It wasn't our original plan, no. Conrad, Van, and I are trying to give each other experiences for Christmas rather than things, an since Van is a national parks enthusiast, I thought it would be great to take him to one that he hadn't visited before. So I booked us flights and a car and a hotel room, and we were going to go to Crater Lake in May.
And then we all went to the Grand Canyon in January, and Van once again had a bad experience dealing with the altitude. Poor man.
Crater Lake sits at about the same (or perhaps higher) elevation as the Grand Canyon (and higher than Boulder, where he's had problems before). That wasn't going to work, alas. I had to pivot. And pivot I did. All the way to Ohio.
It was funny and a little sad and, frankly, kind of shitty how people would react when we told them we were going to Cleveland, to Ohio. It's as if we had picked not just a weirdly random place, but one that is associated with Rust Belt decay and too little going for it. Which is a shame, and I wonder how many of those people have ever been to Cleveland anyway. And you know what else Ohio has going for it? A national park, one of only three in the Midwest (I've not been to the other two). And a national park at about or even below the elevation that Pasadena is at. A national park that Van had never visited (nor had he been to Cleveland - he had, curiously - been to Dayton, however!). And that lovely national park, Cuyahoga Valley,
was our destination for a two-night stay.
We rolled up to the historic Inn at Brandywine Falls late in the afternoon.
See all that green? We don't get that here, not outside of well-watered neighbourhoods, and even then, it's not the same. The old inn was charming, ramshackle in a delightful way.
Our suite was one half of the restored barn building, and it was similarly cozy and a hodge podge of things.
We had some light left in the evening, and time enough before a dinner reservation in nearby Hudson, so we walked over to view the falls from the top,
then came back to freshen up for dinner.
Vicky from the Inn had suggested Rosewood Grill in Hudson as a good dinner option, and she was right. In fact, we went both nights we were at the Inn though I didn't take photos from the second dinner. But that first night we shared deviled eggs
and each had Boulevardiers,
and I made a meal of a pork chop with peach glaze and some roasted asparagus.
Satisfying!
If you know me by now, you will guess that I left Van to sleep in (and boy, did he ever!) and headed out on a walk.
There was the threat of rain later in the day, so I made a circuit down one side of the creek gorge and back up the other side,
crossing back over above the falls.
Again, so green.
Wow! No blue skies like the day before, but it was still lovely. I came back, joined the other guests (save for Van) for breakfast, then came back to the room to relax until he got up. That? Was after noon. He needed the sleep, I guess, and besides, it was pouring rain at that point. Eventually we got out the door and over to a Starbucks before heading to a few points in the park to get photos, see the sights, and appreciate it all.
Another nice dinner that evening, and then back to the Inn. Oh, look: deer!
I got up early the next day,
looked at how much time I had, and decided I would be ambitious, mix in a little jogging, and head to the Boston Mills
visitor centre
and back. A little over five miles round trip, and not a soul to be seen for almost all of it. Tranquil, and calming, at least until I came upon the half-consumed fawn. Then I thought, hmmmm. Anyway, I got some shots there and on the way back (including from near the bottom of the falls)
and made it back with minutes to spare before dinner, sweating profusely as I made small talk with a different group of guests than the day before. As for Van, I got him up about an hour or so before check out. Rain had again come through while we were in the room. Starbucks, and then back to Cleveland for us to relax in a lounge at the airport
and eventually fly back to LAX.
I'm already thinking on where to take him next year....
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