One of the reasons for this fall trip is that another Blues Guitar Unleashed member jam will be in Albuquerque, NM, early in October. Now, the shortest, most direct route between our home and Albuquerque goes through Cincinnati, OH. Regular readers are aware of our reluctance to take the shortest, most direct route to anywhere. Well, sometimes we make exceptions to that rule and we did for Cincinnati, because that’s where my piano-playing buddy Honghong lives!
Honghong and I are both members of Musora/Pianote, an online piano lesson program. The program includes a forum where members can interact with each other and get to know each other online, though Honghong and I had never met face-to-face. Doug and I have had live meetups with other members of our respective online lesson programs and have loved every single one. Honghong, too, has traveled the world to connect with friends from Pianote, also enjoying every visit. Since we agree that it’s a treat when there’s an occasion to get together ‘In Real Life’ with another Pianote member, suggesting a drive-by meetup was a no-brainer.
Given that we’re on our way to a blues festival and Honghong and I had recently finished one of the blues courses on Pianote, I proposed that we jam together on some blues tunes. ‘OMG Sue! You know I’d be interested’ was her response. Honghong checked with her HOA about parking a motorhome in the driveway (it’s ok!), and we arranged to get together for the weekend.
On Saturday, we decided to focus on a couple of simple blues tunes and see what we could do with them in one day – arrange the tunes, select rhythm patterns and chord voicings, practice, revise, practice, record. It was a great session! Even cooler, it was the first time Honghong has played live with other musicians, and it was really fun to see things progress as they did. A total blast!
Honghong’s music room centers on her beautiful Samick upright acoustic piano, which has an absolutely marvelous sound. She allowed me to play it – I was floored by the full, rich tones and I fell in love with the solid feel of the keyboard. Having almost exclusively played electronic instruments, I was very much impressed by this piano and I was surprised at how quickly I was able to adjust. Hmm…
Honghong and her husband Jim are gracious hosts and wanted to provide us with a full Cincinnati experience. In addition to sharing classic Cincinnati sights and attractions (see below), they made certain we got to try Skyline Chili, a landmark Cincinnati chain restaurant with an amazing signature dish (try it and see!), Graeter’s, Cincinnati’s famous ice cream maker (OMG, said the travelers from Ben and Jerry’s home, you need to try Graeter’s Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip!), and we got the full Jungle Jim‘s shopping experience (words fail… a 200,000 sq ft GROCERY STORE that causes anxiety attacks among Disney Imagineers).
We spent a good chunk of Sunday in downtown Cincinnati. There, we enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the Riverwalk beside the Ohio River on an absolutely gorgeous day to be outside. More Cincinnati landmarks: Fountain Square, the Roebling bridge (practice for the Brooklyn Bridge), and the stadia of Cincinnati’s beloved sports teams – the Cincinnati Reds’ Great American Ball Park and the Bengal’s Paycor Stadium. We passed the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (not enough time on this day, though it’s a definite stop for another trip). We used the city’s free streetcar system, the Cincinnati Connector, to get back and forth across town to see the funky and historical Over-The-Rhine neighborhood, Washington Park and the historic Music Hall. I was especially taken by a mosaic archway sculpture we found at Imagination Alley.
All it took was a weekend to feel like we were with old friends… We loved getting to know Honghong and Jim. Thanks to Jim for hosting and tolerating so much piano talk. It was good to meet their son Lucas, who was home for a brief visit. Thanks again to Honghong for letting me play her beautiful acoustic piano, and of course for hosting us, entertaining us, showing us around, and creating this opportunity for us all to get to know each other. Wonderful! Special thanks to Luna, the house feline, for letting us take over her play space for a couple of days – I suspect we’ll meet again some time and I look forward to that!
For anyone who’s interested, more Cincinnati pix…
