Our RV Adventures

Today was another fun day and we hit the ground running . . . well, walking briskly anyway. Our first stop was back at Jungle Jim’s Market. Terry wanted to spend some time there, so we dropped her off and then we all headed out.

On the spur of the moment we saw a Jack in the Box and decided to grab a quick breakfast sandwich. But when we started to pull in we noticed police cars and policemen directing traffic into the parking lot, with a double line of cars going into the two drive-thru’s.

What’s up with that?

It turns out that this was the grand opening of the very FIRST Jack in the Box in the entire state of Ohio. I guess they don’t get out much here.

After we finished, we headed around the corner to our destination, EnterTrainMent Junction.

EnterTrainMent Junction is the largest indoor train display in the world. With two actual miles of track, 90 locomotives, and 1000 cars, the layout covers 25,000 sq. ft. in an 80,000 sq. ft. building.

The dream of Don Oeters, a Cincinnati entrepreneur and model railroad hobbyist, EnterTrainMent Junction is a family entertainment center focusing on trains, with something for everyone.

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Although EJ (EnterTrainMent Junction) is laid out using ‘G’ Scale equipment, most home layouts use one of the 3 sizes shown below. ‘HO’ scale is on the left, ‘N’ scale in the middle, and ‘Z’ scale is on the left. To give you some idea of the actual size, the ‘Z’ locomotive is only about 2 inches long.

The ‘G’ in ‘G’ scale stands for Garden, because this scale is normally used outside in a garden or backyard.

The display is divided into 3 main areas, the early days of railroading, starting in the Civil War era, the Golden Age, centering around the 1940’s and 50’s, and the Modern Era. And the detail is just amazing.

Another thing that’s unusual is that they use real water on the layout.

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The detail even extends to the lighted insides of the buildings.

The lighting cycles through periods of daytime and night, showing off the many lit interiors, but others are visible even in the ‘daytime’.

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The night time scenes are amazing.

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There’s even a very realistic forest fire with dancing flames.

The downtown area of the Modern City is fantastic. Most of the buildings are based on real structures, but from many different cities, like the Space Needle from Seattle,

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and this office building in New Zealand,

complete with occupied offices.

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And of course, what’s a railroad without someone spray painting graffiti on a railcar.

This was our 2nd visit here at EJ, but Nick’s first. And it was fun to watch him wander the aisles trying to take it all in.

If you’re in the Cincinnati area and have kids, or you act like kids most of the time like Nick and I, this is a must see.

Tearing Nick away from EJ, we all headed back over to Jungle Jim’s to pick up Terry, and then headed off to our next stop, IKEA.

Nick and Terry had never been to one, and when we left, Nick said it was the ugliest stuff he had ever seen, and that he would never forgive us for taking him there.

I guess there’s no accounting for taste . . . or lack thereof.

By now it was almost 5pm, so it was off to a nearby Red Robin for our burger fix. Nick liked this place better. And so did I.

Food was involved, after all.

Our last stop of the day was The Container Store. Jan and Terry were looking for some storage items, so Nick and I napped in the truck. Nick said now we could tell everyone we slept together.

He wishes!

We finally got home about 8:30pm after another long but very fun day. Tomorrow will be a stay-at-home before we make a day trip to Dayton on Saturday.

Stay Tuned.

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Thought for the Day:

"Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." – Ronald Reagan

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Before we left Greenville, we wanted to check out Maid-Rite. Maid-Rite is the home of the ‘Loose Meat’ sandwich, and has been since 1926.

A ‘Loose Meat’ sandwich is kind of like a sloppy joe without ‘sloppy’ sauce part. If you remember the old Roseanne TV show, she and Sheldon’s mother opened a Loose Meat Sandwich Shop.

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One of the novelties of this place is the Gum Wall. People have been sticking their gum on the side of the building for decades. In some cases there are 4 generations of a family’s gum on this wall.

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Leaving Greenville and heading south back to the park. On the way we decided to have dinner at the Sherman House Restaurant & Inn in Batesville, and are we glad we did.

Although they have a standard menu with steaks, seafood, and sandwiches, they also have a selection of German cuisine. And Jan and I finally got our sweet & sour red cabbage.

I had the German Fare, a sampler with Weiner Schnitzel, Sauerbraten, and Wurst & Kraut, along with Potato Patties, and of course, the sweet & sour red cabbage.

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Jan had the Jager Schnitzel with mashed potatoes, and the cabbage.

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Terry had the Sauerbraten, and Nick, of course, had his usual meat & potatoes, in this case, Fried Chicken and French Fries.

And after a fantastic meal, we were so stuffed we could hardly walk to the truck. Hopefully we’ll be able to go back before we leave here.

That wraps up yesterday. On to today.

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Today was pretty much a stay-at-home day. In the morning Nick and I spent some time tracking down a high power relay for his coach. It took a while because of some confusion about the part numbers but we finally tracked it down. Nick decided to wait and order it at our next stop.

A little later Nick and I drove over to the Home Depot in Harrison. I wanted to get a propane torch to try and get my old chrome tailpipe unstuck so I can install the new one.

Later, after Nick and Terry ran some errands, we met them over in Harrison at the Goldstar Chili. Jan and I ate at Skyline Chili the other day so tonight we wanted to check out the competition.

As it turns out, Jan liked Goldstar better, and I liked Skyline better. It was Terry’s first time to try Cincinnati chili and she liked it a lot. Nick of course, had his meat and potatoes, a sliced beef sub and fries.

Coming home in two vehicles, Jan and I stopped for gas while Nick and Terry preceded us home. Then just as we were getting back on the Interstate, Nick called to say there was a bad traffic accident up ahead and we should get off the Interstate if we could. And lucky for us, we could, and did, and got home even before Nick and Terry. Thanks, Nick.

As it stands now, we’re going to spend some time in Cincinnati tomorrow.

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Thought for the Day:

Karma’s a Bitch, especially if you’re a Bitch

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