Summer of 2006, pt. 8

Two more weeks in Cincinnati, a week in Phoenix, and then back to Columbus:

- I got to do some sight-seeing today, and went to Newport-on-the-Levee on the Kentucky side of the river. It's a nice area, with a shopping mall, all kinds of restaurants and hangout spots, and a huge movie theater. I spent an hour or two just walking through the mall, and especially through the Barnes and Noble that was there. Probably the nicest part of the trip was just sitting on the balcony outside the bookstore, a cup of coffee in hand, watching the Ohio River go by. It was one of those lazy Sunday afternoon kind of moments you wish would last just a little bit longer.




I also went to the Newport Aquarium, which was really nice. I got to see all kinds of fish, including piranhas, jellyfish, and huge sharks. They also had other kinds of animals, including birds, baby alligators, and penguins. At one point, there was an exhibit where you could walk through an aviary with a cup of nectar, and birds would come down and drink right out of your hand. One bird landed on my arm and drank almost the whole cup. There were a lot of bird "accidents" though, including one right on my arm from a bird on a high branch.

Two of the best exhibits were near the end. One room was full of penguins, standing in the dark, probably asleep. The last room was called "Shark Central", and it had a tank where you could pet the sharks and rays that were swimming through, kind of like the exhibit at the Cleveland Zoo we went to a month or two ago. It's amazing how smooth the skin is on sharks, and especially on the ray-the closest thing I would compare it to is probably seaweed.

I also got to do a little bit of sightseeing outside the mall. Two places I got to see in the short time I was there were the birthplace of the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, and the home of Captain Parker. I also got some nice pictures of the Cincinnati skyline from on the other side of the river.



Overall, a very nice trip to take for the afternoon, even though the place (and especially the aquarium) was crowded. I still have two more places to go see before I head for home a week from Thursday: the Cincinnati Zoo and the Taft Museum. Also, if I have time in the fall, I would like to go watch oral arguments at the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals here in town.

I will be adding pictures from Newport soon.

- Reading wise, I am going to try and start adding fiction to my reading lists, probably starting with the Chronicles of Narnia coming this fall. Right now, I have almost finished reading "The Truth About Same-Sex Marriage" by Erwin Lutzer, and I also read "The Lamb and the Fuhrer" by Ravi Zacarias, a very thought-provoking book about what a conversation would look like between Jesus and Hitler. Both were very good books, especially Zacarias', because it gives an analysis of not only the magnitude of Hitler's evil, but also shows how we are all capable of the same sins as the most evil man in history-maybe not to where we would commit the same acts, but it shows that we are yet sinners in God's eyes nonetheless.

Next, I plan to read "Alexander Hamilton: American" by Richard Brookhiser. After that, I plan to read "Alexander Hamilton" by Ron Chernow, and then do sort of a double review, comparing both books in a sort of general post about Hamilton and his legacy. This might be my last non-fiction reading post for a while, though-I would like to read different kinds of books, so after that I may try and get to "The Chronicles of Narnia" for something more fun and easy to read.