ID 106731903 © Harold Stiver | Dreamstime.com

Our recent last-minute weekend trip to Cleveland worked out so well, my friends and I decided to try it again this past weekend. This time, we had NFL games in a few relatively close cities, but we chose Cincinnati, mainly because the Bengals were hosting Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

On Friday, our first stop was the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum at the Great American Ballpark. There is a special exhibit honoring the Big Red Machine. When I was growing up, the Big Red Machine, featuring Johnny Bench and Pete Rose, was the best and coolest thing in baseball. The exhibit has great interviews, film clips and artifacts. It runs through 2012.

Later, we enjoyed a Mexican feast at Nada. I had a zucchini avocado salad, followed by Yucatán chicken. The food was awesome and the atmosphere was lively without being too loud. It felt open and roomy, despite the crowd.

We then burned off some calories from the great meal at the downtown Hyatt’s StayFit gym. We ended our night at Champ’s, where we watched some sports and engaged in great sports conversations with fellow travelers and locals.

On Saturday, we visited the American Sign Museum. Opened in 2005, its goal is to teach the history and significance of signs. In reality, it is a visual delight full of beautiful, unique and interesting signs. This was a last-minute choice, but we spent hours roaming the museum.

The Bengals play in Paul Brown Stadium, built in 2000. A 2007 Harris survey ranked it as #101 on a list of 150 of America’s favorite buildings and structures. For food at Paul Brown Stadium, I have to recommend the Chicken Florentine Nacho and the Who Dey Melt grilled cheese. Both were ridiculously good. The Bengals lost 31–23, but the game was exciting.

Both excursions to Ohio for football were a lot of fun. I already know I cannot sneak away next weekend, but I am just happy with these two unplanned trips.

— John Wroblewski, online contributor