The
original plan was for John to pick me up on Thursday morning, then
we'd take our time driving back to Charlotte. That plan was delayed
by a little over two days, but such is life. John picked me up after
lunchtime on Saturday, and we started driving.
Our
first stop was in Columbus, Indiana, for lunch. The pizza was good,
and I saw a business with my last name :) I've done a day trip to
Columbus previously, but didn't get to see everything. This quick
stop reminded me that I want to come back and see more.
We
kept going until we got to Cincinnati, Ohio. I got to drive much of
the way, which was fun. Though the U.S. doesn't have a good public
transport system, it does have a good network of highways. (Notice
that I didn't say that all this infrastructure is in good shape,
because it isn't.)
Cincinnati
is a city of almost 300,000 people, founded in the late 18th
century. Wikipedia tells me it sits at the confluence of the Licking
and Ohio Rivers, I only knew it was on the Ohio River. Clearly I need
to go back and make sure I see the Licking River, just because it has
a fun name.
I grew
up going to Cincinnati every summer to watch the Cincinnati Reds play
at Riverfront Stadium. The stadium has a different name now, but it
will always be Riverfront to me. We parked the car near the
riverfront walkway developed by the city, and started walking. We
didn't get far before deciding to cross Roebling suspension bridge.
Crossing the bridge took us over the state line into Kentucky, a
state in which we had zero desire to spend any time.
The
water of the Ohio River was not particularly good looking, it was a
shade of brown as far as I could see. Yuck. Somehow I doubt it ever
looks all that great.
Just
after coming off the bridge I realized I was rather dehydrated, and
needed water quickly. I'd heard about an ice cream place called
Graeter's that was originally from Cincinnati. It has now spread to
other cities/states, but the fact that it was originally from
Cincinnati made it okay for me. (My general rule being to avoid
national chain restaurants.)
I
drank a bottle of water really fast, then enjoyed two scoops of black
raspberry chocolate chip ice cream. I would most definitely go back
for me the next time I'm in Cincinnati.
From
there we wandered around a little bit of the city center, enjoying
the architecture of the sky scrapers. We didn't wander far, heading
back to the car soon enough. I've since checked a couple travel apps
and found plenty of things to do and places to see in Cincinnati, I'd
like to go back. (With plenty of water.)
We
started driving with no end point in mind for the evening. We pulled
into a hotel parkplatz a little before midnight, after having crossed
state lines into Knoxville, Tennessee.
The
next morning we decided to explore a bit of Knoxville, just because
we could. I'd been there once before, when I was 18 years old and
trying to decide where I would go to university. I don't remember
much about that trip, it was nice to go back and basically see the
city from scratch.
We
found a free parkplatz downtown, near a pedestrian street. The street
was nice looking, everything had been developed nicely. This
pedestrian street was mostly lined with cafes and restaurants,
nothing too extraordinary.
We
walked to the end of the street, circling around a few streets down
there. One of the buildings we saw was the old county courthouse, it
still has a war memorial on the lawn. Another building we saw was one
of the most boring government buildings I've ever seen. We also saw a
church or two. As it was the middle of summer, flowers were blooming,
and everything looked lovely.
Finally
we saw something we'd seen while driving into the city center: the
tower of the convention center. There is a gold ball at the top of
the tower, the whole thing is really eye catching. The rest of the
convention center wasn't anything great, which wasn't much of a
surprise.
The
bottom of the tower was near a small body of water, which had also
been redeveloped nicely. There was a splash pad, steps by the water,
etc... Not too far away we found a war memorial for the soldiers of
east Tennessee. Very nicely done, with maintenance done regularly.
Around
that point I realized that yet again I'd let myself get dehydrated.
We walked back to the pedestrian street and found a local cafe. The
server brought water, which I drank immediately. We asked for a full
pitcher of water, she brought another glass for each of us. I drank
that fast as well, finally feeling closer to normal again. When she
saw how fast I was drinking she realized I had asked for the pitcher
of water for a reason, and finally brought it. Our food was fine, and
the air conditioning felt good :)
Before
leaving town John found a cigar shop to visit, but didn't buy
anything because he didn't want to spend that much on rolled up
tobacco leaves. I had no idea cigars can cost more than $100!!!
From
there we went back to the car and got back on the highway. Our next
stop was Asheville, North Carolina, because I was craving ice cream.
I found a place listed on a travel app, it was okay, but not as
amazing as I wanted it to be.
From
there we drove to Charlotte. I'd never been there before, it was
completely new to me.
I
would definitely return to Columbus, Cincinnati, and Knoxville, as
there is always more to see and do :) Road trips are the best.
