Cincinnati, Ohio

I do have a couple of comments about D.C. True the weather was horrid, high 90s and terrible humidity but there was a couple of hi-lights for me. One, the Native American Museum was impressive and we only spent time on the top floors. They remodeled the American History Museum and while the section on America at War was fantastic the section on Pop Culture was lacking severely. They have not completed construction so I will chalk it up as not quite ready for prime time. The monuments are always awesome and the Lincoln, Vietnam and Korea Memorials are impressive; I’ve come to the realization that the newly developed WW II memorial is lacking something but I don’t know what. As a good friend told me, the memorial looks like it was designed by a committee and I agree. I did learn a few new things about the Lincoln and WW2 memorial, so e-mail me and I will fill you in on the details. One last note; I love mass transit. Taking the metro into and out of DC I felt like an insider with special information about how to get around the city. Lastly, we found a great brewery in town, Capitol City Brewing and the food and beer were definitely noteworthy.

We left the comfort of Pennsylvania and traveled to Cincinnati, Ohio. We are staying with a very good friend of mine from the old CAM DATA days, Tim Smith. Tim and I are old I.T. mates and we traded war stories about our travels around the United States. To say that our stay was incredible is an understatement. First, Tim, his wife Penny and daughter Tyler are incredibly gracious hosts. Kim has developed a kinship with Tim’s wife Penny and Kim was slightly disappointed Penny and Tyler were not in town. Second, the food was fantastic. We experienced the best of what Cincy has to offer. We ate hamburgers at Zips Café (the best burgers we have had on this road trip), had Cincinnati chili at Skyline. (Kim and the girls are now converts. Cincinnati chili is unique and you have to experience it. We all agree 4-way is the best.) We ate at Izzy’s an old school Jewish Deli and their potato pancakes was a nice surprise for Kim and lastly had some of the best ice cream. Who knew Cincinnati is known for its great food? Third, we visited the Museum Center in downtown Cincinnati and it was by far the best set of museums we have visited on this trip. The kids had a blast at the children’s museum and they also enjoyed the Natural History Museum. Kim really enjoyed the Cincinnati History Museum and learned a great deal about women’s role during WW2. Lastly, Tim gave us a tour of all the great villages, townships and the city itself and he feel we got a view of the city from and extreme insider. We spent our evenings in Tim’s backyard, enjoying some great company, great cigars, and even better spirits while we watched the sun set, the lightning bugs dodge the little brown bats!

Thank you again Tim for taking time off work to spend with us!! Penny, Kim will see you and Tyler next time. Oh and Tim the Bourbon trail sounds great to me! Let’s pick a date and I will fly out to meet you.

Next stop, Springfield, Ill and honest, rail-splitting Abe. You know, the dude from the penny.

MZ