To a lot of people, the Labor Day Riverfest fireworks along the banks of the Ohio River are a really big deal. There are viewing parties, and people lay claim to prime viewing spots in Yeatman’s Cove days before the fireworks. We’ve never gotten into the whole Riverfest thing. It’s just way too many people packing themselves like sardines into the riverfront, and if you’ve seen one Riverfest fireworks display, you’ve kind of seen them all. The one pretty cool Riverfest thing we noticed this evening when we were out on a dog walk were these Riverfest skydivers…






And they were shooting off fireworks while on their descent with their parachutes open. That’s either really brave, or really dumb. I think it’s kind of a coin flip. 🙂

We stopped at Lowe’s to get some potting soil for our cactus garden, and the Halloween decorating ideas were front and center and full in effect…


I’m really not ready for Halloween yet, or autumn for that matter. More summer please! 🙂

Check out this Praying Mantis that we noticed on the outside of our window today…


There have been an unusually high number of Praying Mantis around downtown. It’s been really pretty odd just how many we’ve seen lately. And kinda funny because Genifer is terrified of them. 🙂

Tonight, we went over to Fountain Square for the last Tuesday night American Roots of the season. And they saved the best for last! Tonight’s band of one of my favorites, The Dallas Moore Band. Dallas has a voice like a gravel road, and that’s a good thing…













Once again, the music on the Square has been so much fun all summer long. It’s hard to believe it’s all almost over now. 😦 Click to see all the photos I took at this week’s American Roots on the Square. 🙂

This evening we went out to visit Cleve & Alyssa in Liberty township. We had a great time visiting with them. Especially after Cleve made all these chicken wings! YUM!

Taken with Instagram. 🙂

This afternoon we walked up to Washington Park to check out Taste of OtR…

The grass at Washington Park has definitely seen better days…



Wait a dang minute…

Wut? Why wouldn’t your dog wear a sun dress? I mean, the sun’s out isn’t it?





But just like last year, there really wasn’t anything we wanted to eat. I guess if you didn’t get to Over-the-Rhine a lot, it would be a good way to sample what OtR has to offer. We just felt like we would rather walk over a couple of blocks and eat at the actual restaurant. Plus, it was kind of uncomfortably warm in all the sun that was flooding Washington Park.

So we broke camp and headed over to one of our favorite spots, Nation Kitchen & Bar…

Nation was still serving brunch when we got there. We shared a Brunch Wrap Supreme and Breakfast Tots. Their stuff is so deliciously on point, it’s kind of ridiculous…

Really fun afternoon. It’s hard to go wrong when Washington Park & Nation are involved. 🙂

Tonight, we cashed in on our free Domino’s DomiNoNo pizza we scored on Monday from the Astro’s Mike Fiers no-hitting the Dodgers last weekend…


And of course, we got stuffed cheesy bread…

You have to get the stuffed cheesy bread. Genifer made it a rule. YUM! Free makes pizza even more delicious! Thanks to Domino’s, MLB and Mike Fiers! 🙂

After Cocktails & Crown Jewels, we were a bit hungry so we decided, why not get a bite to eat from Moerlein Lager House since were right here? We landed on sharing the Short Rib Grilled Cheese…

We added a side of Lager House’s Beer Cheese to dip our fries in. Best. Move. Ever.


YUM! I’ve never had a single bad meal from MLH. Everything’s always been delicious! 🙂

Genifer heard about Cocktails & Crown Jewels presented by Cincinnati Parks and Moerlein Lager House down at the Schmidlapp Event Lawn & Stage. There were five Cocktails and Crown Jewels scheduled throughout the summer. They promised a cool jazz vibe all summer with the hottest jazz in the beauty of Smale Riverfront Park on the banks of the Ohio. Unfortunately, tonight’s last one of the season…


It’s really, really hard not to take photos of the Roebling Suspension Bridge whenever you’re on the event lawn or in Smale Riverfront Park…






We got a couple of Moerlein’s Helles from the Lager House To-Go walk-up window, and settled in for some great music from The Sound Body Jazz Orchestra…





Sound Body Jazz Orchestra has such an amazing big band sound. Loved it.




Great night. We just wish we would have heard about the Cocktails and Crown Jewels series a bit earlier in the summer. 😦 Click to see all the photos I took at Cocktails & Crown Jewels. 🙂