Open letter to the State of Ohio

Given the news of the states TRAC (Traffic Review Advisory Council) office, yanking the state allotted funds for the NUMBER ONE ranked state traffic project, has gotten more than a few people riled up in Cincinnati. The fact that the money was lost 4-3 is no help either, as Kasich appointed 4 members to the board, the board that was meant to take the politics out of the decisions… Just another thing our governor has fucked up for this state…

The fact that there were only 4 opponents that spoke today (All family/buddies of Tom Luken-who we all know is full of hot air and loves to hear himself talk… imho) yet not only did Cincinnati have the mayor and 2 other council members, but representatives from UC, Christ Hospital, and Sibcy Cline Realtors, took all allotted slots, even the the opponents didn’t use all of theirs.

Feel free to email TRAC and let them know how you feel, wether that that be, that their time is numbered (until November), that they’ve reinstated the politics back into a non-political board, or what have you. Below is my letter to them.

(I will also be posting links to other blogs below as they surface)

Seriously?! You should all be appalled with your decision to cut even more from Cincinnati. The streetcar is more than just some idealic dream of some school aged child. The strong fact that the supporters well outnumbered the opponents at the meeting this morning should have at least opened your eyes a little bit. But no. You went into this with your eyes wide shut and the politics you’ve been told to believe in whatever vessel you’re using as a heart today.

Your own  own policies state

the ―Major New Capacity program.‖ These are projects costing more than $5 million which add transportation capacity, and are critical to the mobility, economic development, and quality of life of the citizens of Ohio.”

I guess the fact that Cincinnati  is only the 3rd largest city in the state means that we are not a part of the once great state of Ohio? Cincinnati is not able to add to its own economic development? There is an entire chapter in your policies handbook just on scoring itself. 11 pages worth. The fact that you just pulled funding from the project just months before (and for the past few years) has ranked number one on the top of your funding list, shows to me that

1. You obviously have no idea how to do your job, as you can’t be bothered to read a handbook

2. You really don’t care how many more young professionals you lose that leave what was once the Great State of Ohio (but is now more just a lousy stop through with a few crumbling facades thrown in, on the way to somewhere more appreciative)

3. You have completely forgotten the whole reason TRAC was formed, to take the politics out of the decisions, something that today, has proved there are more politics thrown in than the entire metropolitan of DC.

4. There must be one hell of an “under the table” bonus thrown in for this. As really that could be the only other logical reason for doing what you did today.
What I’m hoping is that you can make as much as you can from these side deals to last you up until November… And I sincerely hope that if we have THAT much of a funding issue, that you will pull just as much from every other single project out there.

With deep regret,

Rachel C. Giere

‘TRAC@dot.state.oh.us’

PDF of TRAC’s policies and procedures for those interested

 

Over the Rhine Blog

Xing Columbus Blog

Haunted Cave

Holy freaking Satan, Batman! The Batcave has been infiltrated!

Forget anything about haunted houses you know! Heck, forget any haunted house you’ve ever been to for that matter! I can attest to Lewisburg Haunted Cave being Ohio’s number 1 haunt according to Ohio Valley. This place almost doesn’t have words to describe it! But I’m going to try anyways.

You start off descending 100 ft into the cave with the lights flickering and shorting out on you while you wait your turn to climb down into the depths of Hell itself.

Rickety bridges guide you over underground lakes as demented souls pop in and out of nowhere and everywhere. You walk through forests and graveyards and walk between moving walls to ultimately make a sacrifice to be able to proceed on your journey… if you’re lucky…

And then the demented come out to play as you attempt to make your way through 3 caverns of chain-link and strobe maze… never knowing if your coming or going or if you’ve seen the same people 17 different times. Warning: this is the first of 2 places where you’ll most likely spend the majority of your time.

When you finally (if you do) make it out, you are bombard by your own senses. You hear drums and cars echoing off of near pitch blackness as you try not to stray off the path and get lost in the 50+ miles of tunnels-even though at this point you’re pretty sure that’s already happened.

And you finally come to Satan himself in his throne of fire and gives you multiple choices on where to wander to next. This would be part 2 of your time consumption. Once you find the path that doesn’t lead you back to the devil, his trickery leads you to even more choices!! I will at least give you a small hint: to always check out a room entirely when you enter it before deciding which way to proceed next.

The demons come out in all the glory and deamonness as you try to make your way out. Some of which are truly an amazing site. And just when you think you will never see the light of day again, along with experiencing mass amounts of deja vu, you realize there really is a light at the end of the tunnel!

I am a person that absolutely  loves haunted house, even though most don’t scare me thanks to years working in a haunt, but this one truly got to me. This isn’t as much a Boo scary as it is a total mind freak scary. All of your senses are tested here and its just crazy! But definitely at the top of my list, as it should be yours!

They also have a historical mine ride done by the historical society with proceeds going directly to the society. This is not a scary wagon ride. They tell you about the history of the mine. It is kinda neat to do… but the pull for this attraction? *shudders* the bats. Here you get up close and personal with the sleeping/hibernating bats hanging literally a foot or 2 above your head or on the walls across from you. Neat but freaky!

I totally 115% recommend you be thee shortly before it opens at 7, or you will be waiting in line. This place gets packed, and for good reason!

Thee Ohio State Fair

so sunday was reserved for the fair. Mind you I haven’t been here since 02 and I’m a hick so I love me some fair time. I grew up in those horse barns and the 4-H building. It was nice to be back there.

Of course the first thing I had to do was hit the free stuff. I mean who doesn’t love free crap?! At least for maybe the next week lol. Then it was time to gorge myself down the midway. Unfortunately I didn’t find a fried pickle booth but there were plenty of sweet corn! yay! then I decided to head towards the rides. I’m a coaster nerd. There. I said it. Those little rides are heaven. But first I spied a giant fun slide!

Then it was off to some rickety yet awesome coasters!

I forgot how huge this fair was. Since it was the last day tho, I didn’t get to see any of the animals really

oh!! I forgot that double ferris wheels are not as much fun as they seem. I mean don’t get me wrong… air time? on a ferris wheel? Its pretty bad ass… I just didn’t have the stomach for it I guess.

We ended the night with a trip to Dave & Busters at Polaris. It’s insanely small compared to Cincinnati’s but its still fun. Their fondue dessert is A-mazing!! But still, with all there is to do everyone can find something to do. And it warrants a trip every couple of years.

End of the Summer Road Trip Weekend

Ok so my weekend started a little early on Thursday. Now I haven’t been much of a partier since graduating college, so I have to check out Party in the Park and things of that nature on Weds/Thurs, but Oval Opus got back together for a charity event in Newport at JB Fins (on the deck between Hooters and Beer Seller) and I’ll admit that’s a pretty great place to catch a local concert! You’ve got the skyline in the background, you can get up close and personal with the band, there’s all sorts of seating all around the stage, and a bar right outside so you don’t have to miss a moment of the action. Beer prices are a little outrageous if you’re just buying a single beer (I’d recommend the bucket for 6 or more at $2 a piece). And as far as the girly froo-froo drinks go you’re out of luck on the Smirnoff’s or the Bacardi’s, but they do have mixers. On Thurs, they didn’t have a cover when we got there shortly after 9.

Oval Opus performing at JB Fins

Friday was a bit more of an adventure (if that’s even possible) Mind you I work up in the Evendale (Sharonville) Business Park, but I had been hearing nothing but amazing things about the food truck. So I decided I was going to have a lunchtime adventure, and suckered a co-worker into joining me. So a 20 minute drive (really with the whole merging around Hamilton on 75? Who thought that traffic pattern up?!) we grabbed a spot down Race and walked up the block to where Cafe de Wheels Twitter page said they would be. Not too much of a line, which was nice. I noticed Just Q’in next door. Hadn’t heard of them yet. No sign of them on foursquare or Yelp yet, so I might have to give it a try next time.

But from the reviews I decided to go with their signature Wheels Burger and fries. Jess went for the sweet potato fries. I don’t know what it is but those fries (or the seasoning?) is Heaven!! I don’t care for sweet potatoes in any form whatsoever. I don’t even care for the smell. But these were amazing! I’m also an adamant fries-with-ketchup eater only. I ate the whole cup full in the car on the way back. Not a single drop of ketchup they were that good! And the burger… that’s a whole nother scale. I’m a picky eater, but I am adventurous. I’ll try anything once. For instance I love seaweed salads. Not so much of a fan of buffalo burgers/summer sausage. But I’m pretty sure I could eat from Cafe de Wheels every other day (opposite of Skyline and Jimmy Johns of course) They load their toppings and its just amazing.

Later that night it was off to Loveland for Toot’s. Great little pub type feel, not far off of Applebee’s/TGIFriday’s. It’s laid back and offers bang for the buck. You definitely get your moneys worth of burgers and fries. They’ve got pretty good pickle chips as well.

Saturday brings along one of my favorite places to kill an afternoon. Caeser Creek Flea Market. In my opinion it’s a step above Trader’s World, just because simply, there’s not a thing you CAN”T find here. Yeah there’s a few of your typical “jink” booths, but for the most part, they’ve got a huge selection. Trader’s World isn’t quite as diverse IMO. The only questionable thing here is the shed at the beck of the parking lot… Those that have been, know. For those that don’t… well, I don’t know if any youngsters stumble on here. But it was good time with a cute new necklace, and some candles.

While we were in the area, and this is the best part of the whole weekend, we decided to hit Rod’s Capricorn Inn.

This is the only thing you'll see on the side of the road letting you know what's there

I frequent this place once a year during Homecoming with my Sorority, and it’s just not enough. This place is the epitome of hole-in-the-wall, grease pit, dive place. And it. is. A-MAZING. Rod is normally back in the kitchen cooking and singing to country music or oldies. He’s a little off pitch but never seems to care. The burgers are massive! As in I had to fold mine in half and it still stuck out the bun!

Notice the meat spilling over the ginormous pile of mushrooms

It's a task to wolf one of those down, but oh so worth it.

The sides are generous enough, the toppings are never endingly cascading out of the sandwich, and your drink still comes in a can with a glass of ice. It’s got plastic picnic table clothes. and the back room/party area has actual picnic tables with the same tablecloths over them. It’s just so quaint and out of the way and divey that it is worth the drive up 730 from Wilmington. I promise.