Belle of Cincinnati

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon with temperatures in the 80s with a light breeze and hardly a cloud in the sky.  It was a perfect day for a boat ride on the Ohio River.  Each year BB Riverboats of Newport, KY brings their flagship, Belle of Cincinnati, to Harris Riverfront Park to take guests on sightseeing cruises on the Ohio River. 

We picked Gran up around 2:30 pm and was in line by the time boarding began at 3 pm.  Since speedboat races had the upriver section of the Ohio occupied, the cruise headed down to Kenova and the confluence of the Big Sandy River.  While we waited for everyone to board we sat on the top deck and watched some of the boat races and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

The captain gave an informative description of the Belle of Cincinnati and the history of the sternwheeler.  He also discussed the Ohio River from the days when it varied from a shallow non navigable stream to a wild torrent that flooded towns along the length from origin at Pittsburgh to where it joins the Mississippi near Paducah.  We passed under the Sixth Street Bridge (Robert C. Byrd Bridge) and the 17th Street West Bridge (Nick Joe Rahall II Bridge).  At one point had to lower the stacks for fear of scraping the bottom of the 17th Street West Bridge because of high water from the rains of the previous week.

We had a nice afternoon and decided to have a dinner at El Ranchito which was a big meal but well prepared.