Clifty Falls

We arrived at the Clifty Falls State Park in Madison, Indiana about 12:30 AM on Saturday, for the three-day weekend. It was a dark drive, and one of the first real long drives of sorts in the new car. We got everything unloaded from the car into the hotel and were asleep rather quickly. It was really dark, we were tired, and all I knew what there was a giant pillar of smoke behind the hotel. (I looked it up, it was probably steam, the building being the powerplant for the area.)

A downside of getting there so late was that we didn't make it out for snacks on the way there. That is actually one of our big things for traveling, we get snacks and such once we know if there is a minifridge or not. We haven't gotten brave enough to try using Amazon grocery delivery yet, but hey. Our last two trips to Carmel had us a few blocks from Meijer. It was an easy drive there with the food, and across from a few restaurants. Both of our trips to New Orleans had us shopping at Rouses near the hotels. Ironically, Meijer in Carmel was closer than Rouses, but we didn't use a car in NOLA. Carrying a half case of water half of a mile to a hotel was not the best of plans...

We managed to eat at the buffet the first morning there, which I wasn't very happy with. The meat was cold, but I ate a lot. Enough that I hardly had room for dinner, for what that was worth. We did hit Walmart though, which would get us snacks and breakfast for the rest of the week. We got some exploring done, but not as much as we would like. A short hike on Saturday got us some great views of the town and the powerplant. I forgot my hiking sticks, which would have been great for the terrain.

To be fair, most trails that are near me are a lot flatter than Clifty Falls has. It had some great flat areas, but there were a lot more steep areas than I expected. I had planned a second hike originally, but I ended up skipping that when the snow started. I'm not sure if I had the right gear for that, and I wanted to use my camera. I don't know if that was the best decision, but I made it. 

On our last day there, while it wasn't showing, I struggled to decide between hiking and trying to trail run. I know there was a flat trail (according to the park) near the hotel, but I had some doubts, and with being trails and some fresh snow, I instead hiked back to the south entrance which was a long walk down a rather steep hill. Actually, the hike down wasn't bad. The walk back up the hill was the hard part. 

I don't know if I would want to stay at the inn again, at least not in winter. I didn't actually get around to seeing the waterfall the park is named for, but I also missed out on the railroad tunnel, which is closed until later in spring due to hibernating bats. I might need to make another trip out this way again, but I still have a lot of Ohio parks to catch up on. 

Halestorm / Evanescence

We finally made it to the concert on Jan 14th, which was rather lucky, as a snowstorm came in a few days later, canceling their Pennsylvania show. Since this was a bit worse for timing than the original December date, being after work instead of on a Sunday. Of course, this became a day I was up an extra hour early, for no good reason. Ironically, my wife's job shut down that day due to staffing issues, so she didn't have to go in. This actually made things a little easier, since we had a long weekend trip planned before the concert was rescheduled. I was really happy to have gotten my favorite coat back that same day we were to leave, but a cover for my car so luggage and such wouldn't be visible failed to show up as scheduled. (It was due to be in on Friday, but did not arrive in time.)

After I was done at work, I actually made great time getting back home to pick up my wife, got the car loaded, covered the gear with my Flying Pig blanket, and we headed south. We probably should have stopped for diner, but where is the fun in that?

We got a great spot in the parking garage next to the Heritage Bank Center for $20, and about the time the doors were set to open, we headed up. I probably should have had my coat on me for that, since we ended up standing outside in the dropping temperatures for a good 20 minutes, and I did not have my warmest kilt on. Or a jacket. I debated buying a hoodie from one of the merchandise scalpers that were walking around the lines, with handheld card readers for ease. It wound up that the shirts they were selling were not actually inside the area at all, there were no shirts other than the scalpers with both of the headlining bands listed. We actually were a bit disappointed in that.

Finally, as the line sort of moved a few feet, we found out that our floor seat tickets meant we were on the wrong side of the building. This meant a quick trip around the building, and after they checked our Covid status and ID, we were in the warmth of the building. We found the merchandise windows and looked over the gear. The shirts were easily double the price of the outdoor hawkers, at $40 each, and $70 for hoodies. Initially, we got a shirt for Evanescence and headed to our seats. It was a long way down, being on the floor, but it was not too bad.

I headed back up to get snacks, and I found a few different things. More than I could carry, and I knew that Garmin was going to give me my stair climbing goal that day. For the first trip, I got a Lilith Czar hoodie for myself, and two soft pretzels. The second trip up was for two drinks in Tiki cups. They were amusing, but it probably was a bit cold for frozen drinks. Not that I was going to let it stop me from getting a Tiki cup. I got back to our seats, and my wife mentioned a bag she saw someone else have from the vendors to hold stuff. Once more onto the breach, this time I ended up buying an overpriced Halestorm tote bag. (I would discover later that the hoodie has the ♀ sign on the hood. I wouldn't have bought it had I seen that. Wearing that with a kilt could send some mixed messages.)

Eventually, the show began, the opener being Lilith Czar. She did a few songs, and I had heard a bit of her stuff on Spotify before the original tour date was postponed. She did a few songs, then Halestorm got set up. We were more familiar with their music, We stood up for most of their songs, and noticed our feet were getting cold. Really cold. Once we were standing, and not in the temporary seating that they put on the floor, was realized that ice for the hockey rink was still on the floor, under the wooden floor they placed for the concert. And that ice was a lot colder when standing.

There was a short intermission that followed, as they rebuilt the stage, transforming it between the two headliners. It was rather impressive, and soon the show continued.

I wouldn't be able to say what my favorite part of the show was, they weren't my favorite artist per se, but I enjoyed the music. It was interesting the times the other headliner would come out and have both of them singing together, It was also interesting when the artist encouraged people to use the lights on their phones like previous generations used lighters. Thousands of cell phone flashlights lit the area surprisingly well.

Once it was over, we began what felt like a long drive to the hotel we had booked in Indiana. It was about the same drive time from the concert to the hotel as it would have been to go home, but I hate to say, we really wished we had more to eat than a soft pretzel.

Car Shopping and Wine

Replacing my car has been a goal for quite a while now. I've had issues with Kia, and after finally getting the radio replaced after two years, which was part of a separate shitshow, I was done with them. Almost done, actually. I gave them a second chance in November, with an upgraded version of my Niro they had set for delivery. After work, I stopped at the dealership the day it was delivered, and we began the process. However, the numbers all came back a lot higher than expected. I walked away from the dealership after two hours, finding out a few days later that they had raised the price of the car by $3000. They ran the credit checks without telling me about the drastic price change. They didn't care that I caught them, so I knew I was done with the local Kia dealer.

Then, just as the year came to an end, I saw two Nissan Kicks listed in Indiana, about an hour away. It was funny, because they had two that appeared identical, but was about a $500 difference in price. I finally figured out why, and it was because one of the models lacked a spoiler. A quick check with Saris showed me that my old Bones rack that I hadn't been able to use since I traded in my Blazer about 4 years ago was able to be used on the Kicks, but only without the spoiler. The lack of a spoiler was a huge benefit, so my wife and I got in the Kia, and headed to Indiana. 

The dealership happened to be part of the same company that sold us the Kia in the first place, which had been great to deal with, but they were two hours away. It helped a bit with trade-in, getting a better offer than the local Kia dealer made, and we were offered lower payments and a lower interest rate. We even were able to use the refund of the Gap coverage as a down payment. I did take a hit on fuel economy, but it is a much nicer ride. It doesn't center in the lane, but it has better safety features and a remote starter. It reminds me a lot of the Jeep Renegade I used to have, which I don't miss nearly as much now. 

Since we had the day largely filled, with going to look at the car, and with the previous experience of the process not working out, we planned to hit a winery or two on the way home. Time-wise though, we only had time for one, and we went with the Olde Schoolhouse Vineyard and Winery near Eaton, OH. Somewhat obviously, it was an old one-room schoolhouse converted into a winery. I got a cider flite, and my wife got a wine flight. There were some really good ciders in the flite, and my wife took interest in one seasonal wine that tasted like cotton candy.  (It was called Circ Ass, but I couldn't find it on the website.) We brought a bottle home, and I think she would have been happy had we picked up two bottles instead. 

An interesting thing is that the winery is part of the Darke County Whiskey, Wine, & Ale Trail, which I found amusing since it is actually in Preble County. I think another one of the locations is in Miami County, for what that is worth.  Aside from The Winery at Versailles, we haven't been to any of them before. (We have had products from a few of the others though.) We will need to stop in Versailles sometime and get the booklet we got stamped. I don't know which location will actually be next, but the Olde Schoolhouse was a nice surprise. 

Postponed Concert

It has been a long 4 months, the job hunt had a few ups and downs, but nothing permanent yet. I fell behind in the blog, again, and with so many things. In early December, we were supposed to go to the Evanenscense / Halestorm concert in Cincy, but it got canceled at the last minute. (Actually, about an hour before we were to leave. Close enough. The official email was less than 90 minutes before the doors were set to open.) Now, I already paid $235 for the night at the hotel, and it was too late to cancel, so off to Cincinnati we went. 

We arrived about when we had expected, and checked into the AC Hotel. I know I may have paid a bit extra for a river view, but it was more of Moerlein Lager House. I mean, sure, we were a few stories over it, but that was the main thing it felt like we could see from the hotel room.

We went for a quick walk around the stadiums, curious how many people missed the memo. There were a few, though what really caught our attention was a group that came from the parking lot, with signs and wigs and so on, who were upset that it was canceled. They stated they drove two hours just to be sure because they didn't really believe it when they got the email. 

We doubled back to Moerlein Lager House for dinner, which was nice since we never got to go there during the Flying Pig. It was pretty good, and it wasn't too crowded. Though, to be fair, there was a home Bengals game, just a few hundred yards away. 

We then made our way up to another interesting place down in the Banks district, titled rather logically as Fishbowl at the Banks. We sat inside for a few minutes before making our way to an igloo they had outside. We had that space to ourselves for a while, before two women joined us, carrying four jello-shots in syringes. They were also there for the postponed concert, and they handed both of us one of the jello shots. (We looked, but even with the Fishbowl logo on them, we didn't see them on the menu. They were good though.)

After some time in the igloo, we headed back to the hotel. It was a shame that we both had to work the next day, but that was part of why we had the hotel in the first place. I was still a little groggy on my way back to work, but having to drop my wife off at work on the way meant an early start for me.