Local Adventures

This past weekend my parents came up and gave my sister and I our favorite birthday gift to date: an excursion on the Cincinnati Dinner Train. If you haven't heard of it, that's because they don't do much advertising. They rely on word of mouth, and I was so impressed I wanted to blog about it. The train trip was a blast for Amy and I for a few reasons: one any time with the fam is wonderful, and two - my dad is a big train enthusiast, and so we have been around trains - real and pretend ones - our whole lives. Food and trains sounded like the perfect night out for our family!

Fuzzy dinner  train pic of Mike, Paul, Amy, Christine. You get the idea, though. It is CLASSY.

Little did I know that I would also get to learn some cool stuff about our city as well. Learning about Cincinnati has become a little side interest of Justin and I, and I think we are getting inspired to do a little more fun exploring around here.

The dinner train basically follows Red Bank Road for a few miles after leaving from the BBQ Revue on Madison Rd. However, first you go eastward and cross over the I-71 bridge, which has been tagged by a graffiti artist as "Heaven's Gate." I think they may have spelled "heaven" wrong, though. Anyway, this is their way to advertise the train - if you see it you instantly wonder why the heck a beautiful silver passenger train from the 1940s is over the highway. Great advertising.

After heading west again and following the Red Bank path, the line turns west and then follows Eastern Ave/Riverside Dr. until you get to the Montgomery Inn Boathouse, and then the engine pushes the train back to its starting point. There were two historical sights along the way that we didn't know about before, so we visited them again the next day and got some photos. FUN STUFF.

#1: The Pioneer Cemetery. On the train, all we could get a good glimpse of was the single tall Corinthian column that stands at the highest point of the small graveyard. We were told that some of the earliest colonists in Hamilton County (late 1700s) were buried there. The Corinthian Column came from the Old Cincinnati Post Office (the date escapes me). They put it there as a monument to those early Pioneers. We found the place by looking at the maps app on Justin's phone. We were watching our location on the map throughout the train ride (thank you modern technology), and so we knew it was by Lunken Airport. The train ride was in the dark, so we didn't know exactly how close it was to the airport. When we found it, we realized it is RIGHT THERE by the Lunken Terminal/Sky Galley building. What the hey?! It is on the right side of the road just before you reach the parking lot. I guess I'm usually watching airplanes and I miss it every time. Here's some pics.

Walking up the Hill from Lunken Airport towards the train tracks. 

Many of the grave markers are for men who served in the Revolutionary War.

The Bottom of the Corinthian Column

Can you tell I just downloaded Instagram? Any boring cemetery pic is cool after a few clicks! Oh, and the tracks are just beyond the shrubs you see in the background.

Cool bench at cemetery - note that Samara is still in her pjs and is not wearing shoes. Oops! We decided to go exploring after waking up and immediately going to breakfast at Amy and Paul's. I bet she would have enjoyed the journey more if we had let her walk around in those socks...

The other historical treasure takes a little more explaining. I'll do it in quick bullet points, because I don't want to drag this out too long.

• There used to be a train station at Torrence St. and Eastern Ave. It got torn down in 1933 when they built Union Terminal. Its claim to fame was having an elevator so that Mrs. William Howard Taft wouldn't have to climb stairs. They lived up the hill back then. 
• Meanwhile, in 1897 or so, there was a huge train station being built in Philadelphia called the Broad Street Station. To decorate the station, a famous terra-cotta artist named Bitter was commissioned to make 10 huge relief sculptures representing the 10 largest cities the station served. Cincinnati was one of the cities, and had a terra cotta representing it. It depicted two settlers arriving in the Columbia-Tusculum area. 
• At some time around 1914 or so (I think), the Broad Street Station burned down. However, the terracottas were saved and each given to its corresponding city. Cincinnati placed theirs in the Torrence Station in Columbia-Tusculum. Makes sense. 
• When the station was abandoned, the retaining walls and the base of the station were left in place, INCLUDING THE TERRACOTTA! What?! Yes, folks, it is STILL THERE. The guy who owns the dinner train researched this, found the spot where the terracotta should be (right by the tracks - you would see it as you boarded your train), and took a chainsaw to the shrubberies and weeds, and VOILA! The terracotta, albeit badly damaged. 

When we drove by this during our train journey, the conductor hopped off the train and grabbed a floodlight to illuminate the thing as we passed it. Unreal. It even says CINCINNATI across the bottom in bold caps. We had to go back and see it again. Here's the shots:

As you go east on Eastern Ave, you see a little abandoned street by St. Rose church. We parked at the top of the little hill here. I took the pic facing West. St. Rose is behind me and to my left.

 The foundation of the Torrence station was on our left as we drove up that little hill. The windows and door are all bricked up.

After we climbed the hill and turned back east, BAM. There was the retaining wall and the relief. Wow. There were two sets of tracks, and in this pic you can see the set that are no longer in use.

 Justin in front of the terracotta relief.

Isn't it BIG?

It was really fun to explore these tracks with everyone. Justin even climbed up to the top of the relief, but didn't see a whole lot.

Dad and Amy admiring St. Rose Church (mid-1800s), which can be seen with your back to the relief. 

What a cool cloudy day. 

All my peeps checking out the relief - I'm on the other side of the tracks over by where that elevator must have been. I didn't find much, but it is very thickly overgrown.

Here is a link to a blog that includes a good pic of the original station. After this bit of exploring, I am looking forward to finding more interesting places like this and investigating our city more, learning about its history. I'll take suggestions if anyone knows of somewhere we should try and check out.

And as a reward for getting through this post - here's a crazy cute pic of Samara, thanks to my sis in law Christine Beyer! And yes, that's Santa, magnetically stuck to her earlobe.

Night Away

Last night Justin and I had our first night away since the arrival of Samara! Amy and Paul kept her, so I felt 100% comfortable. I got a new outfit and all (no pics of that, sorry folks), and we went to BELTERRA CASINO in Indiana!! I got Justin a web deal for Christmas - a room and a $100 gift card to any restaurant or shop for $90 total. What a steal, huh? So we headed out and arrived in time for dinner - its a one hour drive from here. It is this huge tower of craziness in the middle of absolutely nowhere. We ate at the Jeff Ruby steakhouse they have - and wow. Even for a girl who "doesn't like red meat" it was amazing. I had a fillet mignon topped with crab and asparagus and bernaise sauce. YUM. It was a super-relaxing meal, wine and bread with truffle butter and all that. We sat side-by-side in one of those semi-circle booths - very romantic. Anyway, I loved it - what a treat. We hadn't had a nice nice dinner like that in ages. Next up - Justin wanted to try some black jack. He was still learning the rules and so forth, and we were really at the best table for that. The other folks there were friendly and offered him lots of advice, and the dealer was really nice too - it was because we were in Indiana, I'm sure. Anyway, he did an amazing job of staying in the game for about 90 minutes - I chatted with everyone at the table and watched Butler beat Wisconsin - (YEAH!). It was awesome because we had a huge small world moment with the people sitting with us - we had some very close common friends.

P.S. I have only been to two casinos in my life - the "Casino Aztar" in Evansville and now this one. They are odd places. The high-pitched hum of the slot machines was very other-worldly and slightly disturbing. Justin and I each blew a dollar on the "Pompeii" slot machine game. Zero winnings, sorry to report (it was fun to see the large number of classically-themed slots, however). I did greatly enjoy the limitless free soda - stations at both ends of the casino.

This morning was the best part of the trip though. We went to Vevay, Indiana about 7 miles away to have breakfast. We found a diner that was very rustic in the "downtown" strip. We ate biscuits and gravy, various breakfast meats, a pancake, eggs, geez. A LOT of food. The best though, were all the old people, especially the old man who walked in with a TINY little girl (3 yrs? 4?), announced that he brought his "best girl" with him, and ordered her a chocolate milk and a french toast. Everyone was doting on this girl, she was just the definition of precious. She didn't say much, but smiled and smiled. Minutes later, another cute fuzzy old man walks in, and then everyone is all "now your grandpa AND your great grandpa are here!" You just can't beat small town America. I'd be lying if I said I didn't tear up. On the way out we discovered we were in the official "4th coolest small town in America:"

Next, we stopped at the nearby Lock and Dam as we headed home. I love visiting these things, not sure why. There were two barges coming in from opposite directions, but it was a little too cold to wait for them.

Finally, a failed self-portrait at the dam. A shame too, because Justin is looking really cute here. At the very end of our journey, we visited a friend who just had a baby (YAY) and then went to pick up Samara.

It was great to have a change of pace and time to just talk and have fun. I'm so thankful to my sis and bro-in-law for being so willing to take care of Samara. And now, its only Friday, so we still have a whole weekend of fun ahead of us.

Hair Experimentation: Week 3

This week I did 9 little braids. I am not awesome at braiding, so it was good to practice. I did this on Monday and it is staying in very well (today is Thursday). Next week, I want to try to start french braiding. I don't know how that will go, I've never done it. Maybe I should practice on an adult first. Hmmm...

Excited because tonight Justin and I have our first "getaway" since having Samara! Steak and Jeff Ruby's and a full night's sleep at Belterra! I think Justin may try his hand at blackjack, but I'll just watch. :-) Amy and Paul and Urban will take great care of her, we know it.

Anniversary

One year ago today - March 16 - Justin and I learned of and saw a photo of Samara for the first time. It was such a surprise. Weird, because although we had been waiting two years, Justin thought our contact person at the agency was calling about a change in adoption policy in Ethiopia. However, she called to tell us we had been matched! He rushed home from work and we called her back to hear the news. Then came the email with photos. It is very surreal to see your child in a photograph and have no idea what she is really like. These past months it has been a blast getting to know her.

We made the decision to accept the referral before we told anyone about her, so you all heard about her existence a few days later. What a year it has been! She's the most wonderful little girl, and is the biggest blessing we could ever imagine. She is funny, loving, and fascinated by the world. Snuggly and giggly.

To celebrate, enjoy a look at the original referral photos, followed by a couple I took today. I wanted her to lie on the floor in a denim jumper like the March 2010 version, but her denim collection consists of jeans alone. Nevertheless, I put her in a dress today and put her on the patterned rug for the most similar shot I could come up with. I think she looks kinda funny lying on the floor - both then and now.

March 2010:

March 2011:

HAIR!

To say I have been intimidated about Samara's hair is a bit of an understatement. Luckily for many months it looked great in little puffs or just loose in a big curly cloud around her head. A couple of times I have been able to put it in a single ponytail (bangs free), which I think is completely adorable. Anyway, with the encouragement of the BEST.BLOG.EVER, Happy Girl Hair, I FINALLY have started to try some more complicated styles and to learn how to care for these fantastic curls of hers. I've decided that Monday will be fun new hairstyle day.

Here's last Monday - rope twists with parts in a brick pattern:

She liked to pull the bands out but they were easy to put back in so I didn't mind too much.

We were able to keep this style in for three days! If she would be able to leave her sleep cap on at night, it probably would have lasted longer. But she thinks it is a fun toy and likes to pull it over her face. Not too safe, so we're leaving it off until we can explain its use to her better. 

And for today: I tried two-strand twists without any bands at all. This was very tricky because it was so random, I had a hard time regulating the size of the twists and some of them are a little scraggly. These pics were all taken right after I finished, so keep in mind that things dried some and calmed down too after a few hours and a nap.

I'll post other pics soon so you can get a better feel for it. I think I may improve on these over time. They definitely looked better at bedtime. These pics make her look a little Medusa-ish.

Anyway, I am really having fun with this. Samara has been really good during these sessions too - of course I play cartoons on tv and give her snacks in front of it, not a usual occurrence around here but I suppose we are slaves to fashion! :-) 

We'll Miss You, GRANDMA

It was a wild February, to say the least. This past Friday evening our Grandma Betty died. This was Samara's only great-grandparent. The story is a really beautiful one, though, even though we are sad she is no longer with us.

Grandma Betty and Grandpa Jim have always lived far away - in Wisconsin and in Wyoming. We had a family visit out to WY around the year 2000, just the 5 of us, before anyone got married. It was an excruciating drive, 5 big adults and a dog in a small-size SUV that we rented. Lots of fun, though. Then Justin and I had a really fun road trip out there the summer after we got married - that would have been June or so, 2004. We have a great photo of Justin drinking a beer with them at a bar in Dubois, WY that we keep on our mantel. In 2008, Grandpa died, and Grandma wasn't too great health-wise. Now we decided to have a big family trip/vacation to go and bring her back to Indiana to stay in a retirement home near my parents. Justin and I, Amy and Paul, and Mike and Christine flew out there with Mom and Dad. We landed in Jackson Hole and got everyone in the family on horses (!) for a gorgeous ride that first day, and after another day of sightseeing there we would drive down to Dubois to see Grandma. However, that first night we received word that Grandma was very ill and was taken to a hospital a couple of hours away. Her town was too small to have a hospital! We drove through the night to go see her, and she was NOT good. Thankfully, though, she recovered. She couldn't come home with us on that trip, but Dad was eventually able to fly out there and get her home to Indiana. Read a little about those adventures here. We will always remember the fun first day and groan about the rest of that trip. What a family bonding experience. Thankfully we made it through - fights, digestive issues, drama and all.

Grandma lived in Evansville, from 2008 until last week, when she passed away in her retirement home. She got to see her first two great-grandchildren! She had three Christmases with us, two with little Urban, and one with Samara. It is weird to think that our adoption paperwork was submitted just before that 2008 trip to Wyoming, and then Grandma finally got to meet Samara at Christmas 2010! When I look back at those photos from our 08 trip, it seems like so long ago.

Anyway, Grandma had various ailments, and she told me at Christmas that she wouldn't be around much longer. I went home with Samara to Evansville to see her and mom and dad while Justin went to Salt Lake City to ski, hang out with old friends, and to tear his ACL. Anyway, I drove home late Saturday night and on Sunday we were getting ready for a visit with the retirement home called to say that grandma Betty was having a rough day. She was asleep and they had only woken her once to eat a late breakfast/early lunch. We went anyway, and sure enough, we could not wake her. We tickled her feet, called her name, etc. Her vitals were good, so we were worried, but not too worried. The next day she was awake. We went to see her asap. She was in pain and scared, and her vitals were starting to decline. They told us before we left home that they had called for hospice services.

While it was rough to see her declining like that, I wanted to talk about how amazing it was to see Samara interact with her. At first she was a bit scared and hesitant to go up to grandma, but with me sitting on the bed next to her, she did climb into my lap and gave grandma all kinds of hugs and smooches. We sang songs and Samara did the motions. Grandma sang too. She giggled at Samara's smiles and went on and on at how cute she was. It was so touching to see someone at the end of their life, who was very childlike really, be so moved and cheered by a person at the beginning of their life. It was one of the neatest moments I have experienced since becoming a mom. I was SO GLAD that her great-grandchildren could provide such comfort in this part of her life.

We saw her again Monday night, and on Tuesday morning she did not remember that we had come the night before. Tuesday was the last time we saw grandma. We had to head back home (and we really didn't know how much longer she would have). Grandma was in and out of wakefulness the rest of the week, and didn't eat much if anything at all. She passed around 6pm Friday night. Grandma had requested that there not be a funeral, but on the following weekend all us siblings got together at mom and dad's - great-grandkids too - and we spent lots of time remembering and honoring grandma. It was good.

SMILES

Samara's vocabulary, personality, and adorableness are growing daily. I just have to share my favorite pic today. I've got some blog posts started and saved, and hopefully I'll add to those later and get them up. Life is good. I'm having a blast with her and feel like I'm in a rhythm of mothering now.