Cincinnati - The City, The Weather, The Wedding

Beginning September in Cincinnati was the plan. Celebrating a wedding was the plan. Shopping downtown was the plan. The plan wasn't quite stuck to.

Taking the Greyhound coach down from Detroit to Cincinnati was an experience. Final destination was Birmingham (Alabama), which meant the other passengers looked and talked like they just came out of a southern film set. The seats were fine though, and I settled down for the 5 to 6 hours journey.

After leaving Toledo (pronounced Tolido) we suddenly pulled in to a rest stop unannounced. The driver got out, walked round to the back of the bus and looked at the wheels. She then came back on the bus and told us that the back axle had broken, and this bus wasn't going any further. There was a second bus slightly behind us that might have some seats free, and then a new bus would come down in 3 hours. This wasn't quite the news the passengers were looking forward to, especially those going to the last stop.

After half an hour, the driver came back over the tannoy and told everyone to strap up. The bus just behind us is now actually in front of us (it didn't stop), and the bus sent out to rescue us wouldn't get here until 5 or 6 hours time.So we were told to buckle up, and people in the back were told to keep an eye out for flames or smoke. Suffice it to say that nobody slept on the rest of the journey, traveling at great speed to catch up on lost time (instead of going slow to reduce risks...), with the back of the bus wobbling around the corners.

Only an hour late, we arrived at Cincinnati at 10pm with a temperature of 34 degrees Celsius!

The next day was tourism day. We set off to visit the sights, having lunch at Skyline Chili, and walking around downtown. Taking the Duck Tour going through 3 counties and 2 states was a great way of catching up on the history of the city as well as seeing the sights from the river.

The shopping part of the day wasn't quite as expected. It was actually very difficult to find any big stores in downtown, and across in Newport wasn't much better. Never mind, with the temperatures not going below 35 degrees, a few stops in the shops that were available allowed us to cool down, even if we didn't buy anything.

Of course, it wasn't for the shopping that we were in this city. No, we were here for the wedding of Chelsea and Eric. Meeting up with Patty, Stan, Jennifer, Gary and Kelly, we went off to the wedding across the road from the hotel (luckily we didn't have to go far in that heat).

The ceremony was great, the dress amazing, and the meal, speeches, and party were enjoyed by all. So congratulations to the married couple !

You can see all the photos of this trip here...

Typical Tigers, Lake Waves and Happy Days

Whilst staying in Ann Arbor (MI) at the end of August, I was relieved that the weather held out for me to be able to see some of the scenery.

First up was to go to Lake Michigan, where there were actually bigger waves than I've seen in many European sea beaches ! Of course, you don't expect this with a lake, but as it's so big, the moon seems to cause tides in it too.

Whilst jumping waves and climbing the hugs sand banks with a light breeze, one can forget that the sun was shining and it was just gone midday. So yes, you guessed it, a sunburn was the outcome. At least it didn't spoil the day itself :)

On the way to the lake we stopped off for lunch (Matt, Ben and myself) at the 70s Diner. This is straight out of the series Happy Days, where the great tasting burgers and amazing shakes are delivered on a tray that attaches to your car window. This was an unforgettable experience, and well worth repeating.

Later in the week there was the opportunity to see the Detroit Tigers play the Kansas City Royals (baseball). This trip was undertaken by Gary, Patty, Stan, Dandan, Sean, Ben and Boris.

Of course, a game isn't a game without doing some more of the typical things in the stadium. Cue a corn dog, cheesy tortilla chips, and a tub of local lager. The stadium was a hive of activity, and fun was had by all. The fact that nobody had won after full time, meant that extra time was called for. And in true Guiri style, yours truly went off to the bathroom whilst the Tigers were batting (as it wasn't so busy then), and duly missed the winning home walk...c'est la vie!

So this trip allowed me to tick those boxes that I didn't get chance to on the other trips over here, and therefore will be remembered for a long time.