Cincinnati, OH

I rode a Greyhound here after taking the rental car back to Pittsburgh. As we approached Cincinnati, a young black woman in the back seat was carrying on a steamy telephone conversation with her significant other. Clearly her phone had a poor signal because she kept repeating herself, and speaking ever more loudly and slowly, seemingly oblivious to the fact that everybody else could hear the whole thing. Indeed it got to the point that the whole of the rest of the bus was plunged into an awkward silence. We all listened, eyes wide and facing squarely front, while she repeated herself one barked word at a time in a steely deep-fried Southern twang. "Baby. I. Can't. Wait. To. Touch. You. And. Taste. You. What? Say what? WHAT? I said, BABY! I! CAN'T! WAIT!..." And so on.

I got off the bus at Cincinnati, but I think she was going all the way south, so to speak.

Cincinnatus was a Roman leader in the 5th century BC who was famed for renouncing the supreme office, after a string of military victories, in order to return to his farm. George Washington followed his example in 1797 and voluntarily gave up the US presidency after two terms, once the survival of the republic was assured. The two-term limit was observed informally for nearly 150 years, until the exigencies of World War Two prompted Franklin Delano Roosevelt to go all the way to a fourth term. This in turn prompted the 22nd Amendment, eventually ratified in 1951, which enshrined the two-term limit into law. And now, 65 years later, the 22nd Amendment has prevented Barack Obama from running for a third term which he probably would have won, and we have The Donald instead. It only goes to show, doesn't it? Indeed there was recently a half-hearted campaign for 'Repeal The 22nd', to which Trump supporters responded with 'Repeal The 19th'. The 19th is the one that gave women the vote.

Anyway, Cincinnati is named after Cincinnatus. (Welcome to my blog, where It's Fun To Find Out.) It's quite a nice place; it's one of those mid-sized cities that's big enough to have an impressive skyline, but small enough that you can wander around and be the only tourist in sight. One revealing comment from a local is that Cincinnati is often used in movies as the stereotypical unremarkable American city. If a character is introduced as being from DC then they're probably a politician; somebody from LA will be in movies; somebody from Texas will be an oilman. Introduce a character from Cincinnati and you have a blank slate.

Personally I will always remember Cincinnati as the place where I watched the 2016 presidential election, and I will always remember the Roebling Suspension Bridge as the place from which I contemplated throwing myself into the Ohio River as I walked home after the result became apparent. The river marks the state line: Cincinnati is in Ohio but my AirBnB is in Kentucky. These two are the 15th and 16th states I've visited so far on this trip, and there's a few more to go yet.

Downtown Cincinnati.
From the top floor observation deck of the 45-storey Carew Tower

This photo is taken from the far end of the right-hand bridge in the photo above

Cincinnati by night from the Kentucky side

Wall mural at West Court Street

Ban this filth

Edd vs Fast Food #13
Kentucky Fried Chicken
In Kentucky!!
Yay!!

Edd vs Food #43
Cincinnati chilli at Skyline
The most disappointing piece of 'local speciality cuisine' I've tried since chicken Parmo.
Basically it's grated cheese, over tinned chili, over tinned spaghetti.
I used to get served better meals than this at Hill View Junior School.

USA

Atlantic City, NJ

I've had a big long driving tour down the east coast. Day One was lunch in Rhode Island and a night in Connecticut. Day Two's drive took me to Atlantic City, which is exactly how you'd expect it to be: in other words, it's like somebody picked up Las Vegas and dropped it on top of Skegness. I think I'd find it intolerable at the height of the party season, but right now it's almost totally deserted, so I quite enjoyed my stroll up and down that boardwalk. (And not just because my big posh 18th-floor ocean-view hotel room cost me less than I paid for the Motel 6 fleapit in Connecticut the night before.)

Then south again, to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. On December 7th, 1787, the US constitution was ratified by the original 13 states. The guy from Delaware put his hand up to be the first one to sign. And thus it comes to pass that, 230 years later, Delaware licence plates proudly proclaim 'The First State'. As state mottos go, it's pretty poor compared to New Hampshire's, which is 'Live Free Or Die'.

West into Maryland and the Virginias. With my 'amateur history geek' hat on, I visited Antietam, the site of the bloodiest day in the American Civil War - and indeed in the whole of American military history. I also saw Harpers Ferry, another key Civil War battleground, and the place where John Brown's abortive slave-revolt insurrection arguably served as as the catalyst for the Civil War to begin with. That episode was memorably retold, with substantial embellishments, in a book I recently read called 'Flashman and the Angel of the Lord'. If you've never read George McDonald Fraser's Flashman books then you should give them a try. There are twelve of them and most good public libraries will have at least one in stock. They're historically informative, riotously funny, and grossly offensive. What's not to like?

This journey has given me plenty to watch out for along the way, not least the roadkill - an adult deer leaves a very big splat. Also did you know it's literally illegal to fill up your own car with petrol in New Jersey? You have to let the attendants do it. Also did you know that if you ask Google Maps to take you from Connecticut to New Jersey while avoiding toll roads, the route takes in downtown Manhattan? That was an interesting drive.

And I got pulled over by an unmarked police car on the freeway, after a slightly-too-gradual deceleration from a 65mph fast lane into a 25mph toll plaza. Not being blessed with either a winning smile or an impressive cleavage, I just gave the guy my best good-heavens-officer-I'm-so-frightfully-sorry act, the Englishman abroad and all that. He sent me on my way. It's a good job he wasn't around when I was testing out that Camaro V8 in the California desert last year...

Atlantic City.
This is the Showboat hotel and casino, where I spent a surreal but relaxing night.

The Atlantic City boardwalk, guarded by squirrels

 

Today, a few bits of property here and there.
Tomorrow...the whole country?
God help us all.

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

Antietam, Maryland

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

There are lots of rich people in Rehoboth Beach and they have some novel ways of letting it show.
Like having a postbox that's an exact scale replica of the house.

Shopping in the free world...
At Walmart.

Edd vs Food #42
Bob Evans
Unlike Denny's and Arby's and Wendy's, here we have a diner with a surname.
This is country fried steak with gravy. (Over here, gravy isn't always brown).
Plus coleslaw, mash, bread rolls and coffee.
It's not bad at all, but I prefer the slightly seedier vibe of Denny's.