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bigmacbear) wrote2021-08-27 11:59 pm
bigmacbear) wrote2021-08-27 11:59 pm
Cincinnati Trip, Day Eight
FRIDAY, August 27
I woke up just after seven to pee and didn't fall asleep again, so I got up and started my day around 7:30. Gary slept through his alarm so I woke him about 20 to nine. He told me he wasn't feeling like having the hotel breakfast so we went to a local diner in Fairfield called Lindenwald Station. The place was decorated with model trains on tracks at the ceiling. I ordered the cattle car omelet (three meats, cheese, and smothered with sausage gravy) and Gary the cheese omelet. Everything tasted very good. The manager was a cute muscular cub with dark hair and beard in a U of Cincinnati polo shirt, blue jeans and boots. Also a young dude with dark hair in a man-bun peeked out of the kitchen to serve customers at the counter. We hurried a bit so they could seat a party of six at our table.
From there we sat in the car and looked for a park to explore and get some exercise. Then Gary remembered we had skipped the butterfly show at the Krohn Conservatory in order to visit Devou Park, so we drove there directly from the diner. We arrived just after 11:30 so the lady in the ticket booth gave us timed tickets for 12 noon. We explored the Fern Room and the Palm Room before getting in line for the main show. I noticed a tall young dude with impressive (and a little scary) ink on one arm and both calves, as well as a big, long-haired dude who reminded me of David (Schönebär). The butterflies were everywhere: little white ones with orange wingtips; huge gray ones revealing splotches of brilliant blue when they flapped their wings; and every size and color in between. Early on, one landed on Gary's phone; later he caught one on a card we were provided, and still later one landed on the leg of my jeans. When we were ready to leave the butterflies, we exited through the bonsai exhibit and the cactus room, then sat on an outdoor bench and planned our next steps. I was getting hungry and suggested a little tavern on nearby Mt. Adams with a view of downtown. Gary wasn't quite as hungry and suggested we head to the Banks instead.
We drove to the Banks garage and walked the long block of Freedom Way between the museum block where we were parked and the Great American Ball Park. I was struck by the empty street and the number of places which were closed. Eventually we stepped into Condado Tacos, immediately across the street from the ballpark, for lunch. We had chips with guacamole and corn salsa, and Gary had one taco and I had two. They were almost as good (but smaller) as the ones from Agave and Rye.
As we left the restaurant, there was a moderate rain shower but it moved off and dried up in a few minutes. We ducked into the nearest entrance to the garage and quickly found the underground passage to the car. On the way back to the hotel, Colleen called to update us on the plans for the evening. We arrived at the room about ten to four.
Gary decided to lie down and relax, while I prepared for a dip in the pool. After my first lap, a little girl in water wings insisted on racing me the length of the pool. Once I figured out what was going on, I let her win, twice, after which she swam over to her mother and suggested I could go on by myself because she was tired. I got in a good swim and then checked my text messages. Matt wanted to know what kind of pizza we wanted, so I returned to the room to ask Gary, and we agreed on sausage and mushrooms (our go-to toppings). I half watched the news while Gary napped. Matt texted us again to let us know Colleen was stuck in traffic so we agreed to travel directly to Matt's and Colleen could meet us there.
We left about six and arrived about 6:30, just after Colleen. Milo was being fed through a tube and Ella was barking her head off the first few minutes after we walked in the door. We took a brief tour of the main level of the house, then sat down to dinner. Over dinner and for several hours afterward, we swapped stories and watched Milo (who was uncharacteristically wide awake at 9 and 10 PM) and Ella (who was as usual asleep on the couch). As ten PM approached, Gary was getting sleepy, so Tristan showed us the walk-out basement before we went our way. I got a splitting headache on the way back so I took my contacts out and otherwise prepared for bed.
I woke up just after seven to pee and didn't fall asleep again, so I got up and started my day around 7:30. Gary slept through his alarm so I woke him about 20 to nine. He told me he wasn't feeling like having the hotel breakfast so we went to a local diner in Fairfield called Lindenwald Station. The place was decorated with model trains on tracks at the ceiling. I ordered the cattle car omelet (three meats, cheese, and smothered with sausage gravy) and Gary the cheese omelet. Everything tasted very good. The manager was a cute muscular cub with dark hair and beard in a U of Cincinnati polo shirt, blue jeans and boots. Also a young dude with dark hair in a man-bun peeked out of the kitchen to serve customers at the counter. We hurried a bit so they could seat a party of six at our table.
From there we sat in the car and looked for a park to explore and get some exercise. Then Gary remembered we had skipped the butterfly show at the Krohn Conservatory in order to visit Devou Park, so we drove there directly from the diner. We arrived just after 11:30 so the lady in the ticket booth gave us timed tickets for 12 noon. We explored the Fern Room and the Palm Room before getting in line for the main show. I noticed a tall young dude with impressive (and a little scary) ink on one arm and both calves, as well as a big, long-haired dude who reminded me of David (Schönebär). The butterflies were everywhere: little white ones with orange wingtips; huge gray ones revealing splotches of brilliant blue when they flapped their wings; and every size and color in between. Early on, one landed on Gary's phone; later he caught one on a card we were provided, and still later one landed on the leg of my jeans. When we were ready to leave the butterflies, we exited through the bonsai exhibit and the cactus room, then sat on an outdoor bench and planned our next steps. I was getting hungry and suggested a little tavern on nearby Mt. Adams with a view of downtown. Gary wasn't quite as hungry and suggested we head to the Banks instead.
We drove to the Banks garage and walked the long block of Freedom Way between the museum block where we were parked and the Great American Ball Park. I was struck by the empty street and the number of places which were closed. Eventually we stepped into Condado Tacos, immediately across the street from the ballpark, for lunch. We had chips with guacamole and corn salsa, and Gary had one taco and I had two. They were almost as good (but smaller) as the ones from Agave and Rye.
As we left the restaurant, there was a moderate rain shower but it moved off and dried up in a few minutes. We ducked into the nearest entrance to the garage and quickly found the underground passage to the car. On the way back to the hotel, Colleen called to update us on the plans for the evening. We arrived at the room about ten to four.
Gary decided to lie down and relax, while I prepared for a dip in the pool. After my first lap, a little girl in water wings insisted on racing me the length of the pool. Once I figured out what was going on, I let her win, twice, after which she swam over to her mother and suggested I could go on by myself because she was tired. I got in a good swim and then checked my text messages. Matt wanted to know what kind of pizza we wanted, so I returned to the room to ask Gary, and we agreed on sausage and mushrooms (our go-to toppings). I half watched the news while Gary napped. Matt texted us again to let us know Colleen was stuck in traffic so we agreed to travel directly to Matt's and Colleen could meet us there.
We left about six and arrived about 6:30, just after Colleen. Milo was being fed through a tube and Ella was barking her head off the first few minutes after we walked in the door. We took a brief tour of the main level of the house, then sat down to dinner. Over dinner and for several hours afterward, we swapped stories and watched Milo (who was uncharacteristically wide awake at 9 and 10 PM) and Ella (who was as usual asleep on the couch). As ten PM approached, Gary was getting sleepy, so Tristan showed us the walk-out basement before we went our way. I got a splitting headache on the way back so I took my contacts out and otherwise prepared for bed.