Christmas this year was back in Kentucky with Nicole’s parents. Since we both had recently changed jobs we didn’t have much vacation time and didn’t head out to Cincinnati until the 23rd. We left early on wednesday morning in an effort to try to beat traffic and we actually did really well hitting very minimal traffic. Also the roads were in good condition considering the amount of snow from the previous weekend. We ended up getting to Phil’s place around 4 in the afternoon but by the time we got there we were starving since we had really only stopped for gas and had skipped lunch. So our first order of business was to head out to LaRosa’s Pizza which is nicole’s favorite pizza place growing up. I had only vaguely remembered it from a previous visit. Although we were the only people there we really enjoyed our pizza and I thought it was quite excellent. By the time we thought to take pictures there was only a single slice left. After that we headed home and hung out at Phil’s place catching up and otherwise just taking it easy. Dessert that night required a trip out to Graters Ice cream which was the second of the three food places nicole just had to visit. Nicole loves this place because the chocolate chips there are enormous since they pour molten chocolate into their ice cream as they are making it.
The next day was Christmas Eve and started off with a quick trip to the mall so I could pick up the last of my gifts for nicole. Originally I was supposed to get it the weekend before but thanks to snowpocalypse that didn’t happen. Luckily we got an early start in the morning and managed to get to the mall soon after it opened so it wasn’t too crazy while I got the shopping I needed done. Afterwards we went to the third place that nicole loves to go to when she is back home. We had an early lunch at Skyline Chili. I have to admit that the place has really started to grow on me over the years and now I really do like going there especially cause their cheese coneys are so yummy. All that finely grated cheese just can’t be beat.
After lunch we headed into downtown Cincinnati to go and see a model train exhibit put on by the local power company. When we got there we were greeted with a free warm cookie which was awesome. The train exhibit was a little small but still very good. The line moved quickly and we got to see the model train after only a few minutes. I really liked it and there was a surprising number of things going on.
After the trains we headed home and just hung out for the rest of the day. Nicole spent a little while trying to teach her dad how to play the Wii. Phil was a good sport about it and did a pretty good job playing. I spent most of the afternoon working on dinner since we were having prime rib and I was in charge of the meat. After dinner we headed out to catch midnight (10 pm) mass.
