CINCINNATI — I found myself standing in Union Terminal’s Tower A Sunday morning.
I looked out over Gest Street yard, a sprawling railroad yard where intermodal trains stopped to unload the tractor-trailers they were carrying. Mixed freights passed through the yard, changing crews and leaving off some cars and adding some new ones.
Outside, a gentle snow fell, covering the city in a sheet of white powder.
A few days earlier, I had no weekend plans; however, that all changed quickly.
Sometime during the latter half of the week, I received a phone call from a friend of mine now living in Columbus, Ohio. He was planning on trekking to Cincinnati to meet some friends and invited me to join along. “I could use a weekend getaway,” I thought to myself. Then, I gave him an affirmative decision -I’d be up for the trip.
So, I agreed to meet up with another friend in Lexington, Ky., and carpool to the “Heart of it All” — that’s Ohio.
Excited, I began to tell my fellow coworkers, “I’m going to Cincinnati for the weekend.” One asked: “What for?” I shot back, “Dinner.” The looks were amazing, as they then pondered, “Why?” Never one to ask why on travel opportunities, I responded, “Why not?” Saturday morning rolled around; the weather looked bleak. Despite the evidence that a winter storm was brewing on the horizon, I was determined to take my weekend getaway, and a little snowstorm couldn’t stop me.
After driving through snow for hours, I arrived in Lexington. Then, we continued in more snow arriving in Cincinnati by Saturday afternoon. We checked into our hotel and then headed back downtown to scope out what the shops had to offer.
When I journey to other cities with friends, we prefer to dine at a local establishment rather than a chain. That adds to the intrigue of the journey there are restaurant chains everywhere. But a local restaurant is unique.
After a little local cuisine, we began our night on the town. First, we headed for some bourbon – neat of course. We shot the breeze and listened to some jazz music at the first of at least a half-dozen local establishments we would hit before the night was through.
After one more place, the three of us met up with a fourth buddy from college. The Cincinnati native was kind enough to show us around town. We hit the Mount Adams scene. This community on a hill offers a slew of hotspots, some offering live entertainment. After about three hours on the hill, that phase of the night drew to an end.
At 2 am, the night wasn’t close to done yet. We headed for some late-night dining, a college standard. Unfortunately, my late-night dining excursions have waned since college graduation But every now and then, usually, when I meet up with my fraternity brothers, we find ourselves in a restaurant at 3 a.m. On this particular early morning, chili was the food of choice.
On Sunday morning, my friend and I headed to Union Terminal to scope out the railfanning scene. Then, we cruised around Cincinnati and some of northern Kentucky’s back roads. The winter scenery offered up wonderful photo opportunities.
Before parting ways, we swung by Florence, Ky., for a little horse racing action at Turfway. There’s nothing like a little thoroughbred action to end the weekend on a positive note.