My friend Tony and I spent the weekend in Cincinnati catching up with friends in town for a convention at Sharonville Convention Center. Unfortunately, the Reds were not playing, but we kept busy all weekend.
Located just 15 minutes north of downtown Cincinnati, Sharonville Convention Center is a spacious facility with 85,000 square feet of event space, built in 1994 and renovated in 2012. Hyatt Place Cincinnati is conveniently connected to it.
I visited with my friends, authors John Everson and Michael West and artist Lydia Burris. Tony met a few of his favorite celebrities, including Barbara Crampton.
Michael West
Lydia Burris
Barbara Crampton
On our stay, we had to try the legendary Skyline Chili. Highly recommended by our local friends, Skyline Chili first opened in 1949 and now has about 160 locations, mostly in Ohio. The menu is limited, because chili is the star, and it delivers as promised. Hearty, with the right amount of heat, it is perfect on its own or coupled with fries, potatoes or a salad. The staff was awesome, too, giving us first-timers a little welcome bag.
One night we checked out the statues at Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds. Former Reds standouts Johnny Bench, Ernie Lombardi, Frank Robinson and Pete Rose are immortalized in bronze by the ballpark’s main entrance.
Johnny Bench
Ernie Lombardi and Frank Robinson
Pete Rose
While some of our friends were pretty busy working the convention, we still had plenty of time together. Missing the Reds, we planned a return trip during the season to see our Chicago Cubs in the Queen City.
— John Wroblewski, online writer
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