Cleveland and Cedar Point

We made plans with Alicia, Aimee, and their families to go to Cedar Point. Aimee said she and Will were going to Cleveland ahead of time, and she invited me along, because I'm a great third wheel on their adventures (i.e.: Rome. Who doesn't want their best friend along on a romantic vacation?)

I hadn't been to Cleveland, I didn't do any research ahead of time, and I liked it so much! 

Day one:

We got in late Friday afternoon and got a nice Airbnb apartment near Huron Street, which was within walking distance of so much. I just left my car in the parking garage across the street. 

Aimee and Will had everything planned out for the whole trip. We walked to Barrio to eat, then The Butcher and the Brewer, then City Tap. The Cleveland Guardians vs. the Tigers game had gotten cancelled because it rained earlier, and there were lots of happy people out. Good food, good atmosphere (esp The Butcher and the Brewer) and then we walked through the street steam coming from a manhole on our way back home. It makes you look like you're in an 80s music video!

Day two:

We ran to the waterfront, but we had to stop every few minutes to take pictures of Lake Erie and the public art! We saw a giant stamp, a statue, a Soldiers and Sailors memorial, a Cleveland script, Jesse Owens, and so much more. It was such a great run.

We walked to the Phoenix to get coffee afterward. There are many locations, and this one had a giant chocolate chip cookie with sea salt on it and I don't know why I've never had that before. So good.

We showered and got ready and stopped in Heinen's, which was a gourmet grocery store with a gorgeous, high ceiling. I read later that it was the original Cleveland Trust Rotunda built in 1908, and it was reopened after being closed for 20 years.

We had ice cream here. Healthy start to the day!

We headed to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and on the way there I was telling them something and said, "Geez oh petes," and they both burst out laughing and said no one says that. I told them about Kris' goal to normalize 'whoops there,' which my dad says. Will later dropped that in front of Kris and we were all delighted. Ah, regional language. Makes me think fondly of my college linguistics course! 

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was really fun, because not only did they have clothing and handwritten lyrics and stage items from lots of musicians, but they also wanted you to be a rocker. They not only had soundproof rooms for you to play, but they had a live band you could perform karaoke with! 

We spent a few hours here and ubered to lunch at Great Lakes Brewing Company, where we sat outside in the perfect weather. Aimee and Will were coming from extreme heat, so they were even wearing jeans, because this was a nice change in temperature for them.

We ubered to Edgewater Beach, which I said was nice despite it not being Lake Michigan. Aimee and Will were curious why I prefer Lake Michigan to Lake Erie, and it's because it's cleaner, probably just because it's on the West coast of Michigan. This place was so nice - giant willow tree, huge rocks, a walking path, a park, people flying kites, people swimming, white sand - and a concession stand and bathrooms. Highly recommend.

We then took an uber to a different part of the city to look at murals, (there are a lot of good ones in Cleveland), and we had such a delightful surprise! People were parking and walking somewhere, and we followed them to see where they were going. They led us to an old American Greetings factory which was packed - for three floors - with art vendors! It is now called 78th Street Studio and it was Third Friday, which meant it was a social event. There was so much interesting art (dolls made into clocks, clothing, earrings, moss on a wall that was somehow beautiful) and SO many people. We were so impressed with the turnout and art.

Will said he'd gone to a Punch Bowl Social before and it had an eight man foosball table. We went and sure enough, it did! We played Aimee and me on one side vs. Will on the other, and you had to really concentrate to get to all of your guys! Mine were somehow very lazy. We played all combinations of people. We had so much fun playing this that Aimee looked into getting one, and it was a mere $7000. We got our money's worth!

We went to eat dinner along the river at Collision Bend Brewing Company, where we had a bridge view and watched the many party boats going by - similar to pedal trolleys, but in boat form. Everyone was having a good time - us too!

Day three:

Cedar Point! We drove the hour from Cleveland and met up with Alicia, Bobby, and their son Billy, and Kris, Ty, Cole, and Max. 

I rode these roller coasters:

Gatekeeper - so incredibly steep and fun. 

Valraven - We rode in the front. which made it even better.

Magnum - Good, but rough like you were in a car accident.

Steel Vengeance - Also rough, but totally worth it because it's long and surprising.

Millennium Force - Also fun, and good memories!

Rougarou - We waited in line for this for a long time, and then when the kids got on, they made them get off and had to repair an exit gate that wouldn't stay closed - even though there were two exit gates, and even thought IT WAS NOT PART OF THE RIDE. This was really frustrating, because we waited a long time, and then we gave up. I went back later and rode it in the front, and it was just an okay roller coaster. 

My favorites were Gatekeeper, Valraven, and Steel Vengeance. Totally worth the trip!

We left my boys there, and the rest of us went back to our Airbnb just four miles away in Sandusky. We walked to an area near the water and happened upon a great, open air venue called Barrel House Saloon. They band was on the second floor loft, so everyone could see and hear them perfectly - and they were great. 90s songs mashed up with other 90s songs and a rap in the middle. Perfect formula for the audience. They had food trucks and were right on the water so we could watch the sun set. Just perfect.

We ordered pizza for the boys (and we had some too) and we all sat around in the hot tub or around the dining room table and talked and laughed.

I didn't expect much out of Cleveland and Sandusky, and I was pleasantly surprised! But really, anywhere is fun with the right people.