Anniversary

Yesterday was our 12th wedding anniversary. We had planned a weekend trip to Cincinnati since we had already done Kentucky. It was either Indiana or Ohio and we chose Ohio. I couldn't find much fun stuff for us to do there but I found plenty of fun stuff for the kids. The original plan was to go to a place called Entertrainment Junction one day which is a train museum, large model train display, and train themed playground. It didn't sound particularly fun for Buddy or I but we knew the kids would love it. They saw the pictures on the internet and were quite excited. We never had a clear plan of the other thing we would do. Maybe a museum? Yesterday morning I asked Buddy if he would rather do a day trip. It would make for a long day but we could do everything we really wanted in one day anyway. We have a ton of stuff to do around here anyway so he agreed. Plus we both knew that this year was going to be lame anyway. Some years just aren't as fun and memorable.

We set out after 11am. Bohdin had already packed that morning and had a hard time understanding that it was all for nothing. We left his suitcase of toys at home. It has always been tradition that we eat a meal in a nice restaurant for our anniversary. This was more of an event in the beginning when we were young and had no money. Cincinnati straddles the border of Kentucky and I actually chose a restaurant in Kentucky for a nice lunch. The restaurant is a converted historic home in an historic area south of Cincinnati. The fried green tomatoes were excellent and we all enjoyed our meal. Our next stop was the train place the kids had been looking forward to so much. The only problem was the car wouldn't start. Since the restaurant is in a small historic area we were parked just off the street in front of the restaurant. There wasn't a giant or even small parking lot. An employee noticed and help came out. We tried jumping it but nothing. A tow truck was called. It took a good hour for the tow truck to arrive. We passed the time in various ways. Buddy took the kids next door to a used book store and the kids came back with two rings for me. Then we went into the restaurant where I read them some of the books they had brought along. While I was inside the tow truck arrived and Buddy left with the minivan and my cell phone. It was a little different waiting around when I couldn't contact him for an update. The restaurant said I could use the phone if needed but it wasn't necessary. I just had to wait patiently in the dark like the olden days before cell phones. The kids did a great job of occupying themselves. It was nice to have a supply of cold ice water and bathrooms. We spent most of the time just outside the restaurant. The kids collected rocks and leaves and then threw them in the fountain. Then they had to take them all out. They explored the flowers, flags, insects, and million other things around. I had Buddy's finance magazine which was better than nothing. We also went in for ice cream and lemonade at one point. Sitting for hours was getting hard on my back and I really needed to lay down for a while. The restaurant had an outdoor patio with a ramp leading up to it. I had laid on the bench outside just outside the front door previously but with dinner guests starting to arrive I didn't want to look like some homeless person. We moved over to the wood ramp which was slightly less obtrusive than the bench I thought. I laid back and read the magazine while the kids ran up and down the long ramp. In no time a man driving down the road stopped and asked if I was okay or needed help. The cars behind him just stared as they slowly passed also. That didn't work out quite as planned. Buddy arrived soon after. Unfortunately it was past five and the train place closed at 6. We wouldn't be able to go. The kids were so disappointed. They both cried.

Bohdin must have been tired of running around in the heat for so long because he fell asleep quickly. Nyla eventually fell asleep also. Buddy dropped me off at Trader Joes so I could stock up on nuts and snacks. It was really one of the reasons we chose Cincinnati. I felt weird loading up the basket with so many bags of nuts but who knows when we'll be back. They carry things I haven't seen elsewhere like the toasted pecans I put in chocolate chip cookies and shelled hazelnuts. Nyla doesn't sleep long in a nonmoving car so after she woke up he woke Bohdin up and they joined me inside.

Our next stop was Jungle Jims supermarket. They have a monorail there which I thought the kids would be able to ride. That helped ease some of the pain of missing out on the train place. They weren't able to ride it and there were more tears. We spent longer than I expected inside the store. The kids liked all of the animated things like soup cans and Robin Hood. They also liked the candy section. When I found wax lips Buddy and I talked about the candy cigarettes from our youth. I thought they surely wouldn't make those anymore but I found several packages of them there. We bought several things to try. Buddy seemed drawn to the sodas and sweets. Bohdin wanted a papaya and broccoli. We skipped the international produce section or we would have ended up with more. Bohdin has been wanting to try new foods lately.

On the way out we realized we were a little hungry and should eat something before consuming the mass quantities of sugary treats we had bought. We stopped at a Mexican place down the road which supposedly had good tacos. We ate them in the car and some of them were good. The kids ate their tacos followed by the Nerds they had chosen. Eventually they fell asleep although Nyla held out until we were back in Louisville. We were home just after 11:30. Cincinnati is about two hours away. I wasn't sure how the kids would handle the long day of driving but they held up fine. We played I Spy on the way back home and even Nyla played along. At one point she said she spied something pink and correctly guessed what it was before anybody else had a chance to guess. Buddy suggested a game of Who can go the longest without eating candy. Bohdin asked if there was any fun included in that game. A better game was who can fall asleep first which we all won. Bohdin fell asleep first but we didn't have to hear any more knock knock jokes.