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Travel Log: Cleveland (May 2017)
Cleveland is one of those cities that kind of unfortunately (for them) gets a bad rap for a variety of reasons (the Browns, dirty river on fire, Drew Carey, etc.) and because I’m from Cincinnati, I must assert my in-state superiority complex by making fun of it relentlessly. To be fair, I had been there a few times in my life… but always for sports and the city itself was an afterthought. I’ve been to Jacobs Field a few times (when it was still called Jacobs Field), and to Quicken Loans Arena a handful of times for hockey games, but never really explored the city beyond that. The boyfriend had never been…
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April 2017: baseball and hockey and footie, oh my!
April flew by in the blink of an eye! I don’t even know where to start summarizing all of the fun things I did/ate/drank. I started the month with a Cincinnati tradition — Opening Day! I have been to the game a handful of times in my life, but I had never been to the Findlay Market Opening Day Parade. Last year I decided that 2017 was the year I would go — so I did! I figured it was the kind of thing I needed to experience at least once in my life. We lucked into a pretty good spot on Race Street (front row!) to watch the parade. However,…
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March 2017: Eat, drink, and be Cincy.
The last month was filled with a lot of good Cincinnati-ing. February 28: I met my good friend April at Logan’s Roadhouse in Florence, KY to try our hand at another Paint Nite creation, one originally created by her cousin up north in Canada. Please, nobody tell my high school art teacher how crappy at this I’ve gotten. (Tip: Paint Nite offers Groupons quite a bit, making it only $20!) March 3: To celebrate my mom’s birthday a few days late, a small group of us got together at Mac’s on the Pike (Mariemont/Fairfax) for dinner. It was low key, but nice to celebrate my mom as a group! March 5: Sunday…
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February 2017: black-tie, brews, and ballroom dancing
February has been even more exciting than January was! We kicked off the month on February 4th with the Hearts for Hope Gala at the Duke Energy Convention Center, supporting Boys Hope Girls Hope Cincinnati. BHGH is a wonderful organization that, in their words, “provides educational opportunities and stability to motivated, underserved youth through residential and community-based programs.” I am proud to be involved with BHGH and work with their amazing Scholars, and proud that my company also supports the cause, affording more opportunities for the organization. The event was capped off by local band Soul Pocket playing for the crowd after dinner and ceremonies. We finished off our night by stopping by Queen City…
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January 2017: music, hockey, & food!
January was an exciting month! Trips to Columbus, live music, and the Museum Center!
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2016 Travel Log – Part II (Dallas)
One of my soft goals for each NHL season is to see my beloved Columbus Blue Jackets in a new arena. Before this season, in addition to their home arena, I had seen them in Nashville, Detroit, St. Louis (x5), Carolina (Raleigh), Tampa, Florida (Sunrise), and Washington. And for years, my long-time twitter bud (and Dallas Stars fan) Jason and I had been looking to go to a game together, but Jackets/Stars never seemed to work out favorably on the schedule until this year. Game #3 on the season happened to be a Saturday night in Dallas — so, as expected, off I went to NHL Arena #9! I like…
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Staycation Cincinnati: Queen City Underground Tour
For as long as I can remember (and especially over the last five years) I’ve taken offense to it when people say Cincinnati is boring or that there’s nothing to do. It just isn’t true! I’ve lived here most of my life and have always been fiercely defensive of the place I call home. Depending on what you’re interested in, there is plenty to do, and sometimes you just have to know where to look. One of my favorite discoveries has been the walking tours put on by American Legacy Tours in Cincinnati, Covington, and Newport. So far, I’ve done the Queen City Underground tour (twice!), the Newport Gangster Tour,…
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2016 Travel Log – Part I
I did a lot of traveling in 2016. For most of my adult life, little getaways have been a luxury that I embrace fully. Whether it’s jumping in the car to a spot a few hundred miles away for the weekend or hopping a plane to a place I’ve never been, I revel in the chance to see new places and experience new things. (Though I have a print from Natterdoodle that says, “No matter how far I roam, Ohio will always be home sweet home.” Because I still love it here!)
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#JuddFest2016 – part the seventh [5/27]
At last we have made it to the seventh and final [full] day of my trip. A travesty! I fell more in love with New Orleans than I already had been (although I’m certain I couldn’t live there, only visit). It’s a wonderful city and there really is so much more to it than what people associate with it — Mardi Gras and devastating hurricanes. The culture is phenomenal and the food is delicious! And I’m forever thankful to the friendly people who are certainly exhausted by the endless tourists but are always willing to point you in the right direction anyway. Day seven started with another trip to Café…
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#JuddFest2016 – part the sixth! [5/27]
On day six, we were up to nine (!) people, five of whom started the day a cooking/demo class at the School of Cooking. I took a pass on that, and instead the rest of us went out to Remoulade for lunch. It was a cute little place, but the service left something to be desired, and my jambalaya wasn’t great. The crunch-to-soft acceptability ratio was all off. (Hi, I’m one of those texture people.) After lunch, we met up with the rest of the group and it was time to do one of my favorite things — Swamp Tour! This was my second one, and I loved it just as much…
