[Throwback] Ohio and Kentucky

I got to visit Ohio a few times for work. I have several friends who live in Ohio so whenever I went there on business, I got to meet up with at least some of them. Sometimes, we would go out for dinner. Other times, they would take me around. I got to see the Cincinnati city center where I took this photo of the Tyler Davidson Fountain at Fountain Square.

Tyler Davidson Fountain in Cincinnati

Another time, my friends me invited to join them on a Riverboat Cruise of the Ohio River. The dad of one of my friends, Amy, was visiting her at the same time as my trip so she invited a few other people to join them.

Riverboat cruise on the Ohio River

Later that afternoon, we headed to the Cincinnati Museum Center. Interestingly enough, what I remember most about this museum visit was that we watched a short documentary about bears in its IMAX theater. It was my first ever IMAX experience and it was then that I discovered that these gigantic theaters aren't for me because I got dizzy watching.

Cincinnati Museum Center

I also got to visit Kentucky, which shares a border with Ohio. My friends took me to the Newport Aquarium. I took a few photos but none of them were in focus because the fish were moving and I was still using my very first 3.3 digital camera, which was still pretty low-tech. I did manage to get a decent shot of this shark and its razor-sharp teeth that you can see from its gaping mouth.

Newport Aquarium

On a subsequent visit to Ohio, my friends took me to Kings Island in Mason.

Kings Island in Mason

I'm not a fan of thrill rides so I was hesitant to join my friends but they told me that I could just enjoy their company and walk around the grounds while our other friends got on the rides. As it turned out, I got persuaded to get on a few of the scariest ones, including Vortex (which is no longer in operation), Delirium, and Invertigo.

Invertigo

It was here that I got to try a wooden roller coaster for the first (and so far only) time, The Beast. It was actually quite enjoyable since it wasn't as scary as the ones I just mentioned. Another very memorable  ride was Tomb Raider, an indoor ride with cool visual effects (this one is no longer in operation either). We were advised to make sure there was nothing on us that was loose and/or could fall off. The only thing on me was my wallet which was in my butt pocket but I figured that should be safe enough. However, the ride really flips you around and at one point, we were left hanging upside down for what felt like a few to several seconds. At that time, I could feel space between my chair and my behind and I just kept hoping and praying that my wallet wouldn't fall out my butt pocket. Thankfully, it didn't.

The now-defunct Tomb Raider ride

If memory serves me right, I got on nine rides that day. In our group, only one person got on more rides than I did - she got on ten - and only one other person got on nine. Everyone else rode less. Needless to say, I was wiped out after that. Still, it was quite a memorable experience that I got to share with friends.

Next post: New York