When my dad, Bobby, told my mom, Wendi, that a guy named Richard Osterlind was doing a magic lecture in Cincinnati on Saturday, March 25, 2017, I was sure that meant I would be visiting my family in Lodi. That is usually what happens when they go away on a trip. I appreciate their concern for me and wanting to make sure I am not stuck in the house the whole day, but sometimes I wish I could go with them. Well I don’t know if Dad can really read minds or if they couldn’t find someone to watch me, but I do not care. I got to go!
Now if you know anything about me, you might be aware that I am named after the US Postal Railway mascot, Owney. He has a great story, which you can read about here. Unlike my namesake, I have not traveled around the world. In fact, the farthest I have traveled before Saturday was to Columbus. So from what I can tell by the length of time we were in the car, Cincinnati is farther away than Columbus.
Mom’s plan was to drop Dad off at his lecture and then take me with her to catch up with a friend of hers from the old days. (That’s before they moved to Wooster and before they got me!) We drove over a bridge into a place called Kentucky and then drove over another bridge back into Ohio. I am not sure why we did that, but I trust Mom was taking the fastest way possible. She told me we were going to a place near Eastgate. She pulled into a place that looked like a school. I found out later it was Glen Este High School. I didn’t really care where we were because all I saw was a lot of places to explore.
This school has a football field, tennis courts, a small pond and a baseball diamond. Mom wouldn’t let me walk on the football field and people were playing on the baseball diamond, but I got to walk everywhere else. When I go new places I love to investigate and boy was there plenty of places to do that! I even met a few neighborhood dogs. (They came running at me from the backyard of a nearby house.)
Turns out that we were to late to meet Mom’s friend. I didn’t mind, but I think she was a little disappointed. Still mom didn’t let that get to her. She looked in her phone and found a place called Newport Dog Park. So we were off again!
We left Glen Este, crossed the bridge back into Kentucky and then got off an exit in a place called Newport. Mom really liked the area. It had narrow streets and really old houses. The GPS thing that guides Mom how to get places told her to turn right and then left and then right and then left and then we finally got there. I knew we were getting close to the dog park when I started seeing more and more dogs walking with their people. The dog park itself is a large yard with some trees. I don’t know how big it is, but it is all fenced in with an iron fence.
Now when I go to a new place, like I said earlier, I want to investigate. So do all the other dogs that go to the dog park apparently. Because I became someone they wanted to investigate. We all met as dogs do, and got to know one another, and then I went on my merry way. I decided I needed to sniff every inch of the dog park or I think that’s what Mom thought anyhow. Whenever a new dog came in there was quite a bit of excitement by the gate, but I didn’t really pay much attention to that.
Much of the dog park is dirt with some wood chips. But there is some grass, some trees and a few benches for people to sit on. What was really cool for some dogs, was the water fountain feature. The people would step on a pedal, and then water would come out and fill a silver metal dish for dogs. There were a couple of dogs who found this all so very entertaining. I didn’t. I guess I wasn’t thirsty right then.
I didn’t really find any other dogs to play with. First because first I need to get used to where I am before I get into the playing mode. I need to check everything out and do a little marking and then maybe I’m ready to play. My favorite game is chase, but these dogs in Kentucky must not like to play chase. I couldn’t get any of them to do that. At one point there was a big black dog who acted like he might want to chase me but then changed his mind. So instead I followed him. He would mark a tree; I would mark the same tree. He’d mark another tree, then I would mark that tree. We did this for probably 3 or 4 trees and then he must have run out. So I moved on. I met another, smaller dog and we sort of played, but I guess I am too much of a northerner for him. That was OK, because I was ready to leave anyhow. It surprised Mom, but she didn’t argue.
When we got back to the car Mom checked her watch. We still had 90 minutes before we had to go get Dad. Mom searched for a dog park in Cincinnati. But as we started going, the GPS thing didn’t tell her which lane to be in, so she went the wrong way. I am glad she did (or at least I thought I was) ’cause she saw the Purple People Bridge. You can walk, jog or even ride a bike across it to get to Cincinnati. Mom found a place to park, got things situated with her hands-free dog leash and away we went. Dad had gotten Mom a set of headphones so she could listen to a book if we took a walk. I know when she puts in her headphones, she’s planning on a long walk!
I thought the bridge was going to be cool, and I guess it is if you are a people, but for dogs — or at least for me — it was a little freaky. It kind of reminded me of the ferry. It had a kind of vibration to it. Plus, in case you don’t know, you are walking over a huge body of water. I think they call it the Ohio River. While Mom was enamoured by it all, I wasn’t so much. It was kind of a good thing that Mom got a text from Dad just as we were reaching the Cincinnati side. His lecture was done. So Mom texted that we would be on our way soon. To help Mom keep her promise, I picked up my pace and we crossed the bridge faster the second time. Let me tell you, I was glad to reach solid ground again!
When we went to pick up Dad, I got to go into the building. It is a magic shop. That is the first time I’ve ever been in a magic shop before. I checked out the glass cases, but they didn’t have anything of interest in them for me. I met Dad’s friends, Leland and Ellen Pennington. We hung out a little there, but I was really tired. Mom was too, because she finally told Dad we needed to leave. We did have quite a drive in front of us. We made it home before it was Sunday, but just barely. I never knew my parents could drive in a car so long or that my Mom was so active. That woman wore me out!
I might never travel around the world, but at least I can say I traveled to Cincinnati and beyond. I hope I get to go on other adventures with them. Only, if it is going to be so far away from home, I hope we get a hotel room somewhere!
