Leaving Cincinnati...onto St. Louis!

After going through another torrential rainstorm, we made it to St. Louis at about 8:30 CDT.

Unfortunately our 4th of July was pretty uneventful, but we definitely made a good decision to attend the Reds game last night since today's game got rained out.

Before leaving Cincinnati, we stopped at Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum, the 2nd largest cemetery in the US, which dates back to 1844. Even though it's a cemetery, it definitely doesn't feel like one. The tombstones are outrageous and the gardens are remarkable. I did take some pictures, but they really don't do it justice.

The highlight of the day was our drive to St. Louis. We saw some interesting billboards and this enormous cross that came out of nowhere...

And Heather got some shots in too. She has made it her mission to take a picture of each welcome sign as we arrive into each state. I think once we get back to New York she will perfect it.

Needless to say, tomorrow will be a lot more fun. We have a packed day starting with a free walking tour of the grounds around the Arch and ending with the Cardinals game at the new Busch Stadium!

Cincinnati and The Great American Ball Park

So we planned on spending the afternoon celebrating July 4th at Great American Ball Park to see the Reds vs. Giants, but because of flood threats, we had to quickly change our plans.

We got to Cincinnati at about 2 PM, checked out the Cincinnati Union Terminal and National Underground Railroad Freedom Center until 5 PM and then headed over to the ball park.

Cincinnati Union Terminal was a major center for railroad traffic in the late 19th century and early 20th century, but has since been converted to museums, theaters and a library. It's a wonderful building with impressive architecture and is also the site of the field of the first professional baseball team.

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is a museum that opened in 2004 based on the history of the Underground Railroad. The museum has so much rich history that one could spend hours in it. We only had about an hour and a half so we made the most of our visit. We both felt one of the coolest things about the museum was that it faced the Ohio River, which was a major point between the North and the South, freedom and slavery and for the Underground Railroad.

View of Kentucky, John Roebling Bridge and Eternal Flame at
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

We then headed over to Great American Ball Park for the Reds vs. Giants game. It's too bad we couldn't make the game on Tuesday night since Homer Bailey pitched a no-hitter for the Reds!

At the ball park is a Hall of Fame dedicated to the Reds, which was fantastic. Even Heather said she enjoyed it! I think it's because she took a funny picture of me celebrating with The Big Red Machine and hanging with Sparky Anderson though...

The ball park itself is absolutely fantastic. The views from inside of the Ohio River are stunning and the atmosphere is as good as any ball park I've attended. The Reds have a very rich and long history (did you know they were the first professional baseball team?) and it shows through their fans. There's also a riverboat deck that you can see in the background, which adds to the ball park's charm and uniqueness.

And to top off our Reds experience, we had smoked chicken wings and a smoked turkey leg at Mr. Red's Smokehouse.

Today with the weather being non-cooperative, we're going to play it by ear. We're going to try and check out the supposedly beautiful Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum between the rain drops and then at some point, make our way to our next stop: Saint Louis!

Rain, Rain Go Away

Watch out NYC, this rain is on it's way!