This weekend I made a quick trip to Cincinnati, Ohio to participate in my first Wanderlust 108 at Run Leader. I have to say that I was so pleasantly surprised by Cincinnati and I absolutely loved my first Wanderlust experience!
I have a recap of my less than 24 hours in Cincinnati but it’s going to be in two parts…first my Friday evening in Cincinnati and the next post will be Wanderlust 108!
The most notable thing to share is that I left Finn overnight for the first time. To say that I was having allllll the feels is an understatement but I also knew that he would be well taken care of by his dad. I was a hot mess getting to the airport. I forgot my milk storage bags and had to Prime Now some to the hotel. Then the security line was crazy long and I almost missed my flight. I ran from security to my gate…my Apple Watch actually ended up logging it as exercise…haha. I was literally that person they were calling over the loudspeaker that it was my last chance to get on the plane. Whew.
I arrived in Cincinnati around 4:30 p.m. and was at my hotel by 5:20ish. On my Uber ride from the airport to downtown I was so surprised by how beautiful the scenery was. I had no idea that Cincinnati was so hilly! I figured it would be flat…I used to think the same thing about Birmingham, Alabama until I moved there! 🙂
I stayed at the Hilton Netherland Plaza.
The first order of business was pumping and then yoga. There was a yoga studio 0.2 miles from the hotel that offered a 6:05 p.m. $5 drop in class.
The studio was Move Your Hyde Yoga and I took a power yoga class from Trina. It was perfect and such a great thing to do for myself while I was away. It felt SO good to move and stretch and to be under the instruction of another teacher. It was only my third studio class since having Finn!
I walked back to the hotel as the sun was going down.
After showering and pumping again, I got dressed to go out for dinner. It would have been easy to have stayed in my hotel room and order-in but I knew I wouldn’t regret a good dinner.
Instagram never steers me wrong and I went to Sotto at the recommendation of many. I loved the dark and cozy atmosphere. I grabbed a seat at the bar.
I started with a prosciutto and arugula salad with shaved parmesan.
And then housemade pasta with shaved truffles. This was crazy delicious!
I ended my evening at Graeter’s for a scoop of ice cream.
Apparently they are known for their signature chip ice cream so I had peanut butter with milk chocolate chips.
Then it was back to the hotel to pump and pass out. I thought I might get my first night of sleeping through the night since Finn was born but spoiler alert…I was up pumping at 3:30 a.m.! 😛
Next post will be all about Wanderlust 108! It was awesome!
Have you visited any cities that have pleasantly surprised you?
Do you ever eat solo at nicer restaurants when traveling?
I live just north of Cincinnati so I really enjoyed your post about it! So glad to hear that you were surprised by our beautiful city & that you enjoyed it. It is VERY hilly – doing the Flying Pig 1/2 marathon or marathon, I’ve learned first hand how incredibly hilly our city is & the beautiful sites you can see from the top of those hills. I’ll be hitting the top of one of those hills this weekend during the Queen Bee 1/2 Marathon. One of these days I will get to Wanderlust!!
I have heard so much about Flying Pig. Supposed to be a great race! GOOD LUCK with your half! I was talking to some ladies on the course who were running that half as well!
Jen!
I was sad I was unable to come to the Wanderlust 108 you were leading. I live in NE Ohio which is about a 3.5 hr drive to Cincinnati. My step daughter goes to University of Cincinnati and we were just there 3 wks ago so it didn’t work out logistically. 🙁 I have gotten to know Cincy this year since I have 4 trips under my belt and there are so many cool places to eat! If you get to do the Wanderlust next year you have to try Sleepy Bee for breakfast! All locally sourced and homemade! Right downtown close to the square. And for sure the hills are crazy. Your run turns into hill work because there is nothing flat!! Ha! Glad you loved your time in OHIO!
I’m so sorry that you missed it but hopefully you can make an event soon! It’s a really cool experience. And yes, I was so pleasantly surprised by Ohio…and all of those hills!!!
So glad you enjoyed my hometown! Sotto was absolutely a fantastic dinner choice, and you can never go wrong with Graeters
Yes, it was so nice! I didn’t expect Cincinnati to be so big or to be so scenic with the river and big hills. And Sotto was pretty much my dream restaurant. I love dark, cozy places like that…especially when they serve Italian!
We get it…you’re pumping.
Hi Annie – breastfeeding is a huge part of my life right now as a new mom. Finn is still eating every 2-3 hours! Being away from him for the first time was a whole new experience…and that’s what I wrote about.
Good for you on waking up to pump. My first night away from my baby was when she was 10 months old, just for one night. I pumped while I was gone because we were still nursing. My second night(s) away were this year when she was 2.5!
It is so hard to be away from them. 🙁