Day 9 - Columbus, Cincinnati and Louisville

This was the finish of our most hectic 24 hours of the trip. We had a short sleep last night and got away by 9:30 to get to Cincinnati and a 1:00 game.  The boys grumbled, but when we offered to leave them in Ohio to get home without us, they decided to get in the car. We got to Cincinnati around 11:45. Once again, the ballpark is right downtown, so we got a small taste of that area. Parking was cheap again ($7), and we had a short three-block walk. It was a hot one, which was a change from the last couple days of only 70 degree plus weather. Today, at least 95 with humidity. Greg and Chris moved higher up in the stadium to get some shade, while the two of us basked in the sunshine.

The neat thing at this park is the concession stands provide unlimited free cups of ice at any time. The ballpark is about 11 years old, everything is red (what else for the Cincinnati Reds?) and once again 95% of the fans were dressed in team colors. They take their ball seriously in the mid-west.  The game was a pitchers’ duel for a change, with the Reds winning 2-1.

While we didn’t get any post game fireworks, we did get free 10-inch pizzas each because Reds pitchers struck out 10 batters in the game. We found the pizza chain offering the pizza just over the border in Kentucky, and it was very good. We were in Ohio at the park; we could see the Ohio River just past right field. When we drove across the river we were in Kentucky.

Our hour and a half drive to Louisville was completed about 7 pm. We decided to treat the kids to their own room at the hotel, so the family of four was broken up for an evening. We ate together at Applebee’s, and hit the hay around mid-night. Tomorrow it’s a 10:30 getaway for a four-hour drive to St. Louis, where we have two days before heading home.