Three things to check out in Cincinnati

I had some free time during my business trip in Cincinnati which allowed me to check out some pretty cool places. Here are three of them:

1.      American Sign Museum—our company took us to party among some bright and colourful neon signs in this museum. Folks can tour this museum filled with neon signs, lighted signs, small signs, giant signs, all offering a glimpse of American history in certain eras. Or, like our company, you can also hold events in this venue. It was a fun setting to cap our series of meetings. We had nice 80's and 90's music and an open bar, they couldn't have gotten it wrong. The food was not bad either—complete with retro candies!

2.      Fountain Square—in the heart of downtown Cincinnati, people gather at the Fountain Square for events and other celebrations. There is a music stage, a video board, café chairs and tables. Bars and stores surround the square. At its centre, streams of water flow from a magnificent 9-ft bronze and granite fountain, called, “The Lady.” When we were there, it was Salsa night. The place was just vibrant and fun. My friend and I got a quick lesson in Merengue as well!

3.      Graeter’s—at the Fountain Square, beside the Fifth Third Bank, and after our salsa dancing, there was a long line up for goodies at Graeter’s. And you know what line ups really do—make us line up as well, to try this Queen City tradition. We got some of the popular Black Raspberry chip ice cream, made from what they call a French pot process (producing only 2 gallons at a time for that decadent creaminess). The chocolate chips in the ice cream were delightful. Big, uneven chunks were wonderfully mixed into the cream. You can even get a chunk as big as your thumb—none of those mini-Hershey-like chips in these! You can get their delectable ice cream in cones, in cups, as a sundae, in travel packs and in shipping pints! They don’t only sell ice cream, they also have cookies, chocolate, caramel and other cute merchandise. I hand-carried some cookies just to have the kids try the yummy goodies! And, if you were not able to make it to a Graeter’s during your stay in Cincinnati, don’t worry, there is a kiosk at the airport. They won’t have the cones and sundaes, but they have some ice cream cups!

I already started eating before I thought to take a photo

So, even if your trip to Cincinnati is short, there are some places worth seeing and food worth trying. I heard that Cincinnati chili is really good, but sadly, I was not able to try some. Again, for things you didn’t get to try, they have some available at the airport. The chili is available at the airport store in cans and powder mixes, along with the Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce in bottles.

Sleeping with Art at the 21C Museum Hotel

Work took me to Cincinnati, OH for a few days. At first, my co-workers and I were kinda moping about not going to Florida instead. After all, what is there to do or see in Cincinnati?! But then again, we didn’t have much free time outside of the Duke Convention Centre. So either the Convention Centre or the hotel would have to be near attractions or we would never get to see anything. In my case, my hotel was an attraction itself! What luck!

We arrived before noon at the 21C Museum hotel. A huge chandelier hung outside on the street, a marker so apt for what you can find inside—fun, contemporary art! I checked in at the front desk and the actual desk was art in itself--the table was made up of thousands of multi-colored figurines holding up the glass panel above them.

at the lobby

My room wasn’t ready yet so I just hung around in the lobby and checked out the art. Modern art was displayed in the lobby along with the iconic yellow penguins. These plastic sculptures were commissioned for a public art project and now reside at the 21C. There are several of these yellow penguins all over the hotel and they “migrate” throughout the day.

I had to register for our work event so I just left my luggage at the front desk. The staff was quite helpful and very pleasant. When I finally got back to the hotel at the end of the day, I was able to get a room already.  It was no surprise that the elevator cab was an exhibit called, Time Capsule. As well, each floor had different art displayed upon getting out of the elevator.

right outside the elevators

In the rooms, there was more original art, of course—from the paintings on the wall, to funky phones and light fixtures.

A rubber ducky accompanied me in my bath along with some nice Malin +  Goetz products. Bas relief facial parts were on the tiles and the floor was also heated. The 42” flatscreen even had video artwork channel! Talk about being surrounded by art.

The bed and pillows were soft and clean. There was complimentary water, free wifi, an ipod docking station and a Nespresso machine where I got my brewed coffee. My deluxe room did have a small window which had the view of surrounding buildings. As well, the aircon is a bit on the noisy side, making me think there was a howling wind outside every time the unit turned on. But as I was only there at night, it was ok. I closed the black-out curtains (which I always do at night) and snuggled with my 6 pillows, pretended I was sleeping in during bed weather. The fancier suites would probably be more awesome. I wonder if turn-down service in those rooms include more chocolate…I know I enjoyed mine.

There was a spa, a rooftop patio and a nice lounge at the ground floor. Yellow penguin paraphernalia and other cool items were available at the Museum shop (or you can buy online!).

colourful staircase to the second floor gallery

As well, there was an art gallery on the 2^nd floor—open to the public. The exhibit at the time featured works of Cincinnati and Louisville based Jay Bolotin and Sarah Lyon, among others. These were mostly portraits but there was also film.

It was a lovely stay. And if I didn’t have a chance to see anything else in Cincinnati, my stay at the 21C would have made the trip worth it. A couple of nights without hubby, the kids, and chores in a fun hotel surrounded by art, what better way to get away—even if it was a business trip.

Go Wild at the African Lion Safari

On the first long weekend of summer, we went over to African Lion Safari at Cambridge. We got there about 1030am and the car line ups at the gate were long! It took about another 20-30minutes to pay admission (about $30 each) and get parking. We got some Safari bus tickets (about $5 each) and then had lunch at the Mombasa café.

They offered pizza, chicken, and the usual burgers and hotdogs. Our group just got a whole pizza to share. You can also buy some cute animal tumblers with free refills or kids’ meals with lunch boxes. There were many picnic tables available as well. So if you are inclined, you can bring your own meals.

After lunch, we boarded the Safari bus to go through the game reserves. You can actually take your own vehicle into the reserves, but we didn’t want to risk any damage. Besides, it would be better for hubby to just relax and observe the animals vs having to concentrate on driving. The drive took about an hour and the guide had a commentary for each reserve. It was a very interesting ride. There was such a wide variety of animals—bison, Watusi cattle, deer, rhinos, cheetahs, and of course, the lions, among 100 other species.

One of the giraffes came close to our bus and started sniffing. I think he just wanted to cross but there were too many vehicles.

Ostriches also like to come close,

No, the car did not run this one over. This ostrich is resting on the hood!

but the highly social ones are the baboons. They really climb onto vehicles and try to get a ride out of the reserve. A game warden checks the vehicles at the exit for any of these hitchhikers.

After our Safari tour, we went to check out the shows, each about 20 minutes long. The Parrot Paradise show was so much fun for the kids, especially since the girls got to volunteer for one of the bird’s tricks. The talking parrots brought out much laughter from the audience. The parrots delivered punchlines to their trainers’ jokes and sang popular songs. It was a visual feast as well with the wonderful colours of the macaws.

The next show was the Birds of Prey. We saw hawks, eagles, falcons, owls and even storks! I have a newfound respect for what I considered ugly vultures. Because they are scavengers, they can pretty much digest and get rid of anything—including e.coli and other diseases! Isn’t that great?

We went to the Elephant Round-Up next where the trainers demonstrated how the elephants are used in some countries for work such as pushing and pulling lumber. They also got to demonstrate other talents such as lying down to get check-ups, standing on their hind legs (and their front ones, too!) and responding to direct questions from their trainers by nodding or shaking their heads. Because of the dexterity of their trunk, they can pick up coins and hold paint brushes. One of the elephants demonstrated painting a shirt. Of course, they are no Picassos, mostly dots on a shirt, but still, right? The painted shirts are sold (for about $25) at the gift shop.

We skipped the pony ride but we did go on an elephant ride ($6 each). It was just a short ride but a fun experience for the kids and adults alike. How often do you get a chance to ride an elephant?

We took an ice cream break before the kids went to pet some goats at the Pets’ corner. For a quarter, you can get feeds from the vending machine and feed the goats, alpacas and deer. Only the goat enclosure allows folks to come in and the kids must be accompanied by adults. My animal-loving girls enjoyed petting and feeding the animals.

alpacas

The girls then changed into their swimwear for the Misumu Bay Wet Play water park area. The space was pretty big with areas for different age groups—including toddlers (who must be in swim diapers). The girls spent a good hour here and just had an awesome time at the slides, at the fort and basically all over the waterpark! There were changerooms but no showers, so after their water play, they just changed out of their swimwear and we headed off to other attractions.

There was a train ride, included with the admission, which takes you around the park. However, the ride line up indicated it was a 90-minute wait so we no longer bothered.

We did line up for the African Queen boat cruise. As there were three barges, the line went along fairly fast. We cruised on the small lake speckled with several small islands. Each island would have a resident animal or bird—lemurs, spider monkeys, stork, among others. It was a pleasant, although not quite fragrant, ride which took about 15 minutes. This ride also came with the admission.

Before heading home (and after checking out the gift shops), we managed to catch the Elephant Swim attraction. Four of the Asian elephants walked “holding-trunks” to the Recreation lake for their daily swim. It was fun to watch these large pachyderms splash about in the water. They also made their way around the lake so the people were able to see them up close.

We headed home after this, it had been a pretty packed day after all. It was a good adventure and an attraction I would recommend for your family to visit. Go Wild!