Cincinnati etc.

Our campground near Cincinnati was SW of the city, almost on the OH-IN state line, just north of the river.  We came here because grandson Andrew is flying in to play in a soccer showcase.  We're playing the role of soccer parents.  Just happened that the Dodgers were in town to play the Reds, so I took in a game Wednesday night.  Dodgers managed to win the game I saw, but lost two out of three games to the Reds and have continued mostly losing since then. 

The Cincy park, The Great American Ball Park, opened in 2003.  It features some riverboat reminders of the city's history.

Here's Manny Ramirez warming up.  He had a good night, but injured himself and has been out since then.

I started out with a seat two rows from the field down the left field line.  It was the only crowded area in the ballpark - big guy on my left, big gal on my right, group of loud guys behind me.  Also, you had to turn sharply and look over your left shoulder to see the main scoreboard.  So I soon moved, ending up down the right field line after sitting for a while behind the plate until I was asked to show my ticket.  Final score was 14-6. Dodgers scored in eight of nine innings.  Manny was three for four, if I recall correctly.

Next day, Thursday, we drove to the Indianapolis airport - about 100 miles away - to pick up Andrew.  It was early afternoon, so we took a scenic route back to Cincinnati after first stopping for lunch at a Steak and Shake.  This was a treat for Andrew because they have those in Grand Rapids, from whence he moved two years ago, but not in his new home town of Rio Rancho, NM.

We stopped in Madison, IN, just looking around and enjoying some ice cream.  Any fans of Blue Bell ice cream out there?

                                 

Way back around 1976 I spent a few days in Madison testifying at a nuclear power plant licensing hearing (on the issue of comparative downtimes for nuclear and coal-fired power plants).    Then, several years ago we all were on a river boat trip organized by Andrew's maternal grandparents (Elizabeth and Allen Anthony, Kentuckians about whom we've written previously in our KY journey) and stopped here in Madison.  We took a picture of the three Hinkle kids in the doorway of a classic house in Madison.  I think it's this one (actually a funeral home), but even if not, close enough.

                                             

The soccer games were played in Oxford, OH, about an hour away from our campground.  The purpose of the games was to provide a "showcase" at which more than 100 college soccer coaches came to evaluate prospective players.  It was a cold and rainy weekend, but we were fortunate in that only the first of Andrew's three games was played in the rain, and a light one at that.  The team went 2-1 and Andrew played goalie in the second half of each and did quite well, we thought.

                             

After the Sunday game we drove Andrew back to Indianapolis for his flight home.  We won't see him again until Wednesday, when he flies to Louisville for his brother, Tony's, graduation from Cavalry Scout training at Fort Knox.

Cheers,

Susie and Rob