Weekend away: Cincinnati

AJ and I were thankful to get away for an overnight excursion to Cincinnati this past weekend...one last hurrah before we add another family member to our chaos. Grandma Rader (who Jonas lovingly refers to as "oddy") stayed Friday to Saturday with Jonas, and we are told they had a great time. We think we probably had more fun, but won't tell them that.

The top photo is from our hotel room, the 29th floor (top) of the Hilton Netherlands Plaza. (The belly shot is also from our room actually.) We had a great view. The hotel was entirely art deco and our cozy room was a perfect retreat. Cincinnati reminded us of a smaller version of Pittsburgh, with the hills and bridges and wide river dividing the downtown from Kentucky. On Friday we explored Eden Park and the art museum, and ended up walking around Covington, KY (just across the river) before eating dinner at a Chez Nora. The place was recommended by a friend in Indy who is from Cincinnati. Good choice, although we ate mostly with folks over 65 since we ate at 6:30pm.Then we headed over to a cool neighborhood that overlooks the city, Mt. Adams and after dessert at a pub, relaxed in what we decided was one of our favorite bars ever, The Blind Lemon. A basement location with a fireplace, low ceilings, and a great guitar player who sang just about anything.
On Saturday was slept in, and then wandered over to the neighborhood my favorite band is named after, "Over the Rhine". Just east of downtown, the area has seen better days. Though rough around the edges, it ended up being our favorite spot in Cincinnati. We ate at Tucker's place (see photo below) which was a highlight. A small diner with greasy, but great, food, the Tuckers have something very few establishments have. They have a beautiful cross section of America sitting at their tables. Looking around the place was refreshing. Suburbanites and the virtually homeless sitting and enjoying good food and company. We sat at the counter and chatted with Mrs. Tucker and tried not to notice Mr. Tucker using his bare hands as he threw food on the grill.

After breakfast we roamed OTR a bit. Bought some tahini and curry spice from Findlay Market, and hit several art galleries, antiques shops, and salvage stores (one with incredible vintage posters). Over the Rhine: check out the band AND the neighborhood if you get a chance. Both very worthwhile.

All in all, a relaxing and wonderful weekend away. Thank you mom Rader!