Cuyahoga Valley National Park

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.... 

a Saturday (most of it) in Cleveland

Have I really been home from Ohio almost a week?  I guess so.  I'll be off again out of town in a little under two weeks, so I had better get the blogging about the Ohio trip underway!

I'm going to divide the trip into two entries, one on Cleveland and one on Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  There's a lot of photos, and I think it makes sense thematically as well.  So then, Cleveland first.  Ready?  Let's go!

Not unexpectedly, Van stayed in bed as long as possible on the Saturday morning we were in Cleveland, and I took advantage of that and the better weather I could see from the hotel

to get outside early and out and about on foot.  I rather suspected that Cleveland would not be busy with traffic early on a Saturday, and I was right.  I walked all over with little need to pause other than to take photos.  And oh, I took photos.  Buildings and fountains. 

The public library. 

A cathedral. 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame from both sides. 

The Lake Erie waterfront. 

The stadium. 

Me! 

And then I got over by the Cuyahoga River,

and for Conrad's sake, I started capturing shots of bridges. 

Lots of bridges. 

I think I made it past five miles that morning,

and that included a welcome Starbucks stop.

Eventually Van got up, and we started our day.  We had to check out of the Hilton, but we weren't due at the Hall of Fame for our entry time for a couple of hours.  I reached back into my memory and directed us over to the West Side Market, a place I am pretty certain we visited years back. 

It was fun to see the market, and it made me long for one that was a little more accessible to us than Grand Central Market (I also think that the variety on offer at West Side was better than Grand Central, but the dining options were not as good).  Not finding some place that appealed to us for lunch, we headed down the block and happened upon Soho Chicken + Whiskey. 

A cocktail

and a good brunch later (fried green tomato eggs Benedict for me),

and Van

and I

were ready to see the Hall of Fame.

We were told we needed a lot of time in the Hall, but I think that's really only true if you are interested in and adept at some of the interactive displays wherein you play an instrument or create a beat.  We didn't do that.  We also weren't interested in the special Bon Jovi exhibit that was mounted on the top floor.  My takeaways?  It's a terrific museum, it has a lot, it has too much, it has scope creep.  Why does a hall of fame have an exhibit on Saturday Night Live?  Why are there so many items from people who are not honoured as inductees in the Hall?  Why are there so many things in the display cases?  Why can't the font be bigger or the lights turned up?  Why is the layout so confusing?  But aren't all those costumes really cool?  Billie Eilish. 

Deborah Harry.

Devo. 

Annie Lennox. 

Earth, Wind, and Fire. 

Sarah McLachlan. 

Joan Jett. 

Bjork. 

Really cool to see.  Not all of those acts are (yet) inducted into the Hall, though.  Ah well.  I quibble.  We enjoyed it.

Later in the afternoon, we hopped into the car and headed along the lake, then south through the city and suburbs and to the national park.  A fine day in the city, and now we were ready for something a little more rustic.