Old friends and WEBN fireworks

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We woke up, had our coffee, toast and waffles. The rain finally stopped! Pati is going to go kayaking with her sisters today (we were invited but are going to see an old friend) so she leaves to head to her sisters in Florence, KY. Ken and I pack some clothes for the few days we are going to stay with Pati. She lives about 10 minutes from the Ohio River in Cincinnati, in Ft Wright, KY. We arrive at her apartment and take showers then head to Colerain Ave to meet Crash and Helen. Who is Crash you ask? Crash is a friend of ours from the 70s. I knew his brother from grade school-they lived down the street from me on Fairbanks Ave in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ken got to know him because they went to the same church. They used to ride motorcycles together and Crash was always crashing his-therefore the nickname and it stuck. I haven't seen them since 2000 right before we moved to Tucson. I forgot to say that I left all my makeup in the RV and Pati has hers at her sisters house. I can't meet someone I haven't seen in 13 years with no makeup. I'm not a fanatic about makeup but I do need some makeup for this. So Ken and I stopped at CVS on the way and I 'dolled up' a little to be somewhat presentable. We met at Skyine Chili and had a nice time reminiscing about old times....seem to do that a lot lately! I love the definition of reminisce: Indulge in enjoyable recollection of past events. After Skyline we all went to Graeter's. I got a scoop of Blueberry Pie Ice cream. My favorite is the Raspberry chocolate chip but since I can get that at just about any big grocery now, I choose a flavor I cannot get elsewhere. We say our goodbyes and head back to Pati's. I have some computer work to do before we head over to her sister Debbie's for dinner before the Fireworks.

We arrive at Debbie's. She has some of her family over (her sister Sandy, daughter Angela and her husband Jason and their 3 children-Aiden, Owen and Julia, and of course Pati). The plan is to all go down to the Fireworks about 7:30 pm. They begin at 9pm. Debbie has cooked shredded pork and we had sides of mac and cheese, corn pudding, green beans, cole slaw, potato chips. Dessert-homemade cookies (thanks Angela) and lemon pie! I ate too much, especially after lunch! Debbie got the 'Corn Hole' game out and Ken, Angela, Pati and Jason played. I chatted with Sandy and Debbie for awhile.

It was time to go. Angela and her family were in one van. Debbie followed in her van. We all went to Pati's first to drop off cars. We hopped in Debbie's van and headed downtown. Pati has parking downtown for her job so we were able to park there and avoid crowds and money!

We headed down towards the river but can't really find a good spot. There are so many drunks and scary looking people. It is so, so hot and humid. No one brought chairs, blankets or coolers-not sure why. They do this every year so I just went with their flow so to speak. I'm kind of a 'take charge' type person who has a plan, which I'm sure I can be annoying at times, so since this is not my 'outing' I go with it. We end up sitting on a curb on the street next to the river. We are so close to where they let the fireworks off you can't see some of the fireworks they ignite from the bridges (the waterfall type) and because of the closeness the smoke is thick. With the 3 little ones, I can see why they just want to get there right before the fireworks start and get out afterwards.

Ken and I used to pack a cooler with drinks and food, take blankets and chairs and head to Mt Adams about 3pm. Mt Adams is a hilltop community overlooking Cincinnati. It has an interesting history if you want something to read...check it out on Wiki. Anyway, we had the best view from atop the hill. We would set up on a grassy knoll with a perfect unobstructed view. The fireworks are synced to music from the radio station that sponsors the fireworks-WEBN and people bring boom boxes. If you've never done it, I recommend it- put in on your Bucket list-page 2.

We headed back to the van and back to Pati's. I took off a rinse off shower to cool down and went to bed.

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Photos

Graeter's in Cincinnati
Ken, Helen and Crash