King's Island Halloween Haunt

I love going to King's Island……when there aren't long lines or big crowds.  I love to ride the roller coasters and eat funnel cake and just plain enjoy myself.  However, I tend to avoid it during summer due to the heat and what I assume are massive crowds.  Waiting in line for 2 hours just doesn't sound fun to me.

Long lines can mostly be avoided if you visit during King’s Island Halloween Haunt.  They have most of the roller coasters and rides open, plus, they feature multiple haunted houses and ghouls circulating all over the park.

As we walked through the metal detectors and waited to get our admission tickets scanned, ghouls of all shapes and sizes surrounded us and began scaring the daylights out of the crowd.  We went on opening night and these scary folks were ready to go!

While there were a lot of people waiting to get in when the park opened, there were not long lines for most of the rides.  We were able to walk right on to several of the rides and many others only ran through a time or two before it was our turn.  Some of the newer rides had lines, but we only waited about 30 minutes for them.  Towards the beginning and end of the evening we experienced the shortest wait times.

I’ll divide the rest of my review into four sections: Haunts, Rides, Attractions, and Food.

Haunts:

Mysteria is described on King’s Islands web site as the following:
“Get ready to enter a new dimension where nothing is as it appears.  In the world of Mysteria, your senses will never be the same!  Enter at your own peril!”

Mysteria was by far the strangest haunted house I’ve ever gone through.  The actors were dressed in full body spandex suits, face and all.  It was indoors with a chain link maze from one end to the other.   The actors made weird movements and peered at you through their costumes but made little to no sounds.  As it would be difficult to see all the features at King’s Island during their open hours, I would recommend that you not add Mysteria to your ‘Must See’ list.

My favorite haunt by far was the “Tombstone Terror-tory.”  This incorporates the train that takes you between the water park area and the roller coasters during the normal park season.

“Covered bridges and foggy terrain disguise the evil that lurks in every direction as you travel aboard a midnight train.  But don’t be alarmed.  We guarantee you’ll make it to your final destination!”

According to a few King’s Island enthusiast friends of mine, “The train gets hijacked every year!”  However, I’d never gone on it and it was a complete surprise to me when the train stopped in the dark scary woods.  Then, hijacking ghosts boarded the train and ordered everybody off.  My boyfriend wasn’t moving fast enough, so I literally jumped over him in his seat to get off the train.

After they scared us off the train, we followed a wooden bridge trail back to the main park.  Of course there were monsters around every bend, which was to be expected.  However, a couple of them still managed to scare me quite well.

We didn’t get to go through many of the haunted houses because I was more interested in the rides.  If we have a chance to go back this year, I’d really like to check out Urgent Scare and Holiday Horror.

Rides:

My boyfriend says that I am brave until I am on a roller coaster.  I tend to do a decent bit of screaming.  We rode a lot of the rides and it was very much fun.

Windseeker is one of the newer rides at King’s Island.  It is a classic swing in a circle ride, but it goes very high up in the air and twirls you around.  It offered a wonderful view of the park and was quite romantic.  Don’t expect to get a smooch on this ride, however, because you are very securely belted in.  Just hold hands instead.

The Beast is my favorite if I find myself at King’s Island after night falls.  It goes into a dark corner of the park and is absolutely terrifying.  I screamed so loud on The Beast that the people behind us were laughing.  Behind us?  Yes.  The line for the ride was so short, we waited a few extra minutes to sit in the very front seat on The Beast.  Well worth it!

Firehawk makes you feel like superman.  You end up going through this ride on your belly.  It was quite fun, but was the first coaster I’ve ever ridden while wearing glasses (I was preparing to get tested for LASIK), and I was terrified they would fall off!

Attractions:

My boyfriend loves wrestling and was excited to hear that King’s Island was hosting the Half Pint Brawlers, a wrestling troupe made up of little people.

This was by far one of the worst shows I’ve ever seen.  The fellow they picked to MC the pre-show droned on and on like an automatic tape player and was completely unable to engage the audience.
I was horrified when the brawlers walked into the ring with staple guns and proceeded to request dollar bills from the audience to staple to each other.

The MC kept saying, “Are you ready to see a midget bleed?”  I was not prepared for that, especially if the bleeding was going to be initiated with a staple gun instead of a wrestling match.  Call me old fashioned…
We didn’t stay at Half Pint Brawlers show for very long and I would be surprised if King’s Island invites these fellows back for another year.

Food:

We got a couple Five Guys Burgers and ate in the car on our way to King’s Island.  This was a cost effective idea and served us well.  We had a funnel cake as a late night snack, and then got some apple cider and hot chocolate at their Starbucks to drink on our way home.  I needed a hot drink to soothe my throat after all the screaming I did.

Summary:

We had an amazing time at King’s Island and I can’t wait to go back next Halloween.  We got there before it opened and stayed until the park closed and they played a recording that said, “Get out!”  You should do your best to make it there for Halloween Haunt.

Queen City is Haunted Walking Tour

My boyfriend recently surprised me with tickets to the Queen City is Haunted Walking Tour, which he scored through Groupon.  The tour departs from Cincy Haus in the gateway district downtown and is run by American Legacy Tours. 

"The Queen City is Haunted Walking Tour uncovers disturbing tales buried deep within Cincinnati’s storied past. Follow your expert guides to discover stories of ghastly murders and gruesome deaths. Linger with us in the halls of an archaic building teeming with paranormal activity, and walk the grounds where human remains have been recently unearthed. Learn about Cincinnati's Murder College, the ghosts of Music Hall, and the Tri-State's most prolific killer. Join us on Fridays and Saturdays in October to experience the chills and thrills of one of America’s most haunted cities."

Before the tour started, we stopped in Venice on Vine for a quick bite to eat.  I've been wanting to try it for a while and was happy we were finally getting the opportunity.  We split a delicious sausage hoagy.  I'm not sure if the level of deliciousness was warranted or if my taste buds were just happy to finally be fed!  We will make a return trip in the future and compare for a full review.

After we checked in at Cincy Haus, the tour headed a few doors down for a quick introduction and overview of what to expect during the tour.  Here is a photo showing you how many people were in the tour group:

I am guessing that they usually have much smaller groups and that this one was large because of the Groupon.  I was worried that I wouldn't be able to hear the guide's speaking, but they had absolutely no problem speaking loud enough for everyone to hear.

We made a number of stops to hear scary tales.  I didn't include all of the pictures here because you need a reason to go on the tour yourself!  Here are a few of my favorites.

The photo below was taken outside Memorial Hall, where the wreath that lay on Abraham Lincoln's grave is displayed.  One of the tour guides had a personal ghostly experience inside Memorial Hall and eagerly told us all about it.

My favorite stop on the tour was an unexpected surprise: 1313 Vine Street, the old Warehouse night club.  I frequented The Warehouse when I was younger.  Here is a description I found from a Cincinnati Enquirer article written in 2001, which sums up the atmosphere pretty well:

"An underground dance club to satisfy the angst-filled souls of the inner city, The Warehouse resounds with techno beats.  Music ranges from retro alternative to industrial, paired with throbbing dark surroundings."

In the photo above, you are in the front of the club looking back.  The bathrooms were through the doorway to your left.  If you went straight back from where I was standing, the rest of the area was a dance floor, dj booth, and bar.

I'd never seen the upstairs.  I'd heard rumors about the staff keeping a mattress up there for nights when their shifts ran too late to go home, but I never wandered up there myself.  I wish I had.  Look at this!

According to the tour guides, this is the only remaining indoor bier garten in the city.  The painting on the wall panels is not original.  The area was used for a movie filmed here in the 1980's, which I believe was called A Rage in Harlem.

 Notice the inexplicable circles of light in the photo?  These are called 'orbs' and are considered by some to be glimpses into the paranormal.  Others consider them to be particles of dust in the air caught by the flash of the camera.  I'm not sure what to think, as I tend to find them in spooky areas that are coincidentally quite dusty.

As a side note.  This was a night time haunted tour, which makes the photos dark.  If you're interested in seeing pictures of this area in the daytime in additional detail, click here and look through the photos.  They are pretty cool.

Here is another photograph in the second floor where you see a larger orb.

The photograph below is looking up at the ceiling over the bier garten, where there are many orbs.



























My favorite shot of the night was done in Sepia.  This woman is standing on the main stairway that leads from the first floor into the second floor.  You can see that the building is in pretty rough shape.  The door on the left is a closet.  I don't recall what was is in the other door. 

We had a great time on the tour and are planning to head back before the month is over to check out the Newport is Haunted Tour, which features talk of a decapitation!  Can't wait!

Fat Cat!

Look at my adorable cat!

Acorn Squash and Black Bean Empanadas

Be jealous.  Be very jealous.

I made Acorn Squash and Black Bean Empanadas from Veganomicon.  They are amazing.

There is nothing that announces the Fall season better than the re-introduction of delicious squash in my eating routine.

You know what I like most about this dish?  The results look homemade.  I'm really quite proud of my misshapen empanadas.

Here are the ingredients I used:

I mixed this dough the dainty way, using two knives to blend it together.  I wouldn't use that method again, however.  It wasn't efficient enough for my tastes.

Once its mixed up, roll it up into a ball then get your rolling pin ready to go.

I tried to be really exact with my measurements of the dough.  It was my first time trying to make empanadas and I think next time I will roll the dough thinner.  In fact, that's my new rule of thumb for rolling dough...just go ahead and make it thinner then you think is necessary.

Here is a picture of the yummy filling getting cooked down.  Maple syrup, red onions, acorn squash, black beans, a few spices.

While the flavors in the filling were melding together, I cut squares from the dough and rolled them out a little larger.

Then it was time to fill them up!

Rinse and repeat until you run out of filling or dough.  Or both at the same time if you're really talented.  The empanada filling was delicious all on its own, so it was served as a side dish a few nights after I made these.

I didn't quite follow the directions in the book for how to fold the empanadas to make them look nicey nice.  So mine definitely look homemade.  But, that's the charm, eh?!

Time to dig in!

20 Brix

Cincinnati hosts a variety of restaurant weeks.  My favorite by far is the one held by the independent local restaurants featured on EatLocalCincy.com.  This restaurant week features a three course meal for $26.11 per person (wine/dessert cost extra). 

This year we decided to try 20 Brix Wine Bar and Restaurant in historic Milford.  The name of the restaurant is unique because Brix is the measure of sugar in a liquid, a measure commonly used when talking about wine.

We started the evening with a bottle of wine called The Beach House. 

Doesn't this look cool and refreshing?

Sommelier chosen wine pairings were offered for each menu item, but I felt like having white wine with the whole meal, so I did. :)

My first course was Roasted Cauliflower Veloute, which was similar to a potato soup but with an immense depth of flavor.  Delicious!  You can see the hazelnuts and crushed pepper on it in the picture below.

David started with a classic Iceberg wedge salad.

We also enjoyed some bread.  The butter was blended with lemon and was almost like a cupcake.  It stood out from your normal restaurant bread and butter.

For the second course, David ordered the Lamb Meatballs.

I ordered the seasonal risotto, which came with sweet corn, local teardrop tomatoes, chiles, and aged cheddar cheese.  This was by far my favorite dish.  The picture is unfortunately blurry, as I was unable to hold the camera still in my hurry to get some into my mouth!!

The entree I ordered was very small, but forgivable given the reduced dining price during restaurant week. 

I had the Pan Seared Day Boat Scallops with celery root puree, baby bok choy, chili orange nage, and crispy brussels sprouts.

Ok, so the plating needs a little work.  Or maybe it slid down to one end of the plate.  Who knows.  I had no problem digging in, I assure you!

David got Steak Frites with an arugula salad.

I couldn't resist dessert.  The folks at the table across from us were finishing up their meal when we arrived, and I couldn't help but notice the amazing dessert they ordered.  As soon as they left I asked the waiter about it.  Theirs was some sort of Chocolate Mud Pie Kiss.  Sounded interesting, but not as interesting as the Chocolate Hampton sounded!

ZoMG.  look at this bad boy!

 I asked David to take an action shot of me with the Chocolate Hampton.  I think you can tell by my zany glasses and the weird look in my eye that I am secretly a cat lady.  Ok, perhaps not such a secret any longer...

Delicious.  You'd better believe that we ate every morsel.

This was an excellent meal with excellent service with excellent ambiance.  We will definitely be returning to 20 Brix for more deliciousness soon.

Heaven and Hell Cake

Looks delicious, yes?

This epic, gigantic cake is called a Heaven and Hell Cake.  It's so rich and delightful that I've only dared make it once.  This is the type of cake you need a gallon of milk and a carafe of coffee to consume. 

The best part of this cake is that the name really means something.  The heaven part refers to Angel Food Cake and the Hell part is Devil's Food Cake.  While tasty, this also means that your oven is going to be running for several hours while you bake the different layers.

While the cake layers are cooking, you mix up a peanut butter mousse.  The mousse is a combination of cream cheese, peanut butter, heavy cream, and powdered sugar.  Oh my thighs.

Here is the Angel Food cake after coming out of the oven.  It's a little dark on top, but it doesn't matter since the whole cake will be drenched in chocolate ganache.

Here are the completed layers prior to cake assembly.
Back Left:  Peanut Butter Mousse
Back Right:  Chocolate Ganache
Front Left:  Devil's Food Cake
Front Right:  Angel Food Cake

I cut each cake round in half, so as to make 2 layers of each flavor of cake.  In the picture below, I have started building the cake.  Between each layer of cake you smear a thick layer of peanut butter mousse.

It's getting taller!  This is by far the tallest cake I've ever made.  I think the slices were at least 6 inches high.  Quite impressive if you ask me.

 Once the layers are all stacked up, you simply need to drizzle chocolate ganache over the cake to make it presentable and allow the chocolate to harden in the fridge.  If you're an awesome food blogger, you'll clean off your counter top and put a pretty picture in the background for your final pictures.

Then you put on your party dress and add a big bow in your hair.  And rope your boyfriend into taking your picture!  Yummy yummy!

Louisville River Swim

On Saturday, my boyfriend and I drove down to Louisville for the third annual Louisville Ohio River Swim.

The swim takes place just north of Louisville in a town called Prospect and near a subdivision hidden down a long winding country road.

I'd heard of the swim before from a few athletic friends, but never made it down to check it out.

Some background on my motivation for doing it this year:  I was out of town on business for an extended period prior to Cincinnati's Great Ohio River Swim.  I got home around midnight the night before the swim-after spending a long day moving heavy equipment.  Followed by spending a long day in the car.  Coupled with four hours of sleep and my muscles just weren't up to the race.  So I decided to go down and watch the swim without participating, but immediately regretting not doing the race.  I set my sights on Louisville instead...

Oh, and Louisville gives you a t-shirt.  Gotta love a good race shirt!

The area where the race was held was beautiful.

I was happy to have my boyfriend with me this year.  We met at a dinner party last spring and the first time we hung out just the two of us was at the Great Ohio River Swim (After a post race shower we met up at Pompilios for some Italian).

They let us in the water for a bit of a warm-up before the race started.  It was hard to hold yourself in place because the current was really pushing against you.  The race officials said it was only 1/4 mile per hour current, but it felt a lot stronger to me.

I'm sitting on the far left end of the dock in this photo.

The race started in the water, so when it was time to start, they just gave us a little count down and off we went!

I'm right behind that person in the middle blocking my photo :)

The race offered three different race lengths.  800 meter (half mile), 1.2 mile, and 2.4 mile.  You could tell who was doing which event by the color of their swim cap.  This helped the race officials make sure you were taking the correct turns on the course.  And it also helped you size up your competition!

In the picture below, I am swimming around one of the 'turn around buoys.'  I took a break from freestyle and did some breaststroke to help me catch my breath.

And here is me following through on my game plan: go fast on the way back because the current is pushing you!

I'm thankful to my honey for taking all these great pictures for me during the race.  I appreciate your support!!

This is me cruising through the finish line.

And just after the finish.  The look on my face says it all.  I felt great.

After the race, we goofed around with the camera and hung out in the shade on the grass while we waited for the race results.  We waited a really, really long time. 

But, our patience paid off, because I won a medal :)  Which I wore the entire way home.

On the way home we stopped at Subway for lunch, then I zonked out for a good half hour.
Can't wait to try it again next year!