This weekend was the annual Cincinnati fireworks and I decided to be in town to view them — and what a view! Dave, Martine’s very own Pilot of Love, is the personal pilot for a very wealthy man who owns three houses, one of which is on Watch Hill in Newport, KY, just across the Ohio River from Kentucky. (He also owns a bunch of McDonald’s, hence the wealth.) As Dave and Martine’s guest, I was invited along to the VIP party at the old Kentucky home.
One of the prominent features of the four story house is the roof deck, complete with hot tub. Although the hot tub wasn’t in use, the party was there, complete with catered ribs, mini-quiches, an open bar, a fabulous dessert tray, and an excellent view of the Ohio River and Cincinnati skyline. Prior to the fireworks display, Pilot David gave us a tour of the rest of the house. My first observation was all of the cool little things that were tucked in corners that no one would ever see. In particular, a moving clock with little brass men that rocked back and forth as the seconds ticked was nearly hidden on a bookshelf in a cozy little reading nook off of one of the living rooms.
Martine and I stopped in the basement to play a bit of Taxi Driver Pinball on the pinball machine next to the big screen TV, 6 lounge chairs, pool table, and popcorn machine. We didn’t stay down there for long — there was schmoozing to be done on the roof deck. The highlight of the schmoozing was probably Dave’s boss’s mother-in-law telling Martine that she was the luckiest woman in the world, and that if she was a few years younger, she’d try to steal him.
But the highlight of the evening was the fireworks display. Similar to the Boston 4th of July celebration, the fireworks are shot off of barges in the Ohio River. One of the trademarks of the Cincinnati display that I haven’t seen elsewhere is the “waterfall” effect created by fireworks being dumped over the two bridges that block in the barges. I didn’t bring my camera, but I managed to find this picture of the effect. Two other features of the display were worth noting; the choreography with the music, highlighted by an extended symphonic version of the theme from The Simpsons, and the special fireworks that spelled out the letters “W-E-B-N” (the radio station sponsoring the event). I had never seen fireworks spell words before. (Okay, fine, WEBN isn’t a word.)
I’m not sure that this tops watching fireworks from the Couchamaran, but it ranks a close (well, not that close) second.