New #24: Celebrate in Cincinnati

Spending my childhood summers in Indiana and Michigan, I've always had a special place in my heart for the Midwest. So when my cousin Anne invited me to her graduation from the University of Cincinnati (Go Anne!), I decided visiting this new city would be the cherry on top of seeing my family and helping them celebrate. And it totally was - especially with the random adventures we found in the fabulous city along the way.

Meeting in Indianapolis, the family (cousins, parents, uncles, aunts, grandmothers and all) drove to Ohio through a long stretch of farms, meadows and lots of plush green trees. It was obvious when we arrived in Cincinnati because we started seeing buildings higher than two stories - and these structures definitely weren't something you'd find in a suburb. Remnants of the Industrial Revolution, these rugged brick buildings looked just like something you'd imagine while reading stories like The Jungle, constructed totally for function and mass. Today, many of them are worn down, some with graffiti and others literally burnt out. It was a little eerie, but I loved history and personality of the urban forest.

The history continued to stand tall into the city. The houses in Anne's neighborhood were all red brick with wooden trim. Each one was really narrow and tall, and together looked like lines of dominoes. I was told they were built this way because people were once taxed by how wide their home was, so they were constructed as skinny as possible. Today, some of them are falling apart - but all of them add so much character to the area.

Above is Anne's apartment. Below is some of her neighborhood.

It wasn't until we reached downtown Cincinnati that the new started to sprout around the old, creating a kaleidoscope of brick buildings and soaring skyscrapers. It made for an awesome combination.


We stayed at The Cincinnatian, a downtown hotel built in the 1880s. Walking out the door to explore, Ben, my dad and I stumbled upon Fountain Square, a great promenade area where people were sitting, eating, drinking and even dancing - yes, dancing - around a giant sculpture spewing water. It was great! We loved it so much we grabbed a beer to celebrate our find.

The Fountain by day and night

Later that night, with the whole crew in tow, we wandered our way to the Ohio River. Through the mile or so walk we passed by all sorts of people out and about enjoying the city and bringing it to life. Sometimes city's don't transfer well from day to night, but Cincinnati definitely has it down, with both crowds adding a great flavor to the city's stew.

Soon we stumbled to the bridge, only to find that it was under construction. But being the adventurous and somewhat stubborn family we are, a little red tape wasn't enough to stop us. Once on the water, we could look over to see Kentucky on the other side. I had no idea Kentucky was that close to Ohio, so it was a nice surprise. On the walk back to the hotel, we had an illuminated view of splendid Cincinnati - a city I found to be perfect for celebrating in and worth celebrating itself.

The cousins!