-- Cincinnati --
Formerly a German-settled neighborhood, Over-the-Rhine (OTR) was our home for a week in Cincinnati. Before we arrived, I couldn't remember why we had decided on an Airbnb in this neighborhood, but it soon became apparent, as I observed the almost-too-new-to-be-true restored architecture lining the lively commercial corridors and beautiful Washington Park. Once considered the "most dangerous neighborhood in America" (I can't find an official report on this although many news articles love to cite this), OTR has gone through a significant phase of urban renewal over the past decade, starting right after the period of civil unrest following the killing of 19-year-old Timothy Thomas by the Cincinnati Police Department.
OTR was starkly divided between what it had been and what it hopes to be. Walking down the same Vine Street, one will notice the almost immediate shift from broken windows, boarded-up retail, and 3CDC-branded "Coming Soon" banners to freshly cemented sidewalks, patio cafes, and exclusive cocktail bars. On weekends, the otherwise quiet Findlay Market transforms into a bustling farmers market and food hall, with some of the best soft pretzels worth waiting in line for (Blue Oven Bakery).
To get around town, a free streetcar runs a loop through the downtown and adjacent neighborhoods, connecting OTR to the brewery district to the north and the waterfront parks to the south.
Cincy was where we spent our last of summer (or so we thought). We drank German beer at the local Oktoberfest, enjoyed a wonderful performance of What the Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schreck at a local theater, and ate at a surprisingly stellar izakaya called Kiki College Hill (whose miso-glazed cod I still think about to this day).
-- The rest of Ohio --
I expected the rest of Ohio to be that familiar Midwestern farm country, but it turns out the rolling hills of Cincinnati expanded further east to Hocking Hills State Park, which sits at the base of the western side of the Appalachian Mountains. We hiked a short but scenic trail through Old Man's Cave, named after the hermit who moved out of his house with his two dogs to make the cave his home, under which he is apparently buried.