March 16, 2003 - By pure accident I awoke before noon. The sun was shining brightly into my room and I had to go to the bathroom, so at 10:20 AM I crept out of my room into the real world. What a glorious day it was! The sun was shining, birds were chirping, ambulances were running up and down the street...well, ambulances always run up and down my street so that wasn't a change. I felt inspired to go out into the town and take pictures. It was officially the best day of the year so far with sun in surplus quantities. By 10:40 I was dressed and downtown by Great American Ballpark taking pictures. The sky was actually less than ideal for the photo shoot but I enjoyed walking around the new ballpark in the sun. I walked around the stadium, as much as is allowed, and then crossed the Taylor-Southgate Bridge into Newport. In Newport I paused to take a picture of the Cincinnati skyline and then walked back across the bridge. Families were out all over the place along with groups of men marveling in the nearly completed stadium. I could feel the fever building up inside of the city. Everyone was ready to get a look into the depths of the Great American Ballpark, the new home of the Cincinnati Reds. I walked back to my car and drove home. Josh called and said that he was with Susanna and that they wanted to go to a park because they were watching a dog. I said I would run it by Janet, whom I had already made plans with. Janet was ok with the idea, so when Josh arrived back at our place 45 minutes late we departed for Janet's so that I could pick her up. As it turns out she was actually running late so it all worked out. We picked up chicken from KFC and drinks from Kroger. Then I used 3 dollars in quarters to pay for a annual Hamilton County Park pass. We picnic'd on the lawn in Winton Woods. The food was good and it was a good thing I brought my picnic basket full of plates, silverware, and a tablecloth. The basket was a gift from my sister for Christmas several years back and this was the first time it was put to use. After eating Josh said we should wait an hour before doing anything but I told him that was just for swimming. Janet and I put on our blades and skated around the lake twice. It is so cool knowing a girl who is into rollerblading! She told me she has played disc golf a few times too, I am waiting to see if that pans out. Janet had to get to church so I dropped her off at her condo and then went home. I still had a little time before I had to be at church so I hopped in my car and drove to Burnett Woods to play a quick 9 of disc golf. The park was swamped with large groups of players so my round was only 7 holes but I was even after those 7. I can only assume that I would have ended up even or better. At church I was pretty hot even though I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. There was a special portion added to the mass. At sundown people all over the world were praying for peace. We had a candlelight vigil through the service which was quite nice. After church I had a call from John to play at an open mic at Cody's but I told him I already had plans to watch a movie with Janet. Unfortunately Janet didn't want to come over so it ended up being a bittersweet ending to an otherwise great day.