Current Location: still in Florence, KY, N 39 00.221', W 084 38.916', elev. 875 ft.

Yesterday, I slept late, and got up and drove around Florence, KY a bit, exploring, before venturing north into Cincinnati, Oh. My purpose here was to see the Reds play the Astros on thursday night. So I drove around Cincinnati getting my bearings, seeing what there was to do before going back to the motel for a little wrest and writing before the game.

I left the motel about 6:30, just as a few drops of rain were coming down, and by the time I had made the 10 miles to the stadium, the temperature had fallen from low 90's to low 70's. It was really pouring, but it was merely a thunderstorm, so I expected it would pass. I turned on the game audio on XM to gauge whether or not the game was going to be played, and the announcers proclaimed that Great American Ballpark has a great drainage system, so they were going to delay, but expecting to play. I drove around the city some more, in the rain, scouting out parking locations. I found some ball park parking for $10, and I cruised out further, seeing if there was anything cheaper. Each block further away from the stadium the parking was cheaper and cheaper, until I found some $2 parking about 6 blocks from the stadium. I made a mental note about this place, and drove back to the stadium to gauge whether it was walking distance, and it seemed to be. At about 7:30, the storm started turning into hail and high winds. I have never experienced hail before, and these seemed somewhat big and were very loud hitting the roof of the car. The wind was so powerful, you could actually see it, moving through the rain and hail. I have had a rain or thunderstorm practically every day since first entering Florida three weeks ago.

At about 8 PM, the rain cleared up completely and the sun was back out. I parked at the $2 parking and walked the 6 blocks or so down to the stadium. The Cincinnati Reds serve fans from Kentucky and Indiana, as well as Ohio, since Cincinnati borders both of those states. Great American Ballpark is right on the Ohio river, in between the Bengals football stadium and the basketball/concert arena.



Once again, I paid $5 for the worst seat in the house, a seat that wasn't that bad. Because of the rain delay, I was surprised to see fans leaving the stadium as I was entering, but it seemed not a lot of people really wanted to stick around a wet ball park. I walked into the stadium, and I must say, I was impressed! The stadium is very beautiful, and I am going to go on record and rank it as the best one I have been to thus far, just ahead of Camden Yards in Baltimore. The seats are spacious, and the park is very pretty. You get a great view of the river just beyond the outfield wall.



Great American Ballpark was a great experience. The game started at about 9 due to the rain delay and severe rain, but the groundskeepers did a great job getting the field into shape. I would have liked to see more fans in the stands, but because of the weather and the fact that the team has fallen far below expectations thus far, I guess the crowd was ok for a thursday night.

I moved around seats a bit, trying out different angles and enjoying the game. The concessions here seemed to be less expensive than other parks I've been to, and the fans were extremely knowledgeable. I have grown to enjoy the entertainment between innings, it is amazing how similar it is in every ball park. You've got your t-shirt cannons shot by girls on the top of the dugouts. You've got your soda bottle or mascot animated race around the park. You have the helmet/baseball three card monte for a prize. You've got the dance-athon to YMCA. But perhaps my favorite is the kiss cam. They play a Stevie Wonder song, and the camera focuses on couples in attendance. The fans in Ohio were especially sentimental, cheering the loudest when an elderly couple kissed. Of course the big cliche in every stadium comes at the end, when the camera focuses on two big burly guys, and they look at each other and laugh. One always grabs the other and plants a big kiss on the cheek.

Since the game started about two hours late, I decided to leave at about 11:30, right before the start of the 7th inning. The game was tied 2-2 when I left, and it seemed like a lot of people had the same idea as me. I walked back to my car, lightning and thunder following me the whole way, lighting up the whole sky in an obscure picture. The city of Cincinnati, very pretty lit up in the background. And just as I was walking into the garage, I felt the first few drops of rain. By the time I had paid and gotten my car out onto the street, the sky had opened up, dumping even more rain than the previous storm if you could believe it. By the time I had gotten back to the motel, the game had been called. Since the game was tied entering the 5th inning, and ended up going 7 full innings, it counts as a tie of sorts. The tie doesn't show up in the standings, and the game has to be made up as a complete game on saturday, but the statistics of the game count, all the hits, strikeouts, and innings pitched. This ended my home team winning streak at 7 games. I've now been to 8 games this year in 7 stadiums, and this was the most impressive stadium experience thus far. Ballpark photos here.

Today I'll briefly be heading North on I-71/I-75, but I'll be turning west in Cincinnati, onto I-74, into Indianapolis, and then heading Southwest on I-70 until I reach St. Louis.