Thursday, March 15, 2012

Three States, One Weekend!

So this weekend we visited three states.  I know, I know that is not always an accomplishment, especially if you live on the east coast or if you are taking a road trip.  However, it can be an accomplishment in the mid-west. Right?  Maybe?  Okay, we do live in one of the states but we did actually do activities in all three states.

What states did we visit this weekend?  Well we visited Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. It was a very busy weekend!

It is always nice to take a mini vacation and get away for a little bit.  This weekend the Husband had something to do for work on Saturday afternoon in Covington, KY. Please note this is not something that his company was paying for us to stay overnight, ect. and  we had already been planning on visiting the Cincinnati area sometime in the near future since, 1.  We had been wanting to take a trip to Cincinnati (I have not been since I was little and went to Kings Island.) 2. We had purchased two admissions to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY off of DealChicken (I know, I know, me and my deals right?  Seriously this was a good deal!) And since we had not seen my parents in a little bit we decided to invite them along for one of the nights that we would be staying there.

Since the Husband's work thing was being held at the Holiday Inn (Cincinnati-Riverfront) hotel in Covington, KY, we decided to go ahead and book our rooms there.  Which worked for me because if you have read any of my past posts then you will know that I am a Priority Club Member (I love to earn points) or we have a friends and family discount that we can use for the Holiday Inn family brand.  Of course, you can not use both. :-)  This time since there was a points promotion going on and the friends and family discount would only save me about $30.00 w/taxes included in this figure for two nights, so $15.00 a night, I decided to spend the extra money so I could get the points.  This was a much better deal for us.  The Holiday Inn that we stayed at was on the older side and in an older section of town, maybe a little rougher at night but it was not to bad.  The rooms were updated and clean, the staff was friendly and we had a view of the river.  So I was a happy camper.

We arrived later on Friday night, checked in and then headed across the street to try out Skyline Chili.  Yuck!  That is what I have to say about that.  Sorry to all of you Cincinnati folks who love this place but I thought it was disgusting.  I will stick to Steak N' Shake's chili in the future.

The next morning we slept in a little bit and took our time getting ready, you can do this when you do not have children. Well I do have the Husband and he can be very difficult to get up in the mornings, on the weekend.  However, we were up and ready and decided to grab an early lunch before his work thing, which was at one.  We walked across the street to try out Riverfront Pizza, oh urbanspoon, you let me down.  This place had good reviews and was cheap so we figured we would give it a try.  I think I will use the phrase I used above, Yuck!  Their meatball sub was pretty good but their pizza was terrible.  It tasted like a cheap tombstone to me.  At this point in time we were batting a zero on the restaurant front. After lunch it was back to our room while the Husband prepared for his work thing and I waited for my parents to arrive.

The Husband went off to his work thing and my parents arrived.  Now, if you have ever vacationed with my Father, you would know that you need a vacation after the vacation.  He will wear you out!  First stop was the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption.  It is free to tour but donations are accepted.  I was very impressed.  The pictures we took do not do the stained glassed windows or the church justice.  I think that this Catholic Church was even more beautiful then many of the Churches that I saw in France.  It was breathtaking.






Next, were were off to Loveland, OH to visit the Chateau Laroche (Castle).  Now, I admit I was not very impressed with this destination.  I just did not think that it was that neat but it was only $3.00 dollars to get in so at least there was not a lot of money spent.  You tour yourself and there is not really that much to see.  The story surrounding it is neat but that is about the only thing I thought was impressive about it. So moving on.

The next destination was to Graeter's Ice Cream shop.  Now, I had been to a Graeter's Ice Cream shop around where I live and I had not been impressed but my parents had been to one in Cincinnati before and wanted to go and get a snack. Well, I am glad we went, I got a frozen coffee drink that was to die for, so maybe it is just the Graeter's around me that is not that great.

Now the time to meet back up with the Husband had come.  Did I mention the fact that his work thing had finished while we were gone, so he went over to Cincinnati to visit a computer store and a couple of gun shops?  How did he get out of sightseeing with my parents?

We had reservations that night to eat at the Bonefish Grill.  Now, I realize this is a chain but I have to admit I love their fish.  If you can't have fresh fish on the east coast, then I am happy with the Bonefish.  This worked out perfectly because my parents had a gift card and we did too!  So all we basically owed at the end of our meal was the tip.  What a way to save money and have a nice and enjoyable meal!

The night was over and it was time to retire to our rooms for the night.  I knew my Dad would be up early in the morning and ready to go and do things.  So early we rose and packed our stuff.  It was time for breakfast, we can't miss the most important meal of the day can we?  The Husband got to pick where we went.  Mom and I were really hoping he would choose well or Dad would take his choosing privileges away in the future. So his choice, drum roll please...First Watch.  Phew, he picked a good one, Dad will let him choose places in the future. Urbanspoon, you did not let us down this time!  After breakfast was done we killed a little time before heading to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY.  This is where my DealChicken coupon comes in to play. DealChicken was doing a promotion that if some one signed up from your link they would get $5.00 of their purchase and once they made their purchase $10.00 would be deposited in to your account.  Since the Husband did not have an account I made him sign up so we would get $5.00 off the tickets and $10.00 in my account.  So total purchase price $20.00, not to bad!  Since the tickets are usually $25.00 a person, I think we got a good deal.

So we arrived at the Creation Museum.  The staff there is super friendly, I was very impressed.  The exhibits were interesting but I am not sure I would want to spend $50.00 for the both of us to go.  The tour of the museum took about 2 1/2 - 3 hrs.  I think The Husband and Dad enjoyed it more than my mom and I did. :) Unfortunately we did not get a chance to go to the petting zoo, I know I am such a kid at heart or to tour the beautiful gardens.  I was really sad about this but everyone was getting hungry and we did not want to eat there, so maybe another time.  The gardens really did look amazing!




So our next stop was how we ended up in Indiana, the closest town with some restaurants was Lawrenceburg, Indiana.  So we headed over the state line to grab something to eat.  We ended up eating at this place called Lawrenceburger.  It was a really small hamburger place and it was pretty good, if I was in the area I would eat there again.  Ironically I did not order a hamburger but I did take a bite of the Husband's burger and it was good.  I would not order the chili cheese fries again though because they were kind of watery.

Well our weekend adventure had come to an end.  It was time for my parents and the Husband and I to go our separate ways.  Them back to their home and us back to ours. It is always sad when a vacation has to come to an end, of course that is if you are enjoying your vacation and we were enjoying ours.

So until next time, when I post again!

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