Goodbye to Summer with Fireworks and Taxicabs

Here in Cincinnati, the end of summer is marked by Cincinnati River Fest. It’s a small affair; just me, my family and 500,000 of my neighbors. A tradition since 1977, our children have grown up with the excitement of trekking downtown, reveling in the carnival atmosphere, and enjoying the big fireworks blow out along the Ohio river between Ohio and Kentucky at the end of the evening. We look forward to it all season.

In past years, we’ve taken a shuttle bus from south of town down to the river, enjoyed the show and, immediately after the last “pop” of the display, racing back to get the first shuttle bus out of town and heading home. A bit hectic, but all part of the fun.

But this year, we were able to enjoy the event from the comfort of our new Conecture offices in downtown Cincinnati. The new plan was simple: A leisurely bus ride downtown (just like every work day for me) dropped us just two blocks form the office and, after the show, hiking two blocks back to the bus stop to ride back home. It seemed simple at least.

The ride in was fine. Watching the fireworks from our office was great. The ride back was another story. Actually, no story. Why? Because, the bus never came back to pick us up! After about an hour of waiting, I polled my family and we all decided we needed to hire a cab to get back home. Not a long trip, not very expensive, but still a bummer.

So, that’s how we ended our summer. Not with the “bang” of fireworks, but with a silent cab ride back home in the dark.

Next year, we’ll probably take our chances w/ the throngs along the riverbank again. Much more to our liking. Hey, that reminds me. Only about 360 days until the next River Fest Cincinnati!