April 8-9: Cincinnati

Less than 2 hours after we left Columbus, we arrived in Cincinnati. On the way, I researched open mics. After much "googling", I was pleased to discover one that I saw advertised on multiple web versions of current hip Cinci newspapers. We would be arriving in town around a half an hour before the weekly "acoustic open mic" was set to begin at Shady O'Grady's, so we figured we'd drive straight there and leave downtown for the next day. We grabbed a quick subway sub and headed over. I knew it would look like a dive from the outside, but hey! Dives are cool! It's going to be a cool open mic at a hip dive. When we got there, it certainly was a dive. Although it wasn't UNcool, it certainly wasn't "hip" and there certainly was no semblance of an open mic. We didn't even ask what happened to it. It wasn't the kind of place you'd do that. So, as Godsmack (shudder) played on the jukebox, we ordered beers and sat in their outdoor smoking area. When we went out to check on the pooch and give him a stroll, I noticed the bartender was staring at us out the window. KG assumed I was being paranoid, but when we went back in he said, "I was watching you out there with your dog.." So there. "He can come in, you know. He was so well behaved while you wiped his paws." Awesome. So we brought him in and went back out to the patio, where he was admired by a couple of the drunk pool players. It was a charming experience. Yoshi loves being included, and we love including him. He's a good dog.


Since it was late and dark, we figured we didn't need to do any hanging out that night. We'd leave all the Cincinnati adventuring for after our first Wal-Mart parking lot sleeping experience.
It went well. You wonder if people are wondering your life story when they see your unshowered bleary eyed face brushing your teeth in the morning in the bathroom at a Wal-Mart, but they can wonder. I don't mind. My life is pretty good.

Attraction #1 on my Cincinnati list was the "Mushroom House". It was built by architect Terry Brown, and it. Is. Awesome. A fancy man lives there (maybe more people, but I saw the fancy man walk out with his fancy cordless headphones on), so you can't see the inside. But the outside is sure worth it. Checkcheckcheckitout:

 Pretty neat, man. Also, across the street happened to be "The Coffee Emporium", which sure sounded right up my alley. It was delicious and adorable. Here is Yoshi, sitting in the patio with the Mushroom House across the way:

We then headed to the Northside, which was great. It was a beautiful day and things were good.

[Sidenote: have you noticed I have a hard time getting the pictures placed where I want them? Kinda unaesthetically pleasing, aren't they. Well. There it is.]




From the northside, we drove through what is called the "over the rhine" neighborhood. Some pretty cool buildings in the hills, felt a bit like what I imagine San Fran will feel like. It didn't feel quite as friendly, what with the people glaring at us and yelling unheard words when we slowed to park, so we didn't. Cool buildings though!

Next we headed downtown, excited for the other main attraction on our Cincinnati list of sights... the Roebling Bridge. First we strolled the streets and checked out the Fountain.

 We discovered parking near the bridge was a bit of a nightmare, so once our meter ran out we decided to drive over the bridge and walk into Cincinnati from across the border, after parking the rig in Covington, Kentucky.

 

We love walking bridges. It was fun.

Yoshi tried to leave a gift on the bridge. KG picked it up.

 

There were some interesting Roebling Bridge/Kentucky murals on the other side. One had an old man baby on it, which was a bit scary. I'm not a fan of old man babies (i.e. Benjamin Button.... ick.)

This mural is of creatures crossing through the water (one creature is being slaughtered by natives in the background. What will the fluffy ones fate be?)

 This is a cool bridge, y'all. Built by John Roebling, who also built the Brooklyn Bridge. The first pedestrians crossed in 1866, when it was the longest suspension bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge was finished in 1883.

Then we walked back into Kentucky. And that's the end of our Cincinnati story.