Greetings from Cincinnati! Actually I'm in Kentucky right now as I type this (near the airport). Flew in early this morning via Frontier Airlines which has a nonstop to CVG. Thanks to @97Knight for the hookup to Frontier "first class."
I grew up a Cincinnati Reds fan and had the opportunity to visit the city for games as a young lad in 1986, 1988 and 1990. In 1986, I distinctly remember getting a "Schottzie" plush. Schottzie was owner Marge Schott's St. Bernard and was the "team dog," even included in the team photos of the era. Where am I going with this? "Bear" could have been UCF's team dog! In next year's team photo and everything. What could have been.
After a bite to eat, headed the few miles north across the river to make a quick drive by the University of Cincinnati. On the way, you pass through downtown and the William Howard Taft boyhood home and museum, run by the U.S. Department of the Interior. It's a block from the UC campus and it's free. Can't beat that price. Stopped in, watched a short video of Taft's life and then cross a walkway into the mid-1800s era boyhood home. It's been restored to reflect the time of Taft's youth with period furniture and artifacts. It's interesting for what it is. Fun Fact: Cincinnati was the nation's sixth-largest city around 1900.
The volunteer tour guide is a Cincinnati season ticket holder and indicated they were having a "down year." I said, "Down year?!" UCF is 0-8 and GOL just stepped down.
From there, headed over to UC. As I've posted before, it's north of downtown and not in the greatest area. I was able to take a quick tour of the stadium, at least walking around the concourse and stands. The Bearcats were actually having a practice. Apparently they don't really care if people watch because there were plenty of students milling about, running stairs, etc. The stadium is sort of integrated into campus, next to buildings, people would use the concourse to cut through, etc.
I'm not sure how it looked up close before, but it does seem pretty nice and cozy.
Didn't think I was going to hit the Cincinnati Reds Museum and Hall of Fame until tomorrow, but decided to squeeze it in, arriving around 4 p.m. (it closes at 5). I'm a Reds fan so it obviously has more meaning to me, but from everything I've always heard it's the best MLB team museum. They change their exhibits often. The artifacts are almost completely different from my previous visits in 2012 and 2013. The main floor theme is currently "Kings of the Queen City," dedicated to the best players in franchise history. The upstairs player-specific exhibit is Tony Perez (it was Barry Larkin a couple years ago) and they have an extensive All-Star exhibit in honor of hosting this year's All-Star game.
If you're coming up tomorrow, it's well worth the price of admission. There's enough cool stuff of interest for any baseball fan. Countless pieces of memorabilia, game worn apparel, artifacts, etc. Allow at least 1.5 hours to properly go through everything. They do stadium tours but unfortunately during the offseason it's on Saturdays only.
Here I am with Sparky Anderson.
Familiar with Fifth Third Bank which recently expanded into the Orlando area? Well, it's an old Cincinnati bank that's literally at the corner Fifth and Third Streets.
I haven't had Skyline Chili since I was 7 years old and can't really remember much about it. I gave it some thought, but all those noodles, meat toppings and gobs of chesse looks like a meal you're going to regret all night long.
Miami-Ohio was actually hosting Buffalo tonight, but that's like an hour away from here and I got up at 4 a.m.
Safe travels to those coming up!
