Weekend Wrap-Up: Cincinnati/Newport trip

Over the weekend, (March 14-16)  Zach and I took a little get-away trip to Cincinnati Ohio, but stayed on the Newport, Kentucky side.  We got up pretty early on Friday (I took the day off, yay!), finished packing, and took Nellie to her Nana and Poppy's, who kept her for us.  After that, we were off and excited to be going somewhere we've never been before!  3 hours later... We ate a "Big Boy" for the first time.  I would compare it to a "Steak n' Shake" because it has a waited dining room and a drive-thru.  It also happened to be 20 feet from our hotel, so we went over and checked in a little early since they had our room ready.

Big Boy and myself!  I have no shame...There were people driving in the drive thru and everything! : )

It's funny how just driving can make you so tired, so we both laid down for a little while and decided to go to Bass Pro Shop and the mall before our 7:00 dinner reservation.  Cincinnati traffice was craaaaaazy, though, so we ended up with very little time.  Little did we know that wouldn't matter, because where the Bass Pro was, there was it and an entirely empty mall.  The internet forgot to mention the other stores had moved.  Argh!  After talking to a salesperson to see if they had what Zach wanted (they didn't) we went back to the hotel again (slowly through rush-hour traffic I might add) and got ready for supper.

At supper!

Zach's supper!

My supper!

The view!

We went to Primavista for supper and their website didn't lie.  The view was pretty cool.  The whole front of the restaraunt is a floor-to-ceiling window and it overlooks Cincinnati.  They seated Zach and I beside each other so we're both facing the view.  I thought it was a very romantic place.  We had an appetizer that I couldn't begin to tell you the name of, but it was fresh mozzarella with arugala, balsamic vinaigrette, and strawberries and it was pretty good.  For supper Zach ordered the veal and I penne alla vodka.  We shared lemon-basil sorbet for dessert. (That combo of flavors was pretty weird!)  Overall it was a pretty yummy supper and it was really special.  Zach did laugh when it turned out that my dress was a little over-dressed.  Oh well, I still felt pretty and I think he liked my dress!

The best picture we could get. 

On Saturday morning, we made sure we were up for the hotel's continental breakfast and then we showered and headed to the Newport Aquarium.  We got there minutes after it opened and barely waited to get in.  I can't even begin to tell you all the creatures they had there, but I would say that my favorites were the: blind cave fish (they had no eyes, weird, but neat), seahorses, sharks, shark rays (They have 4.  The most of anywhere in the world. Way cool!), 15 foot alligator named "Mighty Mike", penguins, and the exhibit where you could pet sharks.

Cute little sharks!

He could eat me alive!

I was a little timid to put my hand in a tank full of sharks, but I would say the longest one was 2.5-3 feet, and I figured they were pretty used to having people's hands on them all day.  The exhibit girl said to use your pointer and middle fingers and dip your hand in after the shark's head had passed and then just run your hand down the middle of their backs.  I petted 4 or 5, as did Zach.  It was soooo neat, and I think he would agree that it was our favorite thing.

The other best thing was the dive show in the big tank that had all the big sharks and the shark rays.  Since all the animals associate the divers with feeding time, they all came round and the diver and presenter talked back and forth and we learned about the aquarium and the shark rays.  I didn't realize what a big deal it is to have one shark ray in an aquarium, let alone 4!

Look how funny their mouths are!

We headed out from the aquarium around 12:45 and then walked down the street to Hofbrauhaus Newport! I wasn't extremely hungry, so I had german pretzels with bier cheese.  It was an appetizer, but I just had it as a meal and shared with Zach!  He had his favorite: bratwurst!

 Then we headed to the mall in Cincinnati for me to shop at New York and Company.  It was a trip well-worth it, because I got my fix and found 3 new dresses!  We meandered around to some other stores and then had Graeter's ice cream, which was delicious!  A friend recommended it and it was well worth it!

 

We went to IKEA next, because there are none close to home and I really wanted to see what it was like!  To say it was overwhelming is almost an understatement.  Especially considering we went in the middle of a Saturday and there were literally thousands of people there.  It was very crowded!  It was neat, but I'm sure it would a whole lot more relaxing when all those people weren't there.  I did score a few things, though!  Naturally I had to document the occasion! 

The bridge going into Newport from Cincinnati!  It was neat!

After that we ran to another mall and browsed, and then headed back to the hotel.  We were beat after all that walking, so we stayed in for supper that night.

We got up Sunday morning and hit the road shortly before 10:00 their time, so 9:00 our time.  We took our time getting home.  We stopped at another Bass Pro Shops to see if they had what Zach needed, and they did!  We also picked up Nellie an "I'm sorry we abandoned you for 3 days to go have fun" present while there! ; ) We also ran by the Cheesecake Factory in Louisville to grab a slice, and then stopped in good ol' Corydon for a quick lunch at Wendy's.  We got to Zach's parents in the early afternoon and hung out because we had supper with his parents.  It was good to get home, and Nellie was glad to be back with us! (And us with her!)

After a fun weekend, Zach and I agree we need to try to make trips like these more often!

Nellie enjoying her prize!