I've got a nautical themed pashmina afghan.

On Thursday night, Wheat and I ventured to Cincinnati for Yelp's Summer Bucket List Bash and a cruise on BB Riverboats. As a long-time Cincinnati resident, I've been pining for years after these gorgeous riverboats that lazily make their way down the Ohio River, so when I won two spots on a dinner cruise, I was ecstatic.

We parked in Newport, checked in (and got a cute free pair of sunglasses), and boarded the four-level boat. Instantly, I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of people, vendors, and things to do. Each level offered outdoor seating with gorgeous views of the Cincinnati skyline and an interior room where the vendors and sponsors set up shop with samples and other freebies. The fourth floor, which was an entirely exposed outdoor deck, featured an awesome DJ and a massive dance floor. In other words, the whole event felt way too fancy for me to be in attendance.

It didn't take long for us to dive into the amazing food on the boat. Over the course of three hours, we sampled the following delicious foods from Cincinnati-area vendors:

- Vanilla wedding cake cupcakes from Gigi's (they also had key lime pie and chocolate fudge sundae)
- Buffalo Springfield mac & cheese from Keystone
- Pork tenderloin sliders with apple chutney sauce and saratoga chips from Benson's Catering
- Pulled pork and coleslaw from Eli's Barbeque
- Glazed twisted yeast and black forest cake donuts from Holtman's (they also had lemon)
- Filet with asparagus from Jeff Ruby
- Some kind of chips with beans and guacamole from Mazunte Taqueria
- Black raspberry gelato from Graeter's
- Lamb meatballs with tomato/zucchini romesco, charred corn, and cucumber yogurt from Meatball Kitchen (they also had chocolate-chili cupcakes)

Needless to say, we were stuffed and oh so happy when all was said and done. On various levels of the boat, there were also hair stylists doing braids for free, free massages and caricature drawings, contests for various prizes, promos for Into the Storm, and free tickets to upcoming shows at Bogart's. Again, how was I invited to this?

Despite the amazing food, my favorite part of the cruise was the beautiful vantage point of my hometown. With the sun down, the lights on the bridges and buildings are absolutely captivating. The Reds were also playing that night, so we heard the roar of the crowd and enjoyed the lights from the field and the celebratory fireworks after they sealed the victory.

When the boat docked, we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of Glier's GoettaFest in Newport. Once Wheat got over the disappointment that it wasn't a celebration of DJ David Guetta, we decided to postpone the two-hour drive home by strolling past the food booths and games, listening to some live music, and admiring my beautiful city a little longer. By the way, goetta, which is a popular breakfast sausage in Cincinnati made with pork and oats, is totally disgusting. Skip it, even if you're tempted by the goetta vending machine.

Not a bad place to be, eh?

Update: Here is an awesome video of the cruise. Thanks, Yelp!