Cleveland (On The) Rocks!

Cleveland was so cold... (This is your part) "How cold was it?" Cleveland was so cold, that it made me say, "Gawddamn it! It's really fucking cold in Cleveland!!" I know that wasn't funny, but neither is a high of 25ºF. That was on Friday when we arrived. By Sunday it had really warmed up... to 35ºF. Those aren't "High" temperatures. Those are "Just Not As Cold As It's Gonna Be Later" temperatures. Okay, that's enough about the weather. It was cold. You got it. I'm glad to be back in shorts. Let's move on.

The reason for the trip was to attend the wedding of Liz's cousin Jimmy. I've now met this portion of Liz's family twice. They're really nice people, & again I am grateful that I get along with her family so well. We took a red-eye flight on Thursday night, & arrived in "The Sixth City" at 6:50am, local time. So, after sleeping maybe 2 hours on the plane, we did exactly what anybody would want to do. That's right, we went to breakfast. Sleep would hafta wait. We met Liz's grandpa, & a couple of his friends, at a local chain restaurant called "Friendly's." Not great food, but I've had worse. Actually, the home fries were quite tasty. Finally, off to the hotel, couple more hours of sleep, & the weekend's events would really begin.

First stop, bowling with Grandpa Dietz. Like a lot of Mid-Westerners, he's an avid bowler & competes in two different leagues. Now, I did not have one of my best days bowling. But neither did he, & he still beat us all in both games. This guy, has bowled a perfect "300" game, & I was glad that he did not drop one of those on me. That night, was the rehearsal dinner, which was at "The Great Lakes Brewing Co." Great beer! I had the "Eliot Ness Amber Lager" & "Edmund Fitzgerald Porter." The porter had this amazing smoky aftertaste. It was almost like having a cigar with this beer. If ya ever get to Cleveland, I definitely recommend checking them out.

Saturday was wedding day. But before that, I got to experience another local favorite, "Skyline Chili." Now, this isn't Southwest style chili. It has it's own flavor, & it's served over spaghetti. I love this stuff! Good, good eats. The wedding, was... Well, it was a wedding. Nothing you haven't been to before. The only thing I will say about it is this. They had the WORST DJ I've ever heard. He played awful mixes of music, never able to keep people on the dance floor for more than a couple of songs. That is , when he could actually get people to get out there & actually dance. Now my wife loves to dance, but I don't think you could have paid her to get out there to shake her thing. But with that said, the service was very nice & Liz's other cousin Rich, gave a great best man's speech. I wish nothing but luck & love to Jimmy & his new wife (and my new cousin) Beth. Congratulations, again, to you both.

Out final day, Sunday, was the day that I was waiting for. I got to visit "The Rock 'N' Roll Hall Of Fame & Museum"! I've wanted to visit this place since it was opened in 1995. I wasn't gonna miss my chance. This is where I would have liked to share some pictures of what I saw. But, unfortunately, not all the artists that consented to have their submissions photographed. So, photography is completely prohibited in The Hall. You'll just hafta enjoy this shot I took of the outside of the building & believe me when I say, that I saw some amazing history. A great Beach Boys exhibit. A behind-the-scenes look at The Beatles' movie "Help!" ZZ Top's Eliminator coupe. Plus, many other fascinating displays of costumes, set pieces & memorabilia. I can't wait to go back. New things are always added, & there are special exhibits that come in regularly. But, I think the next time we head to Cleveland, I'm gonna try a wrangle a field-trip to Canton, to visit the "NFL Hall Of Fame." I'll let ya know how that works out.

That pretty much sums it up. A fun trip, when all was said and done. Cleveland definitely had a feel to it that I've never experienced before, & don't really know how to describe it. It didn't feel like any big city I've been to before. Maybe, that's the Mid-West locale of it coming through it. But, I'm sure I'll be back & maybe I'll be able to get a better feel for it then. I'll let ya know when I do.