New Orleans Lady

Great pics BallHatGuy. I bet it was a nice, intimate gathering instead of like last year's one. I went to the Cinncinnati zoo on Mother's day and thought of all of you who I met last year. I saw the baby Rhino....it was so cute. Speaking of a baby, the reason I haven't posted here or been on this site in months is because I'm four months pregnant. So I've been a little preoccupied. But life is wonderful. I have family coming to visit again the weekends of June 9-10 and June 16-17 which brought me to look at urbanohio again to see what events are taking place and get people's comments on it. Well take care of yourself, New Orleans Lady

Quote from Billy@MostMetro: I guess my favorite points of interest were: (1) Seeing University Rowe and hearing about architect Olmsted. I enjoyed seeing his crazy grid lines and no uniformity. (2) Seeing Woodlawn Cemetary and hearing about the glaciers that once were in the area. (3) Doing a lifestyles of the rich in Dayton" driving tour. We saw Martin Sheen's house, Rob Lowe's house, and former homes of Rick James, Prince, and more. Other highlights was a downtown walking tour, North Dayton Jewish and German influences, Bosnian area near Woodlawn, etc. etc. etc. It was all interesting and ColDayMan captivates you with his endless knowledge on the area. He is really great. I don't think he does regular organized tours. You just let him know that you want him to take you on a tour and he'll look at his schedule and let you know if and when he can. He drives in from Columbus just to give you a tour of Dayton. To thank him, we gave him a donation to the Urbanohio site and also fed him some Graters ice cream. :)

On Sunday, I took the ColDayMan Dayton tour along with my husband and my parents. It was awesome! I told him he just needed to give us a 2 hour overview. The tour was about four hours long and we still didn't cover everything. I've lived in Dayton for almost a year now and have never been to the areas and places that he took us. It was an awesome tour! Thanks so much ColDayMan! You really know your stuff. We all learned so much about the city, its history, architecture, and people. The thing that impressed me most when I stumbled upon this website and forum was the passion and excitement that you people have for the cities in which you live. That passion becomes contagious to me too. I wish I had pictures to post but I was just taking it all in and listening instead of snapping photos. On Friday, we all take the BallHatGuy lunch tour of Cincinnati. BallHatGuy, will you be showing us Mount Adams? ColDayMan insists that you take us there or that we go there before we leave the city. Thanks again ColDayMan. My parents, husband, and I all really enjoyed it. We got more than we hoped for actually :).

Please stop the comparisons. My mother-n-law is a registered nurse, not a registered idiot.

Here's a few photos from the visit we just had with my mother-n-law. Now that we have a house (not just an apartment), visitors are waiting their turn to see us and stay with us. My husband's mom came for a long weekend and we crammed quite a bit into that weekend with her..... pumpkin patches, carving contests, a visit to a haunted village, a trip to Yellow Springs, a day shopping at Traders World then Jungle Jims. Whew, I'm exhausted. Not much time to rest though, since my parents arrive this Friday for an eight-day visit. Anyhow, Happy Autumn and enjoy the pictures! This is a pumpkin patch in Springboro, not far from our house (off Rt. 73) You can't miss all the pumpkins and this quaint old house behind it. My mother-n-law is a lot of fun and very silly. Check her out here: She and I pose in front of the pumpkin carriage. It was very windy - look at the hair in our face! We got over 30 pounds of pumpkin combined and had our carving contest. Mine is the cute one in the middle. My husband and his mom tried to make theirs scary-looking: They all look scary with the lights out though! We all love silly pictures! ************************************************************************ At the Haunted village in Sharonville (Sharon Woods) Here we pose with Ichabod Crane: Then with the headless horseman who was horsing around with me: A witch at one of the cottages told goblin and ghost stories: (There was also Edgar Allen Poe reciting the raven poem, hayrides, and roasted peanuts - fun for the whole family!) That's all I feel like posting now. I'll leave you with my holiday greeting card photo of my family: Happy Autumn to you!

Thanks, actually I think that BallHatGuy is going to take time out of his busy schedule to give a lunchtime tour to my folks and me on Friday, Nov. 4th. If he can't, then he's going to give me some suggestions as to how I can get around and show them a few highlights. They are leaving the next day so they want to keep it fairly light - about 3 hours or less. They have a jam-packed week of activities scheduled. I'm jealous since they will be going to places in Ohio that I haven't been to yet. I'll live vicariously through them and their photos.

I think that coffee shop is a Boston Stoker - yuk! Yeah, I'm in Springboro. North Park is practically my backyard. It's great. I see rabbits and squirrels all the time. My neighbors tell me to get ready to see lots of deer too with Easton Farms so closeby.

do I detect some sellout sarcasm in your tone? Yeah, I know I'm a sellout cuz I live in the burbs! I can't help it - I love my home and neighborhood.

I assume you are referring to the drive from Louisiana....it's about 900 miles from my parents' house to my house. They are stopping a little more than half-way to spend the night, somewhere in Tennessee I believe.

Are there any daytime tours of the Cincinnati area? I know about the Architraks tour but that is only on the weekends (Thanks Ballhatguy for the information). My parents are visiting us October 28 - November 4. They are driving up from Louisiana and will be looking for activities to do during the day while my husband and I work. I've given them a lot of suggestions to do around the Dayton and north of Dayton area (Young's, Yellow Springs Bike Trail, Ohio Caverns and Piatt castles in West Liberty, plus ColDayMan will be giving us a Dayton tour hopefully). But I want my parents to see Cincinnati and the wonderful things I saw on my tour.....Carew Tower, Stadiums, cool houses in the hills, Graeters, etc. etc. Is there another tour group that offers day-time tours of the Cincy area? My parents would be willing to pay for the tour. The best days for them would be October 31, or November 1, 2, or 3, probably between 10 am and 2pm. Do you know of any private tour guide or group that would fit that type of schedule? Like I said, my parents will pay for it. I know my dad will really enjoying seeing glimpses of the stadiums and the riverfront. I appreciate any help or suggestions you can give me. I always have to play "tour guide" and "travel agent" to my family when they visit us and I'm still learning myself. I wish the weekend would work out but we have other plans during the weekends with them. Let me know if you have any suggestions. My parents will have a GPS so they will get around okay, but i don't want to send them into Cincinnati with no knowledge of the history or architecture. It's always so much better if you have a guide to point things out to you. Columbus and Clevelanders, don't feel left out. They want to see your cities too but will have less time there to visit. I think they want to do the real touristy things there like see the Columbus zoo and aquarium, then the Rock'n'roll museum in Cleveland. I've also made a reservation at the Dayton spaghetti warehouse for us all to see the October mystery dinner theatre. I've never been to one of those interactive mystery plays before. It might be cheesy or it might be really fun. This one is about ghosts and Halloween stuff. (On another note, It's good to be back here reading and posting again. I disappeared for awhile when we moved and were getting settled into our house. But that is finally calmed down and the boxes are all gone. We love our new home and neighborhood. I'm really enjoying watching all my backyard trees change colors.)

I really like Tim Horton's coffee. You are right - they are all over Dayton. I used to stop at the one on 741 (Morraine/W.Carrollton) on my way to work at least once or twice a week. I'd pick them over Boston Stoker and Starbucks anyday, plus they are cheaper. In the Dayton area, there is no real mom and pop coffee place. In Naw'lins, there was tons of locally owned coffee joints that were all good. I miss that. I miss my beignets and I miss Community Coffee (CC's) and chicory. But Tim Horton's will do for now. The Coffee Beanery is okay too, but that's yet another chain too. If you know a locally owned, not chain good coffee place in the Dayton/Springboro area, please let me know.

I figured it was a long shot but I would ask anyway. If anything changes or if you hear someone who is selling their tickets for this particular game, just let me know. I think my mom would be willing to pay about $150 per ticket. Thanks!

Do you know anyone who has 2 or 4 tickets for sale for the Bengals game on October 29, 2006? My father is coming to visit and he's never seen a professional football game before (we don't count the New Orleans Saints as a real team). My mom wants to surprise him with tickets. I told her games actually sell out here in Ohio, not like in New Orleans. But anyway, I figured I would ask in this forum. If you or someone you know has some (even in the nose-bleed section), please let me know. Send me a personal message. Thanks!

Thanks, he's been a real joy. Quote from Rob: That's exactly my point. They are lovable, smart, easy to train, good around other people, kids, and pets. And for me, the perfect size. I mean I love Labs and Golden retrievers but I watch my neighbors get whiplash from those big dogs all the time. Since I'm only 5' 2", I figured I should stick with a smaller size dog.

I just got a dog a week and a half ago. I have never had a dog before. Yes, I know, isn't that sad! I will be 28 years old in two weeks and I have never owned a pet before (my parents never allowed it and I never had the means to get one or take care of one until now). So I finally got the dog I always wanted....a Sheltie. His name is Bono (yes, like the U2 singer). He is six months old, already house-broken, and crate trained. He has a great personality and loves to play. So far the chewing hasn't been too bad. I imagine this is what having a toddler is like - making sure they potty trained and picking up all the toys after him. Any advice for a first-time dog owner? I just adore him. Here he is below: he is sitting next to my husband's hairy leg, not mine! Isn't he adorable? Sorry if this is cheezy, but I'm a proud mom!

To be perfectly honest, my husband and i didn't go much into the city. Our time there was limited with visiting family who mostly live in the suburbs. The thing I noticed more than anything is that nearly every home has a FEMA trailer in front of it and that progress seems very slow. If you want to know more, you can send me a personal message. Thanks. Oh my gosh - it was so incredible. Everyone should try them. Amen brother! That was so cool to watch. One table ordered four of them and the waiter lit them all in a row. That was some serious flames! I wonder how they deal with smoke detectors there.

Thanks all! It was a fun time - just wish I could have done more but i was there primarily for business. I was only able to finish one and a half slices of that deep dish pizza. Luckily, another girl was there to help me eat it and she took home the leftovers. Hey PigBoy, I thought about you as I saw the Wisconsin sign. My GPS got a little thrown off with all the construction in downtown Chicago so for a few minutes I was heading toward Wisconsin unintentionally but i found my way back to the hotel I was staying. Thank goodness I missed most of the rain and storms there although I did drive back to Dayton in quite a bit of rain. Like I said, I hope to go back and really see more of this great city.

Well, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth but I have been busy traveling for work, took a vacation back to Louisiana, and adopted a dog over the past month. Busy, busy this summer! However, I did make time to take some photos in Chicago while I went there for a meeting last week. It was my first time there and I just loved it! I wish I had time to do more than a quick city and park tour. The city was beautiful, clean, with breathtaking views. And the food was incredible! I definitely want to go back there and do the city right in a future trip. Anyhow, here are some of the highlights: A few views of Chicago streets and skyscrapers I couldn't get a good shot of the Sears tower, but here's what I did get: Skyline of the Windy City Famous Bean Sculpture with skyline in back: Looking into the Bean, here is my reflection and the city: Chicago Art Institute (blurry picture) Some famous water tower that survived a great flood Outside of Oprah Winfrey's Studio (I had to pass here for my mom - she loves the Oprah Show) Channel 7 News Studio in downtown LET'S TALK ABOUT FOOD NOW! A visit to Greektown: Greek's famous flaming cheese appetizer - can you say OPA! the end result A Brazilian steakhouse place - I have never been to anything like this. You get colored coasters - green on one side and red on the other. Green for Go - meaning come by and offer me all your skewered meat (filet mignon, pork, chicken, etc. etc.) Red for stop my plate is full or I can't possibly eat another bite. It was a meat lovers (or Atkins diet lovers) dream come true Then you can't visit Chicago without trying their deep dish style pizza. I was referred to this famous chain there. It was mmm, mmm, good: Can you say big? My favorite part of the visit - Millennium Park The park's outdoor ampitheatre Crown Fountain where Chicago people's faces are on these great gems. Every few minutes or so, the mouths of these Chicagoans open and water sprays the fountain's inhibitants, mostly kids looking to be cooled off in the summer heat. I love these shots! BELOW IS MY FAVORITE PHOTO I TOOK - I'M SENDING THIS IN TO PARADE MAGAZINE IN HOPES THAT THEY PRINT IT that completes my tour - told you it was short! Hope you enjoyed it. I hope you're all having a great summer! I know I am. Sincerely, New Orleans Lady

I love the shots of that large tower lit up at night - beautiful. Nice job! ColDayMan, I see what you mean when you said at the Cincinnati meet about Columbus being a "younger" city. It shows in the pictures. I bet it is a great place for singles, young dreamers, etc. Whereas Dayton and Cincinnati seem more family-oriented infused with cultural history. Maybe I'll make the meet next year, although I will have to work my way up to walking 8 miles in one day.

These are great, thanks a bunch for sharing. I have read quite a few Neil Simon plays and this made me think of his life and his roots. I hope I get the opportunity to visit here and other places in NY someday.

Such vibrant colors - it almost looks like the photos were washed by Willy Wonka (and I am the oompa-loompa eating the ice cream!) Beautifully done, as I knew they would be. Every time I turned around you were Mr. Kodak snapping away another shot. It's great to see everyone's pictures and the different angles and perspectives that you all captured. I have seen several of the same buildings or scene posted now, but each shot is from a different viewpoint making it new all over again. You should be proud! I can't wait to see everyone else's pictures too. I know Monte's will be brilliant as well.

"What I like best about this forum are its people And the knowledge and details that they give And the passion that you all have For the cities in which you live." -A New Orleans Lady original poem --------------------------------------------------------------- It takes courage to show the face behind the screen name. Thanks to all of you yesterday who showed yours. I enjoyed meeting all of you.

It looks like I will be going solo - my husband is home sick today. I'm starting to feel feeling my throat getting scratchy today too..... but I still plan to be there tomorrow. -New Orleans Lady (Mandy)

I intend to be there unless the weather is really bad. So count me in for two people- myself plus my husband, (I hope that's okay. He just mentioned today that he wants to come. He works in the I.T. industry as a Firewall/Network Security Administrator so I figure he'll fit right in with you geeks and nerds)! :wink:

Thanks PigBoy for the great directions and picture of the building. I needed some real details and you provided them. (I didn't even know what the Carew Tower was. I wasn't kidding when I said I know NOTHING about Cincinnati). I haven't been to Cincinnati since I moved here; I simply drove through it and waved from the Budget truck on our way in to Dayton. Thanks XUMelanie for the parking tip and for your other message. I look forward to meeting you. To Magyar, I am a unique breed and quite opposite from most of your stereotypical Louisiana folks. I don't even have much of an accent. Being that you live there now, I'm sure you realize that not every person or place is like Adam Sandler's "WaterBoy" movie, ya know. There are some intelligent people there. I like to think I am one of them. The "coonass" in me does come out, but only when I want it to. If you are at this gathering and you meet me, you will see. I hope the weather on the 20th is like today's weather....just beautiful!