When Trips Don’t Go as Planned

Last weekend was particularly cold and rainy and while we had no plans to venture farther than our couch, that quickly changed.

As we shamelessly binge-watched “Blackish” on Hulu, a commercial spot aired for the Red Bull Soapbox Race in Cincinnati, Ohio, just two hours south of us. The only problem? The event was taking place that day.

It was already 10 a.m. and the competition started at 11, but we decided to YOLO and embark on a spontaneous adventure – with Red Bulls in hand.

If you’re reading this post and wondering, “How could they hold a soapbox race on a rainy day?” then you can probably imagine where this is going.

Bad weather does not bode well for an event that challenges teams to race homemade vehicles as fast as they can on a downhill course.

Needless to say, when we arrived at Eden Park, there were no signs of the event. We cruised through the park a few times (not that you could miss a massive crowd of people watching teams fly down the road in brightly colored soapboxes), but we found no one.

The event was canceled.

There we were, two hours from home, driving around in the rain and wondering what to do next. So we embraced our spontaneity and explored the city – albeit under umbrellas and ponchos.

Between downpours, Mike even managed to get airtime with the drone, resulting in some moody and dramatic footage.

Despite the fact that our last-minute trip didn’t turn out as expected, we made the best of it and enjoyed the adventure. That’s what it’s all about anyway, right? In travel, as in life, you have to embrace the ups and downs.

For the record: We did check the event website and social media before we left home, and the event still appeared to be on. We’ll chalk that one up to a tech error.