Columbus Ohio

This is another shot of the Olentangy. Not so glamorous though. This time you can see that the shopping trolleys have been thrown onto the ice. It must be a game for the local derelicts to see if they can get them to break through the ice into the freezing depths below.

Columbus Ohio

This is the Olentangy River. It was originally called keenhongsheconsepung, a Delaware word literally translated as "stone for your knife stream" based on the shale found along its shores. Early settlers to the region translated this into "Whetstone River." In 1833, the Ohio General Assembly passed legislation intending to restore the original Native American names to some Ohio waterways, but mistakenly gave Whetstone River the name "Olentangy"—Delaware for "river of the red face paint"—which had actually belonged to what is now known as Big Darby Creek.

Anyway, here is a photograph of the point where it passes through Columbus Ohio. We visited there last sunday. It is a nice place. More photos to come.
See ya

Chateau d'Aquino

Aileens parents live in this house. It is a beautiful home, reminding me of a French Chateau or the like. This was before the snow began to fall. Once the skies opened up and the snowflakes were placed as if in a picturebook, this house was truly stunning.

I thought i'd make the most of the precipitation and take some photos.

My Yellow Kicks

So i've already mentioned the snow, but failed to mention that I bought two pairs of chucks last night at the gap store for $10 a pair. DEAL!!
Even cooler is the fact that one set was a sweet little yellow number.

Not having much experience in the snow and being super excited I decided to venture out. Chucks Fail!
Anti waterproof are two words that come to mind.

ITS SNOWING!!!!

So I woke up the other morning to Aileen telling me that it had been snowing. Knowing that I was so keen to see snow and that I was beggining to doubt that it actually snowed here, I was sure that Aileen was just messing with me.
Imagine my excitement when I walked into the living area and saw this view!

Time to get amongst it!

A Night At Home

After a big day it is so nice to come home to these three things:
A glass of Bourbon and Coke in front of the fire.
My amazing Girlfriend
And this veiw of Cincinnati

Nice!

Downtown Cinci Cont........

Here are just a few more shots of where I am and what I'm doing. The first six photos I took downtown. The first photo on the bottom row is the entrance to the condo. The next is the christmas tree they have recently placed in the lobby. The last photo was taken as Aileen and I headed over the bridge to Newport Kentucky.

I shouldn't need to say this, but if you would like to view the photos larger, just click on them.

See ya!

Downtown Cincinnati

It is really great living in the epicentre of a major city. I have never experienced this before so for me it is great to be able to walk down the street and have anything that I need right there.

I thought I'd take a few photos of the things that I walk past each day. This is Cincinnati everybody.

P.S: Aunty Sharon........Aileen and I had breakfast there just the other morning! HA

Christmas Tree

For the last couple of weeks Aileen and I have been talking about putting up the christmas tree. Aileen was devastated when her Dad informed her that he had in fact thrown their tree in the garbage.

So whilst shopping Ai and I bought a new tree. We shopped around for the lowest price and finally settled on this little pearler from Walmart! Where all of the bargains are to be had!

After purchasing the tree we set off home to assemble and decorate it ensuring that we utilised the team lift method, to protect our backs. It was a lovely evening with what I feel is a lovely finished product.

The Dollar Store

Aileen and I took a walk downtown to do some shopping. We came across a dollar store that had obviously gone cheap on their advertising. I mean, what were they thinking? There was obviously a guy sitting there saying, "lets take a photo of the perfect family and tell everybody how much the items in our store cost." then when business wasn't so great, instead of replacing the four signs that are around the exterior of the shop, somebody was like, "ah, stuff it!. Not everything is a dollar now, but dont worry about reprinting........screw the Dad, just cover him up!"
Kitschyness at its finest! I love it!

Nascar Shredded Beef Jerky

Ok, i'm going to walk you through this horrible experience step by step. For some reason I thought it would be a great idea to buy beef jerky that came packaged in a container similar to that of bubble gum tape. This should have been the first clue!
The second clue should have been that it was 98cents. I thought that it was normal beef jerky and was oblivious to the fact that it was shredded to a tobacco like consistency. My reaction was as follows:

Photo 1: MMMM....... Look what I have Aileen!, your going to have to ask very nicely if you want some of this!

Photo 2: Huh???????? What is this rubbish?!?!

Photo 3 (after trying the product): Oh my god, I think I'm going to be sick!. Ai..........Do you want this?? You can have it sweetie!! he he he........please take it.

This Is Where The Magic Happens

Aileen snapped this shot of me blogging after we returned home from the bengals game. This is pretty much my position whilst posting new entries for you lovely people to read.

After The Game: The Bengals Are Defeated :-(

After the game, once the stadium had cleared and we had finished our drinks, we decided to take some photographs of us at the stadium. Then as we were leaving, slightly intoxicated, I decided to ask the Cincinnati Police if they would mind posing for a shot with me. Aileen was begging them to cuff me and take me away, but thankfully they didnt listen to her.
After all of the fun and games it was time to walk three blocks home to the condo.
The End.

Welcome To Paul Brown Stadium

There is nothing to describe the feeling of attending an American Football game. The size of the stadium, the amount of people and the colours of all of the supporters.
The Americans spend so much money on their stadiums and each event is like Origin x 10.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention... Kris and Julie got us club seats which are pretty top notch. They gave us accest to the club lounges and to the club seating area where we could see everything that was happening with the greatest of ease.
I cant wait to go again.
Dont the Ben-Gals look so hot in their thick parka's prrrrrrrrrrr............... Ha!!

Cincinnati Bengals- American Football

On Sunday morning Aileen and I were picked up from the condo by our friends Kris and Julie (centre photo). They invited Aileen and I to accompany them to the Bengals game as they had gotten some extra tickets for us.
They also invited us to go "Tailgating" with them. Now my first response was, "Ok, so why do we want to drive really close to the cars in front of us??" This is not what tailgating is here. Tailgating here is freaking awesome!!!.
Tailgating basically consists of a lot of people whom are attending the game, standing by the back of a few pickups with a barbeque, beers, music and a whole lot of food for a few hours prior to the start of the match. It is great!!.
These photos show Aileen, Julie, Kris and I "tailgating". The third photograph was taken by Julie's father who carefully decided that he didn't want his son-in-law in the photograph because he was dressed in the colours of the opposing team.

Christmas Train Display

On Saturday afternoon Aileen's parents came to pick us up from the condo. We went to afternoon mass followed by happy hour at a little bar called Palimino located in the town square.
After drinks Dr Aquino took us to see the model railroad display that is shown at christmas time each year in the foyer of the Duke energy centre. There will be more photos of the display to come , as I did not have my camera with me. It was also super busy which made it hard to get good shots.

Chipotle- Mexican Extravaganza

Photo 1: Wow, this thing is heavy, Blazey and Aileen weighed one in at 2lb. It looks delicious though.
Photo 2: Just......have........to......stretch......my.......mouth, ah there you go.
Photo 3: Man, this thing is so freaking good. I'm going to eat one every day!!!!

Breakfast 30-11-08

On saturday morning, 30th of November Aileen and I went for breakfast with her close friends Eric, Diana and Connor. Connor is so cute!! Although like all kids his age he is full of jumping beans and wouldnt sit still.

NEWS FLASH!! THIS JUST IN HERE ON FOX 19 NEWS!!!

Aileen and I were just minding our business the other day walking downtown when the papparazi just went nuts! Apparently they had heard that there was a new kid in town and that he was from down under or something like that. Anyway, after a mere two weeks out of the eye of the camera my cover was blown by FOX 19 News. Watch and see! (I kinda wish that I had have said "Hi Lucky!")

Friday- Jungle Jims

So Aileen and I spent another day shopping. We dont necessarily buy anything, but it is just so much fun walking around and looking at all of the amazing things that they have over here that we dont see in Australia because we dont need them. Just things like snow equipment for the home etc and crazy contraptions to make life easier.

So today we went to a place called Jungle Jims. If you picture the biggest IKEA that you have been to and then add some, you have an idea of the size of Jungle Jims. The crazy thing is that it is a supermarket!! They have a section for most countries in the world. So Aileen and I thought it would be amusing to investigate the Australian section. The photos above are what we found.

They have all of the essentials that Aussies use on a daily basis. It kind of put me at ease knowing that some home food isnt too far away. Not exactly the sausages, mashed potatoes and beans that I'm craving though Mum ;-)

Thanksgiving Lunch

After running the marathon Aileen and I headed to her parents house for Thanksgiving lunch. It is so good. The amount of food that you eat is not normal!! For me it was like a practise run at Christmas lunch. Aileen and her Mom prepared sweet potato casserole, a Filipino dish called pancet, mashed potatoes, honey baked ham, egg rolls, stuffing, fried rice and of course my favourite, Pumpkin Pie!!

New Photos Just In!!

So here are the photos that were taken of Aileen and I just before we crossed the finish line.

I am sorry that i havent posted any entries lately. I will be working on the blog tomorrow to upload the Thanksgiving lunch photos as well as some photos of Friday night out.

Then there will be photos that I took at the Bengals game that we attended on sunday.

It is amazing to go to an American ballgame. I dont think the stadiums and the atmosphere can be matched.

So there is plenty more to come. sorry that I have been slack.

J

Cincinnati Turkey Day 10km Marathon

This morning Aileen and I met Susan and her Jane out the front of the condo and walked to Paul Brown Stadium for the start of the race. Paul Brown stadium is the home of the Cincinnati Bengals. It was a beautiful morning with not a cloud in the sky. It was fairly chilly though.

As i mentioned yesterday, Aileen had designed shirts for us to wear in memory of her brother, Neal Aquino. The photo below is a group of us race goers wearing our new shirts.

After we finished the race a woman approached me and asked if I knew Neal. She had recognised him on the shirt and told us that she had attended medical school with him. It was a truely lovely experience.

To veiw the t-shirts that Aileen designed and Neals website visit http://www.nealaquino.com/.

The group of photographs above were taken during the race. we kept a fairly steady pace throughout the event. It was that cold this morning that the water that was spilled on the road from the drink checkpoints had frozen and the road was covered in ice!!

Finally we finished the race. We completed the 10km course in a time of 1 hr and 9 minutes. The final photographs are of us at the finish line. All that is left for us to do now is to go and gorge ourselves on Thanksgiving Day lunch!!!

TURKEY DAY MARATHON

The BROOKS GHOST: Professionally fitted @ Bob Ronkers Running Spot, Oakley Cincinnati OH

These bad boys are going to carry me 6 miles, or 10km tomorrow morning as Aileen and I run the Cincinnati Turkey day Marathon. I had them fitted for me today at a nice little running store in Cincinnati. Tomorrow is an early start and it should be nice and crisp in the morning. I can feel the cold air burning my lungs already!.
I will post photos of the event here later this week. We are running this race in memory of Aileens brother Neal Aquino. He ran this race every year religiously. In his memory Aileen designed t-shirts for Neals friends and family to wear whilst competing in the race. Aileen thought that she may have to have ten shirts printed..........wrong, EIGHTY people decided that they wanted a shirt to remember this fine young man.

Pumpkin Carving for my Halloween 26-11-08

After Aileen returned to America on september 7, I was trying to get myself to the states prior to Halloween. Things didnt go to plan so it turned out that i missed Halloween by few weeks. I was excited about carving a pumpkin for the first time so Joanna, Susan and Aileen organised a late halloween party for me so that i had the chance to carve a pumpkin.
Last night we all sat and drank beers and ate thai food whilst i carved this little fellow out of the side of a pumpkin.
It was so awesome, I dont know why we dont do this in Australia!

Skyline Chili- The Famous Cheese Coney 25-11-08

Ever since Dr Joanna Rosing came to visit us in Australia in June of this year I have wanted to try a cheese coney chili dog from Skyline Chili. I was told in no uncertain terms that i was not to try one at Goldstar!

So today Aileen took me to try the famous Chili dog. They are GREAT!! I will be consuming more of these I am sure.

Cincinnati OH- Day 1

After arriving in Indianapolis at 7:45pm last night, Aileen and her parents picked me up from the airport and we headed back to Cincinnati. On the way we stopped at a Casino and had a buffet dinner. It was around 11:30 by the time we got home. I fell into bed and passed out until around 9:30 this morning.

After I rose this morning we headed downtown and attended mass. It was so weird to hear it read with an American accent. We then walked across the pedestrian bridge to Newport, Kentucky.
We had lunch in an awesome pizza restaurant named Dewey's. The pizza's here are about the size of a truck tire and are absolutely loaded with topping!!.

After we gorged ourselves we went and watched the New bond film (It is amazing, all should go and see) before walking back to Cincinnati Ohio.

Tonight Aileen and I went to Visit one of her Friends, Susan Arbogast, whom I am pleased to report is a lovely young woman. She will be featured in this blog in the very near future I am sure.

So it is now 3:45am and I cannot sleep. I woke up and my stomach was rumbling. I then realised that it is because it thinks that it is dinner time. It was so weird eating pizza today at what my stomach still felt was 6am! HA! So anyway, its 3:45 and i've just polished off a Burrito and two cupcakes. I think i might go back to bed now cos i'm getting sleepy again.
I was trying to get my Mums attention so that we could skype (your not home obviously mum......when you aren't home, i'll have to teach you how to set your skype to "away" or "not online" to avoid confusion and getting ones hopes up ;-) ) but seeings how I cannot i guess i'll just have to wait until tomorrow to talk to her.

Bye for now

Trouble Free Departure- FAIL!

So I arrived at the terminal today and headed for check-in. After my farewell party last night I was feeling a little shady to say the least. Imagine my disbelief to find that the travel agent who was looking after my trip had booked my flight back to Australia 92 days after my arrival. The problem with this is that the visa waiver program only allows me entry for 90 days.
2 hours and 45 phone calls later i have changed my return flight and can now finally get that cup of coffee that i have been waiting for all morning.

I am about to set sail.
See you all there,
James

Ready, Set, Go!!!

After weeks of stressing, trying to renovate my house and pack up all of my belongings I am finally able to relax. After having an offer made on my house and contracts drawn up 6 hours before I was set to leave, things were already tight. I arrived in Newcastle on Tuesday morning to visit my family for a few days before I set off on a journey to the other side of the globe.
I hope you enjoy this blog as I travel to another land seeing new sights and embarking on new adventures.

Cheers,

James