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Take Me Out to the Ball Game


Not only did we complete the 5k Saturday morning (with minimal whining from yours truly), but we did really well and it was actually….fun. We sped walked most of the way, jogged every now and then, and even ran occasionally. In fact, we’re signing up for more 5k’s in the near future! I know. You’re probably as shocked as I was. But it really felt great and we had a blast! This particular 5k benefited the Catholic school of the parish we attend and also helped the school’s 8th graders fund a special computer for a blind man who ran the race. The weather was beautiful – cool, in the low 40s and sunny. The route snaked through some neighborhoods in our township and was well-marked with cones and police officers at every turn. Families gathered on the sidewalks along the quiet streets with small cups of water for the runners, upbeat music pounding through stereos, kids cheering with pom poms and shouting encouragements, and a couple of teenagers in a band played live rock music in front of their house (at 9 a.m. – much to the grave dismay of their snoozing neighbors, I’m sure) for the race participants as they passed by. There were drawings for free running shoes, free bananas, water, orange juice, coffee, bags of taffy from French Chew, fresh cooked hot dogs, and goody bags full of treats and coupons. Each participant was outfitted with a number pinned to their clothing and a tracking chip fastened to their shoelaces to track their safety, pace, and ranking.

Chip tied on and ready to run!


So, here’s the good stuff:

Ted finished 1st in his age division, 5th overall for male walkers, with a time of 40:34, and a pace of 13:04 per mile. He totally got a medal! :-) Not bad for one month out of knee surgery, eh? If he weren’t having to slow his pace to drag me along behind him, he could have done even better – and probably ran the whole way.

I finished 5th in my age division, 11th overall for female walkers, with a time of 40:41, and a pace of 13:06 per mile. I’m just proud I didn’t pansy out and collapse after mile marker 2, kept my bitching to a near nonexistent level, actually ran part of the time, and am excited to sign up for future 5k’s. Baby steps, people.

Upon our arrival home I made us a full English breakfast, just like the kind the house mother at the B&B we stayed at for a week-and-a-half in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England during the Shakespeare study abroad intensive made for us every morning. I loved the breakfast she made – it was cooked perfectly, and so delicious and filling! I am still a firm believer that America should adopt tea time in the afternoons. Tea time made my soul happy. We had scrambled eggs, Polish sausage or bacon, baked beans, sauteed mushrooms, grilled tomato, a warm buttery croissant, fruit, juice and tea every day. For as much as I prefer pretty much any other county’s cuisine to England’s edible fare, I do love their breakfasts, Indian food, and, of course, the legit fish and chips. Tasty! The English breakfast I made totally paled in comparison to the real deal, but when desperate, a “close enough” imitation will do.

 

After we cleaned up and unwound from the race, we piled in the car and drove to nearby Newport, Kentucky – which is conveniently located directly across the river from downtown Cincinnati. Newport’s entertainment district is great. Located right on the river it boasts beautiful views of the water, riverboats, the Cincy skyline, Mt. Adams, and the 3 arenas/stadiums – home to the Cincinnati Cyclones professional ice hockey team, the Cincinnati Reds major league baseball team, and the Cincinnati Bengals NFL football team – all in one neat little riverfront row in front of the skyscrapers. Newport has walking bridges, comedy clubs, great restaurants, a ritzy movie theatre, a bowling alley, chic shops, sweets & ice cream parlors, a lavish Barnes & Nobles, and the famed Newport Aquarium (which I, for one, cannot wait to visit!). In the summer we’re planning to spend a day at the aquarium (hello penguins and stingrays!) then dine on tasty seafood at the fish market or maybe the sushi bar, both located immediately next to the aquarium (presumably where they dispose of the bad exhibits upon their closure? Just kidding. But it is kind of ironic, isn’t it? I wonder how the fish feel about that.) We’d also like to devote a day to just bumming around Newport, seeing the sights and partaking in the fun attractions Newport has to offer.

I've been waiting for you too, Newport Aquarium.

Found this kitten book at the Newport Barnes & Noble. Please notice that this adorable kitten's name is "Lara." (first page, lower right corner) A cat named Lara! Overjoyed much?

We treated ourselves to an early afternoon matinee showing of The King’s Speech at said ritzy movie theatre. It was an excellent movie – highly enjoyable and funny with a dry sense of humor, especially for a somewhat serious subject matter. Definitely not a girly chick flick or boring period piece (have I mentioned the pretty hats and gorgeous makeup?). Reviewers and average movie goers alike gave it a roughly 95% rating. If you haven’t seen it, I’d encourage you to! Even dudes will like it.

After the film we walked across the bridge that connects Newport and Cincy to the Ohio side where just a short walk led us right to the Great American Ballpark and home of the Cincinnati Reds.

Crossing the bridge between Kentucky and Ohio. In the background you can see the three professional sports arenas. It was crazy windy!

We’d purchased cheap tickets to the 7:10 p.m. MLB opening night baseball game between the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers. As one of the first 2,000 (or maybe it was 20,000?) people in the stadium we each received a free Reds fleece blanket, which came quite in handy as the evening wore on.

The Ballpark itself was great too – clean, spacious, and wide open with a stunning view of the river and Newport and vivid, rich colors all around. It was so nice to watch the game with such a scenic backdrop.

We watched as a team of Budweiser Clydesdales entered the stadium for their ceremonial lap around the field.

At the ballpark we saw some Cirque de Solil dancers performing small dance snippets – drumming up interest for their April Cincinnati tour of Ovo at Coney Island Theme Park, and some really crazy huge Australian bugs brought in for fans to check out in conjunction with the Cirque de Solil’s show theme of bugs and critters. Ted held them; I did not. Apparently they were all too cold to move much, that’s why they’re just sitting there. This did nothing to persuade me to hold them. But I did pet the butterfly.

Did you want a closer look at that?

I know, right!?

Why, yes, those are stick bugs, giant cockroaches, and some mammoth scorpion looking insect. Even more terrifying is that there’s one sitting on top of his head too, which I’ve spared you from seeing. You’re welcome. Okay, they’re gone. You can come out now.

We also filled up on traditional baseball fare – hot dogs, peanuts and Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy beer (which tastes like lemonade!) – for which we paid approximately $2,746,891.03. At least it was delicious, right? In the interest of keeping America fat, the stadium sells “All You Can Eat” seats for $32. Sadly, this actually is a much better value than a $15 nosebleed seat plus a hot dog, one beer, and a bag of peanuts. So next time we may join in on keeping America fat for a reduced price – which is part of why the obesity rate is so high in America in the first place. I digress. All you need to know is that the hot dogs are tasty and lemonade beer is too.

While Ted is a Brewers fan, I couldn’t decide who to root for – feeling loyal to both the Brewers for being the first MLB baseball game I’d attended and for being from Ted’s home state, and the Reds because I like Cincinnati so much and it’s our home now, so I sufficiently confused everyone by rooting for both teams and wearing a red shirt (Reds), a blue plaid over-shirt (Brewers), and a red baseball cap (Reds) with a W on it for the Wisconsin Badgers (Brewers). HA! Excellent multi-rooting if I do say so myself. We even saw someone in the crowd wearing a golden yellow cheesehead in tribute to Wisconsin. Those darn Packers are everywhere! Much to Ted’s great dismay, the Cincy Reds won. Though I have no idea why these players are paid millions of dollars each because, frankly, I don’t think any of the players on either team played well enough yesterday to earn it. I certainly don’t earn $1 million + smackaroos for a great performance, much less a mediocre one. Ted, ever the smart ass, was sure to point out that my ticket purchase had helped fund their hefty millionaire salary. But whatever. It was still a lot of fun to relax with a bag of peanuts and a beer and watch the ballgame in the warm, windy sunlight as the sun set on the river.

Post-game we were treated to a truly magnificent fireworks show as part of the opening night celebration. It was a 20 minute show to the tune of 4 classic rock songs (Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing being one of them) played by a live band with thousands upon thousands of fireworks, many varieties of which I’ve never seen before, being shot off over the river and in tune with the music. It was pretty awesome and if it’s any indication of the 4th of July fireworks show Cincy puts on, I definitely want to be there! These lame pictures don’t do it justice at all, you’ll be relieved to know.

Needless to say, it was a pretty stellar final weekend together before Ted goes back to working weekends for the next month or so.

Hope you have a great week!

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This Post Has One Comment

  1. Jack April 5, 2011

    Very nice post.

    Were we supposed to notice that the picture of you and Ted (just before the pictures of the fireworks) was supposed to be a reversal of the signature picture of this blog?

    Just wondering…

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