Our First Kentucky Road Trip - Part 2

On the last blog post, we headed north to Cincinnati for our first road trip since moving to the Kentucky house!

Selfie with a new friend at the Cincinnati Zoo

After finishing our second bourbon tasting, we finally made it out of Kentucky and into Cincinnati, Ohio and to our Airbnb for the night, conveniently located in the Over-the-Rhine (OTR) area of town (this area originally had a lot of German immigrants, and it was across a smaller river, the Miami - from the main part of the city - so the newer folks to the area nicknamed it "Over-the-Rhine" as a tribute to the land they'd left behind).  

The welcoming committee at the Airbnb

Thankfully, our unit was on the first floor

Post unloading the car, we headed back out, by foot this time, to Rhinegeist Brewery, an incredible microbrewery calling the Queen City home.  The beer is great, and the space occupied by the brewery is also really neat - it's a huge facility that used to be the packaging hall of Christian Moerlein Brewing Company, one of the pioneering breweries in the area.  The absolutely massive main taproom was all decorated up in rainbows for Pride Month and the "Wigs and Waffles" drag brunch being held there the next day (tickets were sold out - I checked - dang it!).

The "Rhine" part of Rhinegeist is a tribute to the OTR area where they're located,

and the "Geist" means "ghost" in German - a nod to the brewers who have come before

and the resurgence of the neighborhood itself

The main taproom hall

My flight of German classics and the nitro on tap - all were delicious!

The stairways in and out of the taproom were covered in stickers

We wandered back to the Airbnb and crashed for a nap in the AC, before hitting the streets once more, this time, on our way to dinner at Mita's, chef Jose Salazar's amazing tapas spot.  Dinner was incredible - all the food was superb, the drinks were good, and our server was friendly and knowledgeable.  It was just under a mile from the Airbnb, which let us see more of the neat art and architecture of the area as well.

Enjoying a margarita made with a milk wash at Mita's

TQL Stadium, home to FC Cincy, the local soccer club

In front of the Arts Center - I saw this guy from across the street and screamed,

"OH MY GOD IT'S HAMLET!"

Friends, it was.  I met a celebrity.

We weren't too far away from the Bengals stadium, either, and folks were super supportive of their team

The Cincinnati Music Hall

Even with our 5pm nap, we crashed pretty hard once we made it back to our lodging for the night.  Unfortunately, the street front location that made walking around so convenient also meant the Airbnb was pretty noisy; we'd hear passenger cars and the tram go by every now and then, as well as folks coming in or out of the building's main door, which was down the hall from us, particularly if they were chatting loudly.  Thus, while the place was comfy, it wasn't the best night of sleep for either of us.

The next morning, we spent some time figuring out the Airbnb's fancy coffee machine (well, Chris did - I just boiled some water for tea) before changing and heading to breakfast at the OTR location of Taste of Belgium, which specialized in traditional Belgian, or Liege, waffles.  Given the early hour and urgency of consuming our meals, I didn't take any shots of the food, but Chris had the Waffle & Chicken, and I had the Waffle Breakfast Plate, complete with goetta, a meat and oats concoction unique to Cincinnati (it was good, particularly when I mixed it up with my over-medium eggs).  Everything was great!

"Did I do this right?"

Walking through Washington Park, with the Music Hall in the background

After breakfast, it was back to the Airbnb to pack up, check out, and head to our final sightseeing stop, the Cincinnati Zoo!  When we planned this trip, we weren't sure what the weather would be on Sunday morning, so we had a set of indoor and outdoor options to choose from, including several museums and parks.  Thankfully, it was gorgeous, so we could pursue our (my) first pick and go see some critters!

The Zoo is really a neat place - it's well organized, so crowds move through different exhibits efficiently; it covers a good area but isn't too hilly or huge (looking at you, San Diego Zoo); and you feel as if you're closer to the animals than at other zoos, but not in a worrisome way.  The habitats look updated and well equipped, and the animals seem pretty content.

Cats are going to do what cats are going to do, regardless of how big they are

We happened to be wandering by the cheetah enclosure right as the "Cheetah Encounter" show was starting, so we grabbed a seat.  While much of it was the same type of educational experience we've all seen a million times, one of the highlights of this demonstration involved the keepers setting up a fuzzy toy on a cable around the enclosure; when the cheetah came bounding out, a boat motor fired up, yanking the toy along the ground while the cheetah chased it down.  It was truly incredible to see how fast these cats are in person.

This cheetah was like, "I've figured out the bush detour, thank you."

Several other animals also came out during the show, including a bushpig and a serval

Remember how I mentioned seeing the animals up close?  Nowhere was that truer than in the kangaroo exhibit, which allowed visitors to walk through their enclosure (and which also allowed me to carry an open, half-finished beer through - the keeper went, "eh, the kangaroos don't care."  Um, okay).

Straight chilling

Visitors have to stay on the sidewalk to keep their distance from the 'roos,

but what happens when the stars of the show have other ideas?

Please do note the handler next to the kangaroo - we weren't totally unsupervised.

Time to detour!

Another highlight for me, of course, was the penguin enclosure. They were having the best time zipping through the water or sunning themselves on the rocks, and I could have hung out with them forever.

The absolute most famous residents of the Zoo, however, are the hippos, particularly Fiona and Fritz.  Fiona was born in 2017 and arrived six weeks before she should have; she was so small she couldn't even stand and nurse normally, so she had to be bottle fed 24/7.  Despite all this, she thrived and the ensuring media coverage made her, and the Zoo, stars.  Two years ago, she acquired a new little brother, Fritz, and I can personally report that he's adorable, too.

Fiona, Fritz, and a third hippo (maybe Mom Bibi?) hanging out

We also stopped by the World of Insects - that's a lot of bugs!

By 1pm, the day was starting to get toasty, and we were tired, so it was back to the car to start our journey homeward.  By 3:30, we were back at the house, having even stopped at Kroger on the way back to grab our grocery order.  We had a great time in Cincy, and we can't wait to visit again!

Bye, Ohio!

Later!

Amy