Dates and dining out

I’ve had three dates in the past week. The first date was a second date with a gentleman. We dined at a Korean restaurant in Covington, the food was very good. Then we went axe throwing. It was the second time I’ve done this. It’s somewhat frustrating because it’s difficult, reminds me of golf because you have to do it a lot to get good at it.

My second date was with a friend I’ve known since December. We dined at the Knotty Pine on the Bayou. It was my first time here and the food was delicious! I love raw oysters. The restaurant has an outdoor seating area also.

My third date of the week was a third date with a gentleman. He’s Italian, and we had dinner at Mama’s on Main in Covington, I had never been there before. The food was excellent! We even split tiramisu for dessert. The decor, as you can see is very nice.

Last night my friend came over and I made a chicken dish with ancho chili, and a cucumber and avocado salsa on top. The weather was nice so we sat on my outdoor patio and had fun drinking wine and dancing!

Life has been good! Have a great weekend everyone!

Keeping busy during Retirement

In the last couple of weeks I’ve been out on four first dates. One was for lunch and a walk along the Ohio River in the Licking Riverside Historic district in Covington, Kentucky. That’s not my date. 😊

Another was for dinner and the Leo Sayer concert at the Ludlow garage venue.

There was another one for lunch and a walk along the Ohio River in Warsaw, Kentucky. The most recent was the Contemporary Art Museum in downtown Cincinnati, followed by an early dinner nearby. I did a mini photo shoot with my phone of my date at the museum.

I also played indoor sand volleyball, racquetball, and worked out at the gym a few times per week.

I went on two hikes. One was at Spring Grove Cemetery and the other in the wooded section of Devou Park.

I saw a movie with my brother and his wife. I went out with a girlfriend. She and I took a short urban walk, stopped at a brewery and then had an early dinner in the Dayton/Bellevue, Kentucky area.

My friend Sherry

The pizza was yummy!

Ash Cave and Cedar Falls

The weather forecast for Day two of our Hocking Hills hiking adventure predicted rain late in the day, so unlike the previous day, we left our rain coats, umbrellas, and waterproof camera bags back at the cabin, because we started out early.  Mistake!  While taking in the amazing scenery at Ash Cave it began to pour rain.  Fortunately for me, I was lagging behind taking photographs, under the shelter of Ash Cave, while my girlfriends were caught in the deluge.  Not a bad place to get stuck for 10 minutes!

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We ran into a photographer who was kind enough to take our photograph before the rain.  Even Evan (the dog) posed for the camera…

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The 1/2 mile trail at Cedar Falls leads to the waterfall….

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The sloped forest hillside afforded beautiful photography opportunities…

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Our cabin’s location (only a few miles from Cedar Falls) made it convenient to head back there for lunch before our afternoon hiking at the stunning Rock House, which I’ll save for tomorrow!

 

Hocking Hills Autumn Splendor

A quick two-day mid-week trip to Hocking Hills State Park for hiking followed by soaking in a hot tub with girlfriends was just what the doctor ordered!  Located in Southeastern Ohio, 2 1/2 hours from Cincinnati, the rugged cliffs, breathtaking gorges, cascading waterfalls, and flourishing forests of Hocking Hills State Park, afford visitors a pristine outdoor wonderland.  Our first hike was to Old Man’s Cave.  The well-marked one mile round trip trail, includes both man-made and natural steps.  The view from inside the mouth of the wide cave looks down onto a small stream and stone bridge…

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Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year to visit this park…

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Art and Music in Cincinnati

It’s been over a week since I spent the day in Downtown Cincinnati for the Reds Baseball Opening Day celebration, but I have a few more photos I’d like to share with you.   I’m always on the lookout for creative and/or artistic photographic opportunities and I think this staircase fits that description.

I’ll call it “Curved Elegance”…

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Food, Friends and Fun in Cincinnati

Have you ever gone to an all day party?  That’s what the Reds Baseball Opening Day festivities is and more!  It started with the Findlay Market Parade that I shared with you yesterday and then my friends and I made our way by foot to The Banks, which is, according to their website, “An 18-acre development on the Ohio River between Great American Ball Park and Paul Brown Stadium. This vibrant project is transforming downtown Cincinnati by creating a place for everyone to experience and enjoy.”  There are cool bars and restaurants and outdoor urban gardens, etc.  Some of Monday was a blur, because we were going from place to place pretty quickly, so I don’t know the name of everywhere we went.  For example, this place below.

But, I loved the girl, her style and the lips on the wall.  Looks like they still need to paint the wooden structure…

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Reds Baseball Opening Day Parade

I’ve never attended the Findlay Market Parade or festivities for the Reds Baseball Opening Day in Cincinnati…up until Monday!  It was tons of fun!  The parade winds around Downtown.  We were at Fountain Square, where there were booths, music, food and drink!  I went with a few girlfriends and wanted to share some of our fun with you.  It wasn’t rainy…this photo is of a cool water feature in the Banks area of Downtown Cincinnati.

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