Valentine’s Day was on a Friday this year. And as much as Valentines Day is a great excuse to go out to eat, we knew that everybody and their brother would also be out to eat. Plus, Theo taught Tae Kwon Do until 8…so we just decided to stay in and make some pizza together. Theo did mention, however, that he would still like to take me out somewhere nice sometime soon.
On Thursday, I went to work and ended up needing to be there a little later than expected. I finally got out to my car, and there was Theo, sitting in his car next to mine. What a suprise! He told me to get in, so I did. Along we go down the road, me asking all sorts of questions about where we were going. Of course, he wouldn’t answer any of them, or would give me answers that led me astray. So, let’s just say I didn’t believe anything he said! He did say, however, that it would be about an hours drive.
About 40 minutes into the drive, I realized that I had to pee. Now, when a human being has to go pee, it can get pretty bad. But when a PREGNANT human being has to pee, it is BAD. I said I could hold it for 20 more minutes, and Theo finally told me that we actually had a reservation and were running a little late, so it would be BEST if I could wait until we got there. Of course, he was willing to stop, but I told him to keep going.
Then we hit traffic. Like, the exit was 1 mile away and it took us 10 minutes to get there.
Theo then told me where we were going, and I was thrilled: a restaurant called The PrimaVista, with an amazing view of the Cincinnati skyline, plus food that is pricey per plate, but made with fancy ingredients like lobster oil and garlic butter for our bread.
We got through traffic, and then we hit construction, which confused the GPS and got us slightly lost. Now, I know that the term ‘ghetto’ is not the kindest, and I don’t mean to sound rude…but different parts of town are just…different. And we were lost in a part of town that was rowhouses next to abandoned rowhouses, next to rowhouses in the same condition but still inhabited, next to empty lots, next to the river. To be honest….it was the ghetto. And I had to pee.
All I can say is…Thank the Lord for abandoned lots. I told Theo I had peed in much worse places in my lifetime, and NOW we could get to our dinner reservation.
We finally made it to the restaurant, and we began to read the menu: it was like reading the menu in another country. What is that?
Theo wanted to go for the unique, so he got a fancy fish with lobster and lobster butter over green beans. I got spaghetti and veal meatballs (surprise, surprise). I did eat a bunch of Theo’s fish, and some lobster, too.
We were seated next to a louder group of middle aged, upper class people whose entire conversation revolved around things I’ve only heard rich people talk about in movies. Donating to social clubs. So-and-so’s son who got addicted to drugs. Riding their horses with Western or English saddles, and (oh the horror!), someone they had heard of that had chickens IN.THEIR.BACKYARD. And they lived on (*gasp*) only an acre!
Theo and I almost laughed out loud. Our backyard is probably 1/4 of an acre. And we have chickens. We were sooo entertained by the ‘rich people’ and the view, and dinner was served quickly and was delicious. It was wonderful.
About halfway through dinner, a huge FLASH went through the room. I thought someone had taken a picture, but then the thunder rumbled and we realized it was a thunderstorm. There wasn’t too much thunder and lightening after that, but it was cool to watch a thunderstorm roll in over the city.
We left dinner and decided that it would be fun to get some ice cream in the city. We rarely make it into a city, so we wanted to walk around. It was the warmest day of the year so far, and we couldn’t pass that up, even despite the rain. I plugged an ice cream place into the GPS, and away we went, weaving through the city traffic and looking at the sights like the country kids that we are. We couldn’t find an ice cream place. But we saw signs for a casino, and looked at each other and said: Let’s go!
So away we go to a brand new casino that had just been built. Neither of us have ever been to a casino, so we were wide-eyed and had plenty of things to look at. We didn’t play any slots or tables, but Theo stopped me at every table and explained things:
“That’s 21. That’s a roulette table. That’s poker. That guy is bluffing.”
I didn’t know if I would get in trouble for taking pictures, so I snapped this one at my hip without looking. I actually love how it turned out, because it captures the lights and sounds perfectly.
And in case you have never been in a casino: it’s just like the movies. It’s loud. It’s bright and flashy, but actually not overwhelming. There is a camera everywhere you look. There are people of all ages, sizes and wearing all types of different things. Most people looked like they just got off work and stopped by the casino for the evening. There is no windows, no clocks. The time just freezes (or flies, really!) when you walk in.
We walked around, stopped and watched a few games at a few tables, sat down at a slot machine…and then left. By this time the thunderstorm was fully underway, and I loved driving home half-asleep, listening to the sound of rain on the windshield and under the tires.
What a wonderful night!
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