Indy 500, Family, Capitols & Cincy...Oh-Hi-Oh

May 7, 2023
5 min read

We took the easy 2 hour drive to Cincinnati which landed us into a beautiful and sprawling State Park. We only had two days here so we didn't have time to take advantage of the bike trails or boating opportunities. Besides, it was chilly while we were there. It only got up to the mid-fifties during the day and overnight it sunk into the low forties.

The first thing we did was head to Skyline Chile. We passed one just up the road a piece. Brad's comedy buddy RC Smith who's originally from around the area recommended it. It was quite the experience. They serve Chile, on top of spaghetti, with cheese and onion. That's called a four-way which Brad had along with a Coney (a hot dog with the same, hold the spaghetti). Kathy had a three-way (no onions). Our waitress was awesome. She taught us the ropes on how to order and advised us of all the different options. She made the meal! So cool how it is such a local favorite along with the Cincy pride in the dish makes you have to love it...and we did! Check out the menu.

On our first full day in town, we went to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens which is the second oldest zoo in America. Our Skyline Chili waitress promised Brad they had gorillas and boy did they. He didn't care for the San Diego Zoo, he thought it was overrated. Yes, they had gorillas here in Cincy. It was good timing for the botanical portion of the visit. The tulips were beautiful. The Cincinnati zoo was the prettiest ever!

There was one section you walk through where the kangaroos are up close and personal. No cages! They were chillin and hopping around like we weren't even there.

We spent almost 5 hours at the zoo, so by the time we got to Findlay Market the shops were starting to close. It was a really cool and eclectic place. We walked the whole thing within an hour.

If we arrived one day earlier we would have been able to see the Phillies beat the Reds. Instead, we got to watch the Rays slay the home team. Yep, Kathy agreed to go to a game at the Great American Ball Park and since she is such a giver, someone finally gave back. We got free tickets from a gentleman sitting at a table next to us at the Holy Grail Tavern and Grill before the game. It's across the street from the stadium. He must have seen Brad scrolling for tickets on his phone and gave us 2 right on the 3rd base line, box seats, 8th row from the field. Brad tried to give him money and he said "no, we'll see you in there". They were a super nice couple. They even invited us to stay at their lake house whenever we come back. The only payback was a beer. Thank you Mitch and Judy Kroel.

It was a fun-filled packed day. First the zoo, quick stop at the market, dinner, and a baseball game. Ohhh, Hi...Oh! Off to Columbus, the Capitol of Ohio, in the morning for 2 more nights.

In Columbus, we toured Ohio State University and got to go into the football stadium. Kathy was estatic! First, we walked the entire perimeter of the stadium. When we were a few yards away from our car we saw a guard in a booth letting cars into the stadium. We decided to take a shot at going in. Brad told the guard "I'll leave you my wife as collateral". The guard said "no way, just take her with you. How do I know you're not trying to get rid of her?" Ha! We were two of four people in a 100,000 seat stadium. That was cool! The stadium had a wonderful history that was reflected with the tributes to Paul Brown, Woody Hayes and the numbers of retired players like Archie Griffin and Eddie George.

While in Columbus, of course, we had to visit the Capitol. They were having a demonstration over legalized weed. It was 4/20. Kathy wanted to join...just kidding. The police officers at the checkpoint were blah. Usually they have personality and provide direction for your visit. We walked around thinking there wasn't anything for the public to see and then Kathy said let's just ride the glass elevator. Great idea! The basement was a museum, and, if your not a first time reader you know Brad loves himself a museum.

The last time we passed through Indianapolis was during Covid. We had just bought our Coach in Oklahoma and we were driving home. The city was like a ghost town, hence, our return.

There were two highlights to our visit here. The tour of the track and museum at the Indianapolis 500 and our visit with Brad's cousin Mickey and Aunt Eve.

We had the opportunity to visit with Brad's Mom's 90 year old sister. We had a lovely 2 hour visit with her. As soon as we got there Kathy said ". How wonderful you look Aunt Eve". She replied "I'm stuck in this fucking chair all day" (With a big beautiful smile on her face). We talked about our journey, family and life. All three of us enjoyed our time together. It was truly heartwarming.

After our visit with Aunt Eve we went out to dinner with Brad's second oldest cousin Mickey and his wonderfully delightful partner Terri. We were meeting her for the first time and Brad hadn't seen his cousin in over 45 years. It was awesome catching up. We shot the breeze for over two hours. Both Mickey and Terri are so very well spoke and engaging that is was an easy and enlightening dinner. We loved our time together with them. Brad cherished it!

We're not racecar enthusiasts but we couldn't pass on the opportunity to visit the Indianapolis 500 Speedway and Museum. And boy, oh boy are we glad we did! First the museum. They must have had 40 Indy cars including the very first one to win the race. They had everything racing along with racing tales and stories about the drivers, technicians, owners, winners and yes, even the second place finishers.

The second part of our Indy visit took us out on the track. It was a small tour bus with a guide sharing insight, stories and specs of the track with us and another 15 people or so. They let us out on the track by the finish line and we got to kiss the bricks. A tradition usually left only for the winner.

A part of the museum was interactive. Kathy went 65mph in her simulated race car. Brad hit so many foreign objects and had so many 185mph crashes, Kathy had a better score.

After the Indy thing we went to a bar-slash-restaurant that we went to back in 2020 when the town was empty due to Covid. The Capitol building is across the street from it. Since it was a Sunday and closed we just walked around it.

The last part of our Indianapolis visit was to the NCAA Hall of Champions. It was only okay. The interactive stuff like shooting hoops, getting your fastball timed and seeing what a 100mph tennis serve is like up front and personnel was neat. The Hall of Honor piece of it was intriguing (to Brad) but underwhelming. At least this time it was open.