Walmart and I are fast becoming BFF. I again slept in Walmart parking lot in Lexington, used their bathroom and grabbed a couple of peach for breakfast. Then I was all set to hit the road again.
Lexington is a historic city and horse town. Other than that, there wasn't much else. And I'm not much of a horse person, though the Henry Clay's Ashland Estate was kind of interesting. It's an English style aristocratic manor for a senator. Democracy only with propertied white men was really an aristocracy I suppose. I stopped at Kentucky Horse Park, but drove right back out after finding that it requires $15 fee, on top of $5 parking fee. Such a highway robbery. I moved on to Cincinnati, the home of WKRP.
The riverfront was a big mess. A sea of Reds fans (and a lone Dodgers fan) descended on it in cars and on foot across the Roebler Bridge. As if that wasn't enough, the 2nd and 3rd Street were closed for the whole width of downtown for Octoberfest. I sure picked the right date to come to Cincinnati.
I managed to park in a garage near Bengals stadium on the river front and then walked over the Roebler Bridge against the oncoming Reds fans. All Reds fans must be living in Kentucky across the bridge, it seems. Then I took Bell Connector street car to Findlay Market. I didn't even know about that market. I hopped on the streetcar to look around the city and then it came upon an open market that looked like Vancouver's Granville Market. I hopped off at the next stop to check it out. I walked around it and then ended up having lunch there even though I wasn't hungry. Then I walked all the way back to the waterfront for about 2 miles.
The size of this city is comparable to SF. And it sports 2 pro sports teams. Yet has only 300,000 inhabitants despite the terrible bustle today. That would explain the median house price of less than $200,000, or about the same as St. Louis or Kansas City. These midwestern cities aren't exactly thriving, at least compared to Sacramento, despite the appearances. Cincinnati downtown wasn't at least as deserted as St. Louis. At least not today.
Tomorrow I'll be in Pittsburgh, the last stop before NJ/NY. I'll leave my car at my sisters and then take bus to NYC, stay there for a few weeks and then head back home.
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