Cincinnati Magazine enticed us with the possiblity of Bellevue: "Bellevue is minutes away from downtown and right next to Newport on the Levee. The eminently walkable Fairfield Avenue business district is full of charming shops and restaurants." We aren't charmed.
Fort Thomas is a moderately sprawling genteel town. The public library is busy and everyone looks content. We meet a man who takes a rest in the library each day. It's the half way point on his walk to visit his wife who has Alzheimers and is in a nursing home. It's terribly hot today and he's rambling, upset that he's late, yet happy he took a morning trip to a museum with his church's senior citizen group. Some trips are better than others, he says. He really enjoyed the time they went to My Old Kentucky Home. We had never heard of it. He talks for nearly ten minutes pausing only to drink water out of a library provided paper cup. He asks us nothing but says it's nice to talk to young people.
In the library parking lot a haggard woman is staring at out New Hampshire license plate. She explains a game she and her husband have played with their daughter for the past five years. Using license plates is a way to teach their children about the states. There are many rules and rewards regarding the game. Did we mention it's horribly hot standing on the blacktop watching her sweat? We're happy her eleven year old daughter knows the states and their license plates. You'd be surprised, she says, how many cars from Hawaii are in Kentucky. We can't understand the game and its intricacies. So, we make the only connection with her we thought we could make. We tell her the Old Man of the Mountain doesn't exist anymore, not since 2003. First the chin fell, then the rest fell away in May 2003. She's not sure what we're talking about but her daughter is now learning all the state capitals.
Covington is rough around the edges. It's been through a hell of a time. Drugs, prostitution, crime, corruption, neglect. The pitiful economy isn't helping the efforts of those who love Covington and are investing in its restaurants and cafes. We're told it's a great place to live but addled with its urban problems. We eat at the Greenup Cafe so we can try the house-made goetta. Theirs is made with pork, pin oats and spices. Although when we ask a handful of locals about what goes into a good goetta, there's not a clear articulation about the ingredients. Interesting. It was tasty but overdone and overpriced. We'll make our own version in our future kitchen. The beautiful tile work on the cafe's fireplace is our fondest memory as we skip Alexandria and head to the Volunteer state.
