Tonight was Reds Opening Night. And we couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.


The view from our seats…

Brandon Phillips…

Reds newboy pitcher, Mat Latos and Joey Votto…

Joey Votto…



The ballpark felt just as packed as Holy Grail was earlier. The official attendance was just
over 41,600. With so many people at the ballpark, it was hard to do much of anything. Hard to
get a beer. Hard to find a restroom without a huge line. Even hard to stop and take a photo
without someone running into me. Unfortunately, the Reds got roughed up a bit on the night too.
They lost 8-3. But baseball is back in Cincinnati! And we couldn’t be happier. 🙂

We left a little bit early to head down to the ball park for Opening Night. We wanted to
get a Summer Shandy at Holy Grail before the game. The place was packed like sardines…




It was really fun to hang out with all the other Reds fans before the game. Even if it
was kinda hard to move inside Holy Grail.

This morning Milan and I went on a long walk through the parks along the OHio River.

These people were enjoying the day in their own hammock…

It makes me want to go out and buy a hammock.


It was a gorgeous day. We ended up walking all the way to the end of Friendship Park.
All and all, we walked 4.17 miles.

We were invited to a Hamburgers & Homeruns Happy Hour at Johnny Rockets’ The Banks.

Per the email that I received yesterday…
“As local insiders, we want to kick off the season by treating you to an evening of
good times in true Johnny Rockets style. Be our guest for a night of fun and festivities
especially designed for you Cincinnati influencers. In celebration of the season opener,
we are hosting an exclusive complimentary happy hour on Friday, April 6th from 6-8PM
and you’re invited.”

“Join us at Johnny Rockets The Banks and taste some of our signature menu items and win
tickets to major upcoming local sporting events. Please take a moment to RSVP and secure
your spot on our guest list ASAP… Please feel free to forward this exclusive invite
to other local sports-minded media.” Seriously?

“We look forward to meeting you at Johnny Rockets’ Hamburgers & Homeruns Happy Hour!”

We politely declined, and went back to Buckhead this evening instead to enjoy their patio.


Personally, I’d much rather just relax outside with Genifer on my Friday evening. 🙂

We had our first sighting of Bell’s Oberon! Summer must be just around the corner.

And here’s what our summer will be tasting like, right side by side…

Yum!

The Reds game was on Channel 12, and the score was cut-off for the whole game.

UPDATE: And this one belongs to the Reds! The Reds won their season opener 4-0!
We can’t wait to go to Opening Night on Saturday!

As traditions go, Cincinnati has pretty good thing going with their Reds Opening Day
festivities. It seems like all of downtown is buzzing with excitement and coated in
Red. I watched from my office as the people gradually filled Fountain Square in eager
anticipation of 93rd annual Findlay Market Opening Day Parade.


The parade stepped off from Findlay Market at 1pm…

And by 1:20pm-ish, the parade made it’s way to Fountain Square…




And here’s the view looking out the east side of our office building…

At 3:15pm, the parade was still going even though most of the spectators had moved on…

And finally at 3:45pm, the four mounted police officers marked the end of the parade.

Last year’s parade was about an hour and a half, I guess everyone wants to get in on this
Cincinnati tradition. And this year, I think just about everybody in Cincinnati did! 🙂

Oh. Click to see my photos from the 2011 parade.
And click to see my photos from the 2010 parade.