Pats On The Back All Around

I have had so many positive experiences around town in the last week, today I am dedicating our Fox 19 Morning News blog to handing out pats on the back.

Hi, it's Sheila.

The first kudos go to the Cincinnati Bengals for giving me and my kids some great memories at Friday's training camp in the shadow of Paul Brown Stadium. For years I've wanted to check out training camp, but never could find the time to make the trip to Georgetown. I snapped up tickets to the practice field Friday, and it did not disappoint. You want to talk about up close and personal? Go down there and stand in the shadow of our favorite big men from the defensive line. Rey Maualuga, a few rookies, and Coach Marvin Lewis signed my little guy Eric's official Bengals autograph book, and he was in heaven. What fun! Here's the schedule for the rest of the summer. http://www.bengals.com/team/training-camp.html

Hats off (baseball hats of course) to every single person from here to Butler County who had a hand in making a Field of Dreams come true at the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields in Fairfield. I got chills watching the Fast Trax sky divers fly in and seeing the huge smiles on the Miracle League players. I was thrilled to play in Nuxy's Bash Saturday night, but the best part was soaking in all of that positive energy. Go see a game up there. I promise you it will give you renewed faith in humanity, and you can't walk out without counting your blessings. There's a fall league starting there in August for players with special needs. Find sign-up forms here: http://www.nuxhallmiracleleague.org/players.html

I also hit up a couple of yummy places to eat in Over The Rhine. Fig jam and prosciutto pizza may sound strange, but I was so happy I ordered it at A Tavola on Vine St. Wonderful atmosphere and even better food! Our service from Stefan was top notch too. http://www.atavolapizza.com/

My son Eric, daughter Katie, and her boyfriend Tom topped off our dinner with the world's best popsicles - Sara Bornick's Streetpops. We stopped at her place at Main and Liberty for salted caramel, raspberry lemonade, and blueberry lemon thyme. Creative and delicious. And on Final Friday's you can get dinner too, because Sara has a different food truck parked out front on the last Friday of each month. She also gave me the scoop on the new Night Owl Markets at Central and Main. It's a big party with food trucks, bands, and more every Final Friday until 3 a.m.! http://www.streetpops.com/