Kristen, Karaoke and Chuck D

Cincinnati hadn't been part of the original plan but came in as a substitute after New Orleans was sacrificed earlier in the week. Our host Kristen was outside her apartment waiting after we'd neglected the ability to read numbers on buildings, it was on the third time of walking past that she decided we were in fact 'the English idiots' she had signed up for hosting.

Once we were able to get a word in edgeways some 45 minutes into the conversation Kristen asked us what we fancied doing for the evening in which we didn't have to go to the baseball.

"A few beers please."

Once again the memory has let me down a little but having established Keane's Everybody's Changing as my go to Karaoke record I wasn't going to leave Cincinnati without impressing a few locals...

Once the clapping subsided and having completely failed to convince Phil to sing in anything but the shower we did indeed have a few ales. Kristen's best friend bridget turned up but I don't really remember much after that.

The next morning Kristen guided us towards downtown Cincy where we had a very average curry for lunch. She left us to our own devices and our lasting memory of this town will be the fact that we learned TK Maxx is known here as... (wait for it)



TJ Maxx.

Exciting stuff.

The Cincinnati Reds game proved a popular event (they are doing well) and so we were reduced to standing room only.

We perched up next to an outgoing chap called Chuck D, we know he was called Chuck D because it said so on his shirt. But that wasn't the only piece of information that we were to glean from this particular garment. The other two bits of information were that it matched his Reds 'pajama pants' and most crucially perhaps that he was in fact their NUMBER 1 FAN.

It brings me great pleasure to bring you footage of Mr D engaging in a long distance ritual with Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2PTXn2fL5k

Apparently this dance is a regular engagement between the two of them, Chuck amusingly calling it 'The Energy Exchange'.

After standing for around four hours and with the accommodation for the evening to be decided we'd left at the end of the 7th inning. The Braves went on to defeat the Reds 6-4 leaving us with a 5/8 record for the trip.

Chicago and Sean provide the next leg of our tale tomorrow as we approach halfway.