tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-234918302011-07-14T17:35:42.895-04:00Spending time in Dayton on business alone was really boring. Then I met a good friend, Derek, who is helping me explore the truly finer spots of Dayton. This blog is dedicated to revealing the bright spots in a traveler's journey through Dayton, Ohio. And to share some of the fun we have had while exploring.Marknoreply@blogger.comBlogger391100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1166375539197782652006-12-17T12:09:00.000-05:002006-12-17T12:12:19.206-05:00

As my project and time in Dayton came to an end, I prepared to return to San Francsico. Derek and I had so much fun together in Dayton we decided to continue our journey in San Francisco, so we packed up the car with his stuff and the cat and headed out on a road adventure.The adventure now moves to a new blog: Life With Derek.

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1152390275810916252006-07-08T16:04:00.000-04:002006-07-08T16:28:01.643-04:00

In Dayton the fireworks were on the night of the 3rd, not the 4th, so we watched them from the hotel balcony while sipping wine. We ordered in some food, but the hotel is not setup for you to eat on your balcony, so we just drank while the fireworks were happening. It only lasted about 15-20 minutes, so we didn't starve. Derek invited me to a cookout at his place on the 4th. His parent's

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1152387404335668222006-07-08T15:06:00.000-04:002006-07-08T15:36:44.346-04:00

We (Derek, Bryan and I) went to Indiana to the riverboats, which is where all the old people from Ohio go to blow their social security checks. It was interesting. We drove for 2 hours to get there, traffic sucked as it was the Friday before the 4th of July weekend, but hey we got there. All of the casinos in Indiana have to be on water (some old law about Indian land or something). We went

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1151787075781451622006-07-01T16:18:00.000-04:002006-07-03T17:11:52.570-04:00

When: June 20th.I took the day off and Derek took me to Hueston Woods. This was a short drive from Dayton and well worth the trip. A nice lake, picnic lunch of fried chicken (He wants to see your breasts) from IGA, wandering trails, hot walk on road back to car, good sun, this hike had it all. Including a snake that decided to sleep on the road - what a goob. I took a stick to it and chased it

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1150151453155022542006-06-12T18:20:00.000-04:002006-06-12T18:30:53.173-04:00

Interesting neighborhood bar, if you can call a downtown bar a neighborhood bar. We tend to go here over the "family" bars downtown. Bartenders are friendly (well, the male ones are) and they serve pretty solid, strong drinks. The bar pulls in a very eclectic (or strange) group of people, but hey that makes it interesting.Juke box music, not much to pick from, but about the same as other

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1149051653795270862006-05-31T00:43:00.000-04:002006-06-12T18:33:23.866-04:00

Bay to Breakers Update - Final!Granted, this didn't happen in Dayton, but we trained for it in Dayton.And all that hard work paid off... we actually did better than we had planned on doing, our goal was 1 hour 30 minutes.And for the record, Derek did finish in front of me, by a nano second. First Name City State Bib Number Place Country Gun

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1147895224490032242006-05-17T15:43:00.000-04:002006-05-17T15:47:04.500-04:00

Here is the status of our prep work:When: Monday, May 15th - between the rains, kind of...we made a full 7 miles, not stop running in about an hour - woohoo! Made it back to the 15 mile marker (which marked 7 miles for us) just as the rain started. It was a fairly easy run, and we survived the night without major leg aches. Tuesday, May 16th - between the rains again...ran the Far Hills hill in

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1147547910122773742006-05-13T15:13:00.000-04:002006-05-13T15:18:30.123-04:00

So we are getting ready for Bay to Breakers in San Francisco, and that means we need to get up to 7 miles by next weekend! hmmm....we are working on it. We run about every day, up to 5 miles this week along the river trail. On alternate days we run the hill on Far Hills Blvd trying to prepare for the Hayes Street hill in San Francisco.We need a picture of the hill and of us running to go here,

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1147547525044181832006-05-13T15:01:00.000-04:002006-05-13T15:12:05.460-04:00

When: Wednesday May 10thWhat: Dinner Sort of a special night commemorating 4 months of undefined time. But it has been very fun and enjoyable in its undefinedness (new word?). As for the restaurant, the food was really good. The service was OK. Food came out too fast, we had barely finished one course when the next one arrived. The wine came after the main course was delivered. The server

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1147299166489553252006-05-10T18:10:00.000-04:002006-05-10T18:12:46.490-04:00

This has kind of become our default Sunday night spot - they do have Sunday Liquor! It is a local place that is kind of like Applebee's (burgers, sandwiches and stuff, very casual.) and not expensive, either. It is a ways down there, but what else do we have to do on Sunday nights? No pics yet, but we will get one someday.199 E. Alex BellCenterville, OH 45429937.436.4666

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1147298950614134162006-05-10T18:06:00.000-04:002006-05-10T18:09:10.616-04:00

When: Sunday, April 30thWhat: DinnerOK, it was sunday, it was late, we were sort of desperate and we hadn't tried it yet. Don't. Slow service, very small portions, and a chain on top of that. Nothing notable at this stop, but hey, we will try almost anything once.

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1147215758994955472006-05-09T18:54:00.000-04:002006-05-13T14:49:57.903-04:00

When: Saturday April 30th and Friday, May 5thWell, it may not rank high on the list, but I had fun. Derek and I helped Bryan replace some of the siding on his house, which took a couple of days. Some high points? How is that you can measure a length of 139 inches on the wall, cut a piece of siding 139 inches long, and it be 4 inches short? We even remeasured. Finally gave up with the tape

Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1145820222232278622006-04-23T15:13:00.000-04:002006-04-23T15:23:42.283-04:00

When: Saturday, April 15thWhat: HikeSo this is now my favorite hike spot. I keep being amazed by what natural beauty there is around Dayton and this hike really was awesome. A bit muddy, but someday there will be a new boardwalk named the "Derek (Muddy Shoes) Memorial Boardwalk" which will carry you over the mud and allow wildlife to pass under / over. (Note: memorial not because he died, but

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1144796131673414412006-04-11T18:49:00.000-04:002006-04-11T18:55:31.770-04:00

When: Monday, April 10thWhat: DinnerWell, I picked the place, so anything I complain about is my own fault, but it wasn't awful. For some reason we got stuck sitting in a booth between the two restrooms and next to the side entrance. Why does this happen to us??Expensive and not that great a place. Very trailer park clientele. Derek had the privilege of sitting on the men's restroom side and

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1144539545248196402006-04-08T19:25:00.000-04:002006-04-09T14:24:19.166-04:00

When: Saturday, April 8thWhat: Hike!After a fun night in Columbus, Derek made a surpise (to me) diversion on the trip back and stopped at Clifton Gorge. What an awesome place to hike. A combination park and nature preserve, the trails are easy and the views are great. The river running along the trails is quite beautiful and at some points downright breathtaking. I would definitely do this

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1144178406375647862006-04-04T15:14:00.000-04:002006-04-04T15:20:11.806-04:00

When: Monday, April 3rd - Derek's BirthdayWhat: DinnerWell, not many places are open on Monday and they did have half price bottles of wine and champagne, so why not? We took advantage of both as we were celebrating. This time wasn't as great as the first time. We tried to order some wine, but everything on the wine list I picked they were out of. The server brought a list of all the wines

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1143835171231720502006-03-31T14:56:00.000-05:002006-03-31T15:05:10.403-05:00

When: Tuesday, March 21stWhat: DinnerI liked this place. It was cold and snowy outside and nice warm pasta was perfect. The ambiance is ok, the service was good and the food was good. We drank a bottle of wine and ate a nice quiet dinner without interruption. And the warm bread they bring out was really good. Bad for the diet, but really good!Nice family owned kind of place, and I recommend it. I

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1143834988134385242006-03-31T14:53:00.000-05:002006-03-31T14:56:28.136-05:00

When: Monday, March 20thWhat: DinnerSo I did go back, it is one of the few places open on Monday. This time the food was better and the service was better, although the server poured herself into her pants and it was quite strange to look at...I won't go into details.Christopher's isn't bad and having gone a second time, I would consider eating there anytime I want comfort food in a truly casual

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1143834760140303112006-03-31T14:47:00.000-05:002006-03-31T14:52:40.156-05:00

When: Saturday, March 18thWhat: DinnerOK, I wanted BBQ, specifically ribs and chicken. This wasn't the worst BBQ I have had, but it does rank pretty far down the list. The ribs were very dry and tough.I also had problems with the servers picking trash up from the floor and then serving food without washing their hands, or even better when one of them picked up a used napkin from a table, wiped

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1143762031716761312006-03-30T18:33:00.000-05:002006-03-31T15:03:23.943-05:00

When: Thursday, March 16thWhat: Dinner & DrinksBlue Moon is pretty nice. Small and 'quaint', but the service was quite good, the food was very good, and they even had coupons! (That was scary to me, but seems to be normal in Dayton). We even got spiffed up for the occasion.I would do it again, but probably not in the same month. Too many other places to try out. The menu was in transition and

Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1143761524063350342006-03-30T18:27:00.000-05:002006-03-30T18:33:29.773-05:00

When: Tuesday, February 27th, and Tuesday, March 14thWhat: DinnerIt is an Ohio thing, to call spaghettis sauce chili, but hey, it was OK. You know, where else other than San Francisco can you order a 3-way and not feel a bit odd? So they have the 2,3 and 4 way chili's which is just more stuff you put on your spaghetti, and they have coney's. So we did it, and then we did it again. Different

Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1143651461454323582006-03-29T11:45:00.000-05:002006-03-29T15:05:38.280-05:00

When: Friday, 17th MarchWhat: Mound climbing?We took a post-lunch break and Derek showed me the 'mound' just oustide of Dayton. It is an interesting mound that appears to have been a burial mound of early inhabitants of the area. There are several around, but this is the one we went to. The views from the top are pretty cool.You don't actually climb the mound, you climb the stairs on the side of

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1143582020039980192006-03-28T16:37:00.000-05:002006-03-29T15:59:35.726-05:00

What: DinnerWhen: Friday, March 17th (St. Patrick's Day)Please feed me! I will work for food, I promise....Yep, it is a bit of a mug shot, and I hadn't even had anything to drink yet. And it was pretty good as you can see from this shot of Derek digging in to the Pizza. This place was pretty good for pizza. We did sit under a TV that had some world series of poker on, which was quite annoying.

Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1142815009826031122006-03-19T19:30:00.000-05:002006-03-19T19:36:49.836-05:00

When: Friday, March 17thWhat: Hike/WalkThis is a very nice park nestled in some hills south of Dayton. Although there were no leaves on the trees, it was still very pretty. Lots of runners and walkers use this park, so don't expect to be too alone with nature, but on the day we went it was very quiet. We did see the 3 sisters, three ancient, white oak trees — over 550 years old, which are

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1142796407491543262006-03-19T14:13:00.000-05:002006-03-19T15:44:58.740-05:00

When: Friday, March 17thWhat: Lunch Not a bad place for sandwiches and salads, etc. I was disappointed because Derek said it would be full of old people, but there were only 5 people in the whole place. Well, until were finished eating, and a few old people came in then.I had a grilled chicken sandwich, which was quite good.Derek got a Ham & Swiss with chili cheese fries. The pickles on his

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1142382245827277462006-03-14T19:18:00.000-05:002006-03-28T19:14:02.590-05:00

When: Saturday, February 25th and Saturday, March 18thWhat: LunchWe grabbed some sandwiches at Penn Station. Sort of a combo of Subway and Quizno's, but better than both put together. Typical kind of sub shop, but Derek said this one was still the old style where they make your sandwiches up front. I am not sure I can even explain what he was saying, but I understood it at the time. Good lunch

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1142381808717705532006-03-14T19:03:00.000-05:002006-03-14T19:16:49.133-05:00

When: Thursday, February 16thWhat: Pizza My flight got cancelled and I figured I would be on my own and have to eat at the hotel because I am a slacker, but Derek came to my rescue. We went to Marion's Piazza in Kettering. Interesting place. it has a sort of faux-outdoor piazza setting. (Bright back lighting, with trees and painted outdoor settings on the wall.) The pizza was good, but we

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1142302771050645572006-03-13T21:15:00.000-05:002006-03-13T21:19:31.050-05:00

When: Monday, February 13thWhat: DinnerThis wasn't the worst meal we have had in Dayton, but the restaurant at the hotel really isn't good. Old style italian, with tired soundtracks of Dean Martin....the music really kills the place even more than the food. But hey, we were hungry, the weather sucked, and I couldn't think of anywhere else to eat. I hoped Chris was working, he is my favorite

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1142302367746781652006-03-13T21:09:00.000-05:002006-03-13T21:12:47.756-05:00

When: Tuesday, January 31stWhat: DinnerI do remember that it reminded me of a 70's fern bar/diner. Very country, homey kind of place. They did have massive midwest servings. I got the pork chops, which came with 3 pork chops. I got cole slaw, which was bad. I was sick for days, we blamed it on the cole slaw. I didn't finish my dinner, as it was way too much for an average person to eat.

Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1142301945706764452006-03-13T20:57:00.000-05:002006-03-13T21:41:27.976-05:00

When: Sunday, January 29th and Monday, February 20thOK, another chain.... but hey, we were desperate for someplace we could eat in jeans and tshirts. The first time it was pretty dead and we had to hear the wait staff all talk about canker sores. that was delightful. the food was about the same. I got a burger that was over cooked and dry. the server was bad, it wasn't a great dinner.The second

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1142301394468100912006-03-13T20:50:00.000-05:002006-03-13T21:42:11.263-05:00

When: Sunday, March 12What: DinnerDon't go here on Sunday if you want margaritas...or much else. It was OK. the service was mediocre, the food was, well, it was OK. Margaritas would have really helped. I would put this one at the bottom of the mexican restaurants. But we followed it by going to the Right Corner and Stage Door for cocktails. Some fool bought us a second round of shots that was way

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1141776382056028922006-03-07T19:04:00.000-05:002006-03-07T19:12:25.333-05:00

When: Wednesday, February 22What: Dinner on the runyes, another one of those chain things, but hey we were out in mall land and what else is out there? chain restaurants! So there we were, hungry and the best thing we could find was Chili's. It wasn't awful, as we sat just outside the kitchen and got to watch the servers (some cute) stand around and wait for their food to come up. (Bad visual,

Marknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1141776079066086582006-03-07T18:55:00.000-05:002006-03-07T19:02:03.603-05:00

When: Tuesday, February 28thWhat: Dinnerwell, Derek smelled of garlic the next day, or so he was told. I don't believe I did, or at least no one told me I did! It seems that if you eat there you will reek of the stinking rose for days to come. It is the house salad dressing that gets you, and the garlic was intense in that. The food was good, comfort type food. Heavy & filling, but yummy. Our

Marknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1141689899414352152006-03-06T18:55:00.000-05:002006-03-07T16:45:00.546-05:00

When:What: running along the riverWe ran along the Great Miami River from the Marriott south to the 12.5 mile marker and back. It is a nice run, very quiet, runs along the river, away from streets for the most part. It was totally isolated, so we could see some deer hanging in the trees and a few Canada geese and herons. That was a nice run. It is a bit flat, except for the short uphill /

Marknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1141688708676350702006-03-06T18:39:00.000-05:002006-03-09T20:02:51.790-05:00

When: Wednesday, February 15thWhat: DinnerChip Said...Yes, we did eat here out of desperation one night. I wanted a steak and didn't want to have to get dressed up. It was inexpensive. Hmmm...what else can I say. The service was really bad, the food was mediocre, but hey, I got a steak....wouldn't do it again, but what do you want from a low end chain restaurant that prides itself on being from

Marknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1141687603101169812006-03-06T18:20:00.000-05:002006-03-09T20:07:32.250-05:00

When: Sunday February 19th and Wednesday, March 1stWhat: DinnerWe have eaten here twice, actually. Once on a Sunday night (not much is open in Dayton on Sunday night!) and again on a Wednesday night. Seems we had margaritas both nights. And that reminds me, we sort of broke our lent thing by having margaritas...had sworn them off, but somehow they snuck into a pitcher at our table. Oh well, we

Marknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1141665017028730152006-03-06T12:03:00.000-05:002006-03-13T21:13:45.216-05:00

Date: Tuesday, February 21stWhat: DinnerAt first I was scared. We drove forever and pulled up in front of a very non-descript building nestled in a mix of residential and business buildings. Rustic in their description is not an understatement!. Derek assured me it was OK and told me to stop complaining. Once inside, I was surprised. It is a bit of an old style steak house. The wine list was very

Marknoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1141627659342005822006-03-06T01:34:00.000-05:002006-03-29T14:56:27.923-05:00

Date: Saturday, February 25thWhat: DinnerThis place was OK. The food was OK, but it isn't my favorite place to eat Mexican food in Dayton. Maybe we should try it again some time.maybe

Marknoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23491830.post-1141626596072542722006-03-06T01:24:00.000-05:002006-03-29T14:53:58.260-05:00

Date: Friday, February 24thWhat: Lite Dinner / DrinksSo far, this is my favorite spot in Dayton. Hip and clean and totally non-smoking. The drinks were good and strong enough, the food was sophisticated and ample. Derek and I had a couple of drinks with some pizza and quesadillas. Live jazz was a bit loud, but it was a nice change from what we had been hearing at other restaurants. The service

Marknoreply@blogger.com2