Florence Y'all!

A few years back I took IMAG on a trip to Ohio. See I owed him for a wager we had made when I was pregnant with Thing 1. Bob Seger was touring again so off we went.

What a trip. The November weather was perfect. Sunny, not too much snow! It was Thanksgiving weekend so the roads were not too horrible on the Friday. That's cause all of the people were shopping. Black Friday and all. The hotel was great. The people we met were all friendly, even the ones who realized we were from a foreign land, Canada!

We got lost on the way to the hotel. See the concert was in Cincinnati, Ohio. The hotel (which turned out to be about ten blocks away) was in Kentucky. We stopped for directions in a rather dangerous looking hood. But the only problem there was our own sense of misgiving.

We did some exploring and found my next home.
A perfect little cottage in a ravine. TLC required.

Went for dinner at a local pub/bar in a little town in Kentucky. We asked the waitress for directions back to the hotel and she couldn't help us at all. We were less than 20 miles from the place but she had never been there. In fact she had never left her hometown. Ever. Entire life. She had to be in her mid twenties. The owner however was very helpful. He wrote us down directions that started by asking which way the van was facing and telling me to turn around!
I think he even put in the name of the Officer who would have the radar gun operating in a obviously well known speed trap. Two and a half pages for a ten minute drive. But they were perfect! Landmarks and all.

Saturday daytime we decided to go exploring and shopping. If you ever wondered what the survivors of a nuclear bomb look like, go to a K-mart on the day after Black Friday. Not only did the store look like it had been the victim of a raid, the staff were all shell-shocked! But, again, friendly.

Off to the concert that evening we asked the reception at the hotel to call us a cab. She suggested that we take the tank instead. The tank? Ok. Little scared now! Turns out the tank (Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky), would pick us up right at the door, drop us at the concert and do the reverse after the show for only two bucks each. I am not the worlds biggest fan of buses, but, hey, this is supposed to be adventure so off we go.

At the concert hall I found a new kind of coat check, this one was for your guns. Seriously.

The show itself was amazing. Beer in glass bottles right at your seat. (at the ACC they take away the lids from your plastic water bottles so no one gets hurt). Seger hadn't lost too much for all the years and Alto Reed was phenomenal. We had brought glow necklaces and bracelets along and shared them with the people sitting near us. Three rows on the floor were lighting up the night for all to see! IMAG and I were waving our little Canadian flags proudly. This actually prompted someone to inquire if we had come all the way from Canada to see the show. IMAG responded in his typical fashion with "no, we just like the flag". Another person on seeing same flags invited us, complete strangers, to come party with them after the show. We graciously declined as we were due to check out of the hotel early the next day.

Took the tank back to the hotel. Imagine if you can over 40 drunk and loud over 40's together on a bus. It was just about the most entertaining trip I have ever had, being the only completely sober one, apart from the driver (I hope he was anyway). We accidentally got on the wrong bus and ended up with an extended tour of the area. The last couple off of the bus actually apologized to us that they had only brought the two seater car that night or they would have gladly given us a ride back to the hotel. Have I mentioned yet how friendly everyone was?

My experiences with our neighbours to the south had been limited to New York and Michigan prior to this trip. My opinion of all things American were radically changed! I can't wait until I can once again go off exploring parts of the U.S.A. It was one of those trips I will remember with a smile.