy and we switched to the rest area south of the Morrow Bridge. When we arrived there, I thought it was a little early for lunch and saw that Fort Ancient was open nearby, so we decided to visit the museum there before lunch. The route from the rest area to the museum took us down a steep, winding road into the Little Miami River valley, and back up the other side. It was a pretty drive with the fall foliage though. We spent almost an hour and a half exploring the exhibits. While we were there, I received a message from Sheila asking our plans for the next couple of days. She told me she was working tonight (28 shifts till retirement!) and that Colleen wasn't feeling well.
Just after two we returned the way we had come and continued into Lebanon for lunch. When I pulled into the parking lot of the Golden Lamb, there was a bit of a kerfuffle because I had to stop suddenly to allow some elderly pedestrians to cross my path, but a driver backing out of a parking space didn't see me and was close to colliding with me before I leaned on the horn to get their attention. Disaster averted, I quickly parked the car and we entered through the Black Horse Tavern entrance around the side. We started with Coke Zero and fried cheese curds, then each got the turkey Reuben sandwich with tavern fries.
We took our time with lunch, leaving about 3:30 for some pictures of the inn, the city park and gazebo alongside, and the civic buildings across the street on either side: city hall and the public library. About ten minutes later we hit the road for the remaining half-hour drive to the La Quinta in Sharonville.
We got checked in, stowed our bags, and turned on the Bengals game vs. the 49ers in Santa Clara. I half-watched the game while completing my journal so far; Gary ended up napping. I checked in with Colleen to let her know we'd arrived, and she said she was only half-sick and expected to be better in the morning. Cincinnati maintained a 17-10 lead from halftime through the third quarter. Early in the fourth quarter, possession went back and forth four times in quick succession (three interceptions and a fumble) before Cincinnati made a touchdown, answered minutes later by San Francisco for a score of 24-17 with 8 minutes left. Cincinnati scored another touchdown with just shy of 3 minutes left, to ultimately win 31-17. Meanwhile the Seahawks squeaked a victory over Cleveland at home, 24-20, scoring a touchdown with 38 seconds left.
After the Bengals game concluded, I looked for a place to eat and watch Sunday Night Football, since the hotel TV was on Dish Network and they were having a tiff with the local NBC affiliate and not showing any of their programs. We decided on Dave and Buster's off Kemper Road. The place was nearly empty when we arrived. We were seated in front of a large screen which was subdivided into one large and three small screens on either side of the support column. (🎶 The Brady Bunch, the Brady Bunch... 🎶) The large screen and one of the small ones were showing Sunday Night Football, with the other two screens showing UFC (with the combatants in those signature tight cotton trunks 😊) and an NFL recap of the day. One of the UFC dudes was getting rather bloodied from the nose; Gary observed that was unappetizing to watch during dinner. We both ordered strawberry lemonade, and Gary had a chicken Caesar salad, while I had boneless wings in Nashville hot and Carolina BBQ sauces with fries. By the time we finished eating, the UFC match had given way to a Formula 1 race in Mexico City.
On the way back to the car, Gary suggested we follow the football game on the radio, but there was no Westwood One affiliate in Cincinnati. So instead, we caught the tail end of the NHL Heritage Classic, played outdoors at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, between the Oilers and the Calgary Flames. When we arrived in the room, there was a Nickelback concert going on during the second intermission. The Oilers won 5-2. After that game we tuned in to the local news. We prepared for bed around midnight.