The prodigal son has returned to his birth city. It was an amazing experience getting to paddle through downtown Cincinnati. I got an early start to try and beat the boat traffic. It seemed to work through downtown. Then I realized the whole downtown is a no wake zone. After I got out of downtown it was a whole different story. I was getting beat up pretty bad. After a while I saw a coast guard sub station and decided to stop. Sub station doesn't mean submarine if that's what you were thinking. I started talking to one of the guardsmen. I asked if they had drug or alcohol problems along the river. He could only speak for the people on the river not on the shore but he said not really drugs, but alcohol boating and alcohol go together. I couldn't agree more. One of my favorite things in the world is to be drinking on a boat. It doesn't matter what kind of boat as long as I was on the water with a drink in my hand I was happy. Sorry I got excited there thinking about drinking and boating. The guardsman said most the people he deals with on the water are upper class so drugs aren't really the big issue. He was quick to say that just because they have money doesn't mean they can't have a problem. He told me some stories about being stationed in Key West and drug smugglers but said that wasn't really an issue on the Ohio. I continued on getting beaten up by the sun and wake. It got to the point that I was mentally drained. I saw a riverside restaurant up on the hill on the Indiana side. I was close to the Kentucky side. I sat there for a good 15 minutes deciding if it was worth it to paddle across the river. I decided it was and got moving. It was worth it. I was talking to hostesses they couldn't believe what I was doing. I asked if there was a problem around here. One of the girls who had just graduated from high school was quick to say yeah. We got interrupted but it gave me a lot to think about as I continued to paddle. The two conversations I had today reminded me that addiction doesn't matter who you are. Rich, poor, young, old. When it gets ahold of you it does what it wants. And that's pretty scary. I finally found a place to camp. Right across from a riverboat casino. It was a really cool forest area. I did some exploring and saw 2 deer and a baby. I tried to get pictures but they ran off. As I was getting ready to get into my tent I heard a 4th deer. He crashed through the woods and started snorting at me. I yelled and threw sticks into the woods. The snorting went on for a good 15 minutes. I decided to use one of my ultimate deer defender devices before I went to bed. I lit a m-80 and covered my ears. It worked. I didn't even hear crickets for a good hour.