A Stop Along The Way To Cincinnati

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As always, we could stay longer just about anywhere we go.  Exploring the history of a place just takes you from one day to another.  Hannibal was fun and it brought back a lot of childhood memories.  We had a nice breakfast at the hotel before we left.  In fact, it was the best one on this trip.  Too bad we couldn't find a similarly priced Airbnb.

Our next stop was in Justice, IL.  Our friends used to live in Chicago.  They were from Monterrey and raised their kids in Chicago.  We were there in 2010 and parked behind their apartment building.  They had gone to the U.S. with hopes of becoming citizens but it never happened until last year.  The old neighborhood in Chicago was gang ridden with shootingd and gunfire on weekends.  Now, in Justice, becoming citizens (they had to wait until their kids turned 18), they were able to buy a beautiful home on a huge corner lot.  Imagine, all those years in the U.S. and they could never come home when their parents passed away as they wouldn't be able to return to their home in Illinois.  

We spent the night at their house, never really slept as we had so much catching up to do.  So much happends in ones lifetime that it is hard to tell the whole story.

The boys are twins. One is a reporter and was out on a job so he didn't make it to dinner!

The drive from Justice to Cincinnati was over six hours, not usual for us but we didn't want to make another stop before getting there.  We didn't find anything in between that was of enough interest to do that.

Cincinnati has a population of 331,000 but the metro area encompassed part of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.  A bit confusing as you wind in and out of them all.  

Our Airbnb was great.  Finally one that was very affordable and had no cleaning fees.  We booked for a week and it was well located between my oldest niece and my oldest brother.  It was nice to get up to our own coffeemaker (can't travel without it) and a homemade breakfast.

Once we arrived and settled, we headed to my nieces house.  My sister, her mother was there.  She had flown from Kansas City (she lives in Reno) so that we could all be together.  My niece Christina's husband was off the next day on a work trip but we had never met except for Face time and I wanted to meet him in person.  What a great guy.  Also, seeing my sister again just a week later was a real treat. 

We decided to have a cookout two days later at my brother's house.  It was convenient for all the nieces, nephews and grandkids who live in Cincinnati.  That way we could have a couple of days to do our own thing.  Believe it or not, the city offers quite a bit.  Our first stop was the botanical gardens.  What a great place to walk around, take pictures and just relax after all the driving.  

I am happy that almost three years later, Juan has not had any issues since his syncope accident in McAllen.  Like I always say, I'm just happy to be here today!

If you remember, we had gone to the city market in Kansas City.  In Cincinnati there is the Findlay Farmers' Market.  Well, it's not really a farmers' market anymore.  I think it is more of a high-class hangout with very expensive food and drink.  I never saw a farmer there 😅  It was fun to walk around and see an area that previously was depressed and brought back to life.  Unfortunately, in most cities where they is a renaissance the upper-middle class moves in and prices go up.  That's good, I like people with money but it seems those that lived there before are pushed out.

Cincinnati is the home of the Reds and they are very proud of their team.

Another new trolley system that transport no one.  Empty every time it passed by.  What a waste of taxpayer money.

This market was in some ways similar to the Mercado San Miguel in Madrid.  The products are definitely good quality and the foods looked and smelled delicious but the prices now match the market.  I'm sure that rent is high and of course they are products the average person wouldn't or couldn't afford to buy.

Funny signs!

More to come.  Stay tuned!