Cincinnati, Ohio Trip ~ July 2023

Here's the next installment of the summer Kentucky adventures. :) 

On the 12th of July, my friend Debby and I drove to Cincinnati, Ohio to explore. We parked and walked along the river, then over a bridge. Enjoy this chronological picture journey of our day. 🙂 (Remember you can click on any picture to enlarge.) 

"American Queen Paddlewheel"

The American Queen paddlewheel is a tribute to the grandest steamboat ever built. The American Queen was constructed during 1995 by the Delta Queen Steamboat Company, which traces its roots back to the Green Line Steamers founded in 1890. The centerpiece of the National Steamboat Monument is an exact replica of the three-story paddlewheel steamboat in the world. Cincinnati continues to welcome the Delta Queen Steamboat Company tourist boats throughout the spring, summer, and fall each year. 

Our first stop was to walk the John Roebling Suspension Bridge. You can see it off in the distance in the picture. It spans the Ohio river, connecting Cincinnati, Ohio and Covington, Kentucky.

A bit of history at this place. 

Lots of beautiful flowers and trees everywhere. 

Views from the suspension bridge...

At first we were only going to walk halfway across the bridge, but seeing the murals off in the distance intrigued us so we walked the whole way. :) 

Each mural was masterfully well-done; a piece of history with a date and title attached to it. This first one was called The Great Buffalo Road: 1800 B.C. 

1782

 G. Rogers Clark, Simon Keinton, & Daniel Boone: Meeting at the Point

1805

Kennedy's Ferry

1856

The Flight of the Garner Family

1862

Pontoon Bridge

Jacob Price ~ African American Community Leader

1867

Vision and Ingenuity

1890s

Henry Farney (1847-1916) & Frank Duveneck (1848-1919): Artists in Residence

1921

Latonia Racetrack

1840s ~ 1940s

German Heritage of Northern Kentucky

Covington: Religious Heritage

1913

"Play Ball" ~ The City of Covington

1914

Centennial 

1922

Daniel C. Beard: Founder of Boy Scouts of America

1937 Flood

1951

Devou Park

2008

Covington Riverfront Tall Stacks Celebration

John A. Roebling: Designer of the Covington Cincinnati Suspension Bridge.

Amos Schinkle: Financier 

These mayflies were everywhere around the murals. They're very interesting insects. 

This suspension bridge was completed in 1865. 

I was impressed with how clean the city and buildings were. There wasn't any graffiti or trash laying around. 

We walked a little bit in Covington, Kentucky, then crossed back over the bridge into Ohio and visited the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. 

This statue is called "Freedom." The inscription by the sculptor on the plaque underneath reads: Mama said, "Go. . .it's our time to be free, too!" With those words, this young boy and his conductor began their trip on the Underground Railroad. But he was so confused...what is this thing called freedom? As the artist, I think these two travelers reached the river and made it to freedom that night. But I have left the details up to you.

Scenes of the city from the top floor in the museum. 

After the museum, we paused to enjoy some great food and fellowship at Taste of Belgium. 

We went back by the museum, even though it had closed, and read some memorials they have out in front. Here's a piece of the Berlin Wall. The inscription says: 

On August 13, 1961, the totalitarian government of East Germany split Berlin with a wall of concrete. Free expression of thought disappeared. From 1961 to 1989, some 130 people were killed attempting to escape through this brutal barrier to freedom. Many others were injured. In the autumn of 1989, hundreds of thousands of East Germans began peaceful marches against the oppressive regime. These courageous acts of resistance were inspired by the civil rights movement in the United States. Their chant was 'wir sind das volk,' We are the people, implicitly a reference to the United States Constitution. Ultimately the Berlin Wall could not withstand the desire for freedom and on November 9th, 1989, the wall fell. This section of the wall, a gift of the City of Berlin, honors those who have died seeking freedom without walls. 

Reds Stadium

The building architecture is just amazing! 

Debbie and I really enjoyed walking through the downtown admiring the old [church] buildings.

We saw many pig statues in the city...

Including this Hamlet, established in 2001.😅

More beautiful buildings.

In a different part of the city, we saw this little bird enjoying someone's leftover food. And that concludes the end of that daytrip. 

Here are a few more pictures of the sky and some from a lake a friend and I visited. 

This was my view on the way to work. 

This is Boltz Lake, named after Dr. A. W. Boltz who was Kentucky's first conservation officer in 1904. 

This dog appeared at the lake and swam after sticks we threw in the water. He was super sweet and we enjoyed playing with him. I couldn't help but take lots of pictures. 

That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed. 😊