Author Archives: Denny

Mo’ O’fest

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Last week I went to the largest Oktoberfest in the country. This week I went to the closest. And maybe the newest. Several Loveland, Ohio, businesses have been celebrating the occasion for several years, and last year the city itself decided to get involved. Somewhere a town or city might be holding their first ever Oktoberfest but the second ever Loveland Oktoberfest is still something pretty new and an indication that the first one was enough fun to make it an annual event.

As I did with Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, I targeted Friday shortly after opening. In this case, that was 4:00 when I was again able to avoid the larger evening crowds.

Not only did my timing allow me to enjoy a little open space, it allowed me to hear this new-to-me band. Alico does not deliver typical Oktoberfest fare. There isn’t an accordion or tuba anywhere on the stage. The young and talented duo perform rearranged covers mixed with originals that left me quite impressed. I thought the drummer looked kind of familiar and have since learned he is Joe Nasser who was once with Erin Coburn’s band. Spencer Anthony handles guitar and vocals.

City-sponsored parts of the event were concentrated in Nisbet Park and along the bike trail but several businesses had their own activities going on as well. I skipped the biergarten and grabbed a Lovetoberfest Marzen at the trailside Narrow Path Brewing Company.

Then I headed over to Cappy’s Wine and Spirits for their Stein Hoist competition. Several businesses held contests for both men and women with the winners moving on to a Saturday Night city-wide event. The opening photograph shows the final two women contestants toasting each other before one arm faltered to decide the winner.

I didn’t stay for the men’s competition but headed off to Hometown Cafe for dinner. This picture of the cafe was taken shortly after my arrival. It was significantly more crowded when I picked up my schnitzel and spaetzle and walked down the trail to eat it accompanied by dinner music from the Schnapps Band. 

Three in a Row

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Life seems to always get busier as autumn approaches. That’s no doubt partly pure perception as we try to pack as much as possible into the last days of summer but it’s also partially real. Maybe event schedulers once avoided some conflicts by delaying things but there is a limit to how late in the year outdoor activities can be moved without a high risk of cold weather. This week found me participating in blog-worthy outings on three consecutive days. On Thursday, it was the Open Doors: Camp Washington- The Home of Makers walking tour. On Friday, I made it to the first day of Oktoberfest Zinzinnati and on Saturday, a friend and I attended the WACO Fly-In where the photo at right was taken.

The first stop on the Camp Washington tour was at the Crosley factory. An effort is underway to convert the place where radios and appliances were once manufactured into apartments but it has a long way to go. Camp Washington was once filled with factories, meat processing plants, and some oil storage. The 1937 flood damaged many buildings and most of those on Spring Grove Avenue were destroyed by a fire fed by oil floating on the flood waters. The middle picture is of the tallest building in the area to survive. The third picture is of the surviving office building of one of the meatpacking firms.

The only building we entered on the tour was the former hotel and bank that most recently housed US (Uncle Steve’s) Chili. It is now owned by the Cincinnati Preservation Association and slated for renovation. I’ve eaten breakfast and 4-ways here but had never been beyond the first floor. The tile (Rookwood?) fronted fireplace is on the third floor and I also got a shot of a neighbor from that floor. One of the things I remember about US Chili was a large petition calling for removal of the disrespectful (to George) mural seen in that overhead shot and from ground level here.

The tour had started at the American Sign Museum and would technically end there but it more or less disbanded at Valley Park where a farmer’s market was wrapping up for the day. I have driven by the park quite often and have noted its WW I monument but this was the first time I’d actually approached it.

Besides being the host and an interesting Camp Washington building in its own right, the American Sign Museum pulled signs from a pair of former Camp Washington businesses from the attic and offered up some musical entertainment. As marked by a reproduction sign on a parking lot wall, the museum building was once home to Fashion Frocks. I was well aware of that but had never seen any of their products. Tonight the museum had a frock and some advertisements (“Value Priced $7.98”) on display.

My guess that things might not be too crowded on Friday afternoon proved more or less correct. I grabbed a sausage sampler at Mecklenburg’s, a smoked mettwurst at Mick Knoll’s Covington Haus, and a Festbier from the “World’s Oldest Brewery”.

I caught lots of good German music but I didn’t catch any of the performers’ names.

I didn’t catch this guy’s name either but if it’s not Cincinnato Batman I’m going to be really disappointed.

 
 

My completely unqualified impression is that the WACO Fly-In had fewer total planes than usual and that a higher percentage of them were non-WACO but that a higher percentage of the WACOs were the real thing rather than modern reproductions. I also had the more reliable impression that the weather was perfect for the event.

The fly-in is a wonderful place to get up close and fairly personal — no touching — with some beautiful aircraft.

We had semi-intentionally timed our visit to include the Parade of WACOs which meant we got to see quite a few airplanes take off and land and sometimes pause for directions.

And cruise by at fairly low levels, too.
 
 
The WACO story is definitely an interesting one.  An onsite marker tells an extremely brief version with a whole lot more available at the museum website. Or you could probably learn a bunch chatting with this fellow at his color-coordinated airfield campsite. 

Trip Peek #119
Trip #34
PA Potpourri

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This picture is from my 2005 PA Potpourri trip. It is of the incline built in Johnstown, PA, just two years after the infamous 1889 flood. This trip was one of a cluster of work-related trips to central Pennsylvania augmented with some personal time. Previous trips had been focused on US-6, the Lincoln Highway, and the National Road. This one, as the name suggests, focused on nothing in particular. I used it to visit some sites that those roads did not. The potpourri included, in addition to Johnstown, the still-burning town of Centralia, a coal mine in Ashland, the nation’s oldest brewery (Yuengling), the world’s oldest roller coaster (Leap the Dips — not operating on the day I was there), and some parts of the National Road.

Trip Peeks are short articles published when my world is too busy or too boring for a current events piece to be completed in time for the Sunday posting. In addition to a photo thumbnail from a completed road trip, each Peek includes a brief description of that photo plus links to the full-sized photo and the associated trip journal.

Sub Terrain and Marine

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This week my friend Terry and I succeeded in seeing something we’ve been talking about for quite a while. That something is in the picture at right. It’s the USS Cod moored in Cleveland, Ohio. We toured the retired WWII submarine on Tuesday after a leisurely drive to within striking distance on Monday. range the day before. That leisurely drive included a little sightseeing and something of an unplanned adventure.

We drove on “America’s Oldest Concrete Street” (1893) in Bellefontaine, then stopped at Indian Mill and crossed over the Parker Covered Bridge near Upper Sandusky.

I knew absolutely nothing about Seneca Caverns and Terry knew only that we would be passing nearby. Both of us thought it would be a nice diversion which is exactly the sort of thinking that can lead to, as it did this time, an unplanned adventure. The pictures here are of our guide Allie, a fairly rare horizontal section of the cave, and an elegant 1893 done-by-candlelight inscription.

Seneca Caverns is unique among Ohio show caves in being formed by an earthquake crack and by being maintained pretty much in its natural state which explains its nicknames of “Earth Crack” and “Caviest Cave in the USA”. These pictures show Terry and others descending one of the stairways made of natural stones, another natural stone stairway without people, and our farthest penetration (110 feet below the surface) into the cave.

After returning to the surface, we still had time to check out the cemetery for Confederate soldiers on Johnson’s Island and the nearby Marblehead Lighthouse before ending our day. Confederate prisoners, mostly officers, were kept on the island between April 1862 and September 1865. More than 200 died here and are buried in this cemetery. By the time we arrived, the lighthouse was closed for the day but we were not overly disappointed. Having just climbed up from 110 feet below the Earth’s surface, we didn’t feel a burning need to climb 50 feet above it.

Our short drive to the trip’s primary target was fairly wet but the rain was really letting up by the time we got there and we were headed inside anyway. The USS Cod was commissioned on June 21, 1943, and completed seven successful patrols before the war’s end. Following the war, she served a variety of training roles until 1971 when a group of Clevelanders campaigned to save her from being scrapped. The submarine was turned over to the civilian group in 1976.

Entry to the submarine’s interior is through a hatch in the forward torpedo room. Stepping back from the torpedo tubes shows folding bunks where crewmen sleep in the space between torpedos. The aft torpedo room is similarly equipped and there are other sleeping areas midship. Other necessities are nearby. The third picture is of the captain’s quarters showing that one’s concept of luxury clearly depends on perspective.

Red light is used to preserve sailors’ night vision and some sections of the Cod are illuminated in red to let visitors see what this was like. Submariners reportedly ate better than any other members of the military. Meals were prepared in this stainless steel galley and most were consumed here. Note the books and games stored near the tables and other entertainment was also available. Movies were sometimes shown in the dining area. One of the four 1,600 HP diesel engines is shown and there is a 500 HP auxiliary engine as well. These engines generate electricity which is stored in batteries to turn the propellers. Two stills at the front of the forward engine room provide fresh water for batteries, drinking, and other uses.

Visitors normally exit the USS Cod through a hatch in the aft torpedo room but that was closed because of the rain. We traveled back through the ship and where we had entered in the forward torpedo room. I exited first and got a picture of Terry climbing the ladder and another proving he made it out.

The fellow at the gate of the USS Cod suggested we walk over to the International Women’s Air & Space Museum which we took as permission to leave our car in the Cod’s parking lot while we did so. Amelia Earhart and Katerine Wright are among the many women honored with exhibits there. 

Trip Peek #118
Trip #151
Only Rock and Roll

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This picture is from my 2018 Only Rock and Roll trip. The picture is from part two of the three-part outing. It started with a day at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH, continued with a Tubes concert in Akron, OH, and concluded with a Little Steven concert in Wabash, IN. I had been to the Hall of Fame a couple of times, had seen the Tubes once, and had seen Little Steven Van Zandt several times. In the past, he had been backing Bruce Springsteen as a member of the E Street Band. This time he was fronting his own fifteen-piece Disciples of Soul and it was glorious.

Trip Peeks are short articles published when my world is too busy or too boring for a current events piece to be completed in time for the Sunday posting. In addition to a photo thumbnail from a completed road trip, each Peek includes a brief description of that photo plus links to the full-sized photo and the associated trip journal.

Fallingwater and…

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After checking out Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings in 2018 and 2019, I planned to keep the string going with a visit to Fallingwater in 2020. It didn’t happen, of course. Tours were shut down for COVID-19 in March of that year and did not return until March of this year. So a trip once planned for April is taking place in August (Hey, they both start with ‘A’!) two years later. Some Lincoln Highway and National Road mileage is included along with some historic lodging.

This entry is to let blog-only subscribers know about the trip and to provide a place for comments. The journal is here.

Twelfth Night in the Park

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The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company has presented Shakespeare in the Park every summer since 2007. Benefiting from the relative safety of the open air, that even includes the pandemic-filled summers of 2020 and 2021. Despite considering it several times, I’d never attended a performance until last Friday. That’s when the combination of a convenient location, a clear schedule, and excellent weather came together to get me to a presentation of Twelfth Night in nearby Summit Park.

Summit Park occupies what was once the Blue Ash Airport. One of its most notable features is a 153-foot observation tower. An observation tower seems like something that might be leftover from the airport but this one is not. It was constructed in 2017 as part of the conversion to a park. The tower is temporarily closed for “enhancements and improvements” so I still have not done any observing from it.

The sad truth is that I have only been to the park once before. That was to try one of the restaurants there (Brown Dog) during Burger Week in 2020. I seriously considered returning but in the end decided to try one of the newer eateries. Although not all locations of Chick ‘n Cone do, the one in Summit Park air-fries its chicken. The name comes from the chain featuring chicken served in a cone for “Handheld Chicken & Waffles”. After dinner, I headed next door to Higher Gravity for a Scottish Ale (Sixth Sense Brewing) dessert.

The performance takes place in a covered area between a couple of the original restaurants. There is some permanent seating but most attendees brought their own lawn chairs. The play began with the cast members introducing themselves.

All the actors wore microphones and speakers at the corners of the stage made every line clear within the covered area and beyond.

I’d brought no chair and I tend to prefer roaming to sitting at outdoor events in any case. In this particular case, the area available for roaming included that beyond the play’s backstage. Of course, patrons of the restaurants and people going to and from other sections of the park were roaming in this area too.

I’m guilty of leaving before the play was over. That had nothing to do with the performance but was 100% my fault. I could blame it on the heat of the sun and the distractions of the park but it was my own roaming that made them a factor. The actors were well practiced and enthusiastic and the whole production was top-notch. If anything, I believe the performance might have been better than I expected. Maybe I’ve attended Theater in the Ground at the Renaissance Festival too many times. This was absolutely nothing like that at all. Now that I realize the quality of these outdoor CSC productions, I’ve a feeling I will be more enthused about going the second time than I was the first.  

A Pair of Zippers

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I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anyone else call those who travel on ziplines zippers but it seems reasonable to me. Of course, John and I weren’t all that concerned about what we should call ourselves while we were flying through the air with the greatest of ease. That last phrase comes from an 1867 song titled That Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze. Yeah, we weren’t on a trapeze and neither were we all that daring or the least bit young. Plus, to be honest, our flying was not actually done with the greatest of ease — or grace. But it was fun.

The two of us have talked about trying a zipline for a few years. For the last couple of years, our excuse has been COVID-19 shutdowns. I don’t remember what our excuses were before that. When Ozone Zipline Adventures reopened earlier this summer, our last excuse was gone. Last week we picked a date based partially on a ten-day weather forecast.  When we headed to the site on Friday morning, it was quite apparent that the forecast had been right for at least one day out of the ten. It was perfect.

Ozone is operated by Camp Kern YMCA near Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve. Multiple ziplines in the trees provide what is known as a canopy tour. A restored 1806 stone house that once operated as Cross Keys Tavern serves as the meeting place for zipline patrons. We were a few minutes early but a note on the front door assured us that we were at the right place and guides and other zippers began arriving in short order. A small bus carried us up the hill where we were helped into sturdy harnesses and supplied with hardhats. We took a picture because we could.

The group paused for some instruction at the base of the first tower. Two guides accompany each group. KJ, on the left, would be our “receiving guide”. He crossed each line first and unhooked subsequent crossers as they arrived. Jesse was our “sending guide”. She connected participants to each line and signaled when it was time to go. She and KJ coordinated crossings by radio. As part of their presentation, one of them mentioned that, if you were nervous, it was best to go early to avoid watching everyone else. When it came time to climb the stairs, no one moved and it eventually became apparent that all the others were waiting for John and me. We were clearly the senior members of the group but we were also the only zipline rookies. We had been silently elected “Most Likely to Be Nervous”.

So John headed up the stairs and I followed. At the top, KJ pointed out a few things as he was hooking up then zipped off into the trees. Then it was John and then me. Only when I was about to step off of the wooden platform did I realize that the vote at the bottom of the tower had been pretty accurate. Until that point, I had been thinking of this as something very similar to going down the big slide on the school playground. I realized how different it was as I looked out at all those trees and not much else. Maybe I had been nervous before but didn’t know it. Now I knew I was nervous but didn’t have time for it. I also didn’t have much time for pictures. I had my little Panasonic with me but it was usually tucked deep in a pocket and did not get used a lot. The picture at left is of a member of our group crossing after I did. I’m not even sure if it is the first or second line.

The third line is the longest of the tour and one of two that cross over the Little Miami River. Because of its length, zipping to the end is not automatic. At its beginning, KJ gave us some pointers on increasing our likelihood of making it and some instructions on what to do if we didn’t. The advice was essentially to do more of what we had been practicing on the first two lines which was to keep your legs tucked in (called “cannonballing”) and your body in line with the cable. If forward travel ended short of the platform, you were to grip the cable (Ahead of the trolley!) to keep from traveling backward and KJ would come out and tow you in. The second picture is KJ heading over the river to be both “receiver” and “retriever”. No one rolled back to the middle of the river but more than half of our group did require a short tow. This was accomplished by KJ hanging almost upside down in his harness and sort of “walking” with his feet on the bottom side of the cable. Pretty impressive.

The line back across the river is a little shorter. Once there, this swinging bridge leads to the last two ziplines of the tour. We had crossed two similar bridges earlier in the day.

The canopy tour really was fun and truly scenic when I could pull my eyes away from what was directly in front of me. My “nervousness” certainly diminished and would no doubt disappear completely after a few more trips but I’m not sure there will be more. With the possible exception of climbing that first tower, there was nothing really strenuous but neither is it the carefree floating I’ve seen in some photos. There’s a reason that retired folk comprised only 20% of our group and I’m sure that was higher than average.

Trains, Blues, and Automobiles

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This was an incredibly busy weekend in southwest Ohio. A list limited to things I was personally interested in includes the Lebanon Blues Festival, New Richmond’s Cardboard Boat Regatta, and Paddlefest on Cincinnati’s riverfront. Of these three, the only one I had never attended was Paddlefest so that’s where I thought I’d spend my Saturday morning. By the time the day arrived, steam engine excursions on the Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad had been added to the list of things of interest to me, and predictions of rain threatened all four (and actually did in Paddlefest).

Plans to head to the river turned into plans to stay home but I kept an eye on the weather. When it looked like there might be a dry window in the afternoon, I booked a seat on the LM&M. I figured that, even if it rained, sitting inside a railroad car wouldn’t be too bad.

I looked over the engine and grabbed photos of the station and the car I’d been assigned. Then it was time to board.

I snapped a picture of the other side of the station as we pulled out. The station is beautifully landscaped by the local garden club. It does not play an active role in passenger handling, however; a ticket counter and gift shop are in a building across the street.

The route isn’t particularly scenic. A green wall of foliage is often quite close although sometimes farm fields open things up a bit. There are even a few art displays that seem to be for the benefit of train passengers.

There are three passenger cars on the train. The one I was in has cloth-covered seats; the other two have vinyl. They were built in 1929 but the conductor wasn’t sure when “my” car was built. She said she had heard dates from 1926 through the ’30s. I walked through all three cars to get a look down the tracks.

Just before the train reached the station, I could see that Broadway was blocked off for a car show associated with the blues festival. After exiting the train, I walked the one block up the hill to see classic cars parked in front of the historic Golden Lamb and on both sides of the street for a couple of blocks.

Then I turned off Broadway to stroll past the many vendors to the music stage. A last-minute cancelation had resulted in The Bluebirds, a familiar and favorite band, being on that stage.

During their set, I got shots of Marcos (and his guitar), Bam, Mike, and Pete.

I took off after that and stopped to grab a picture of the train on its last run of the day. There are few things that are as obvious polluters as a coal-fired locomotive and I’m glad that there aren’t all that many running anymore. But I’m sure glad that there are a few.