So this is Cleveland...Jun 18, 2012
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Well we're living here in Allentown
| So...that was Cleveland? Sorry for the no-blog last night! I guess I took too long to save the page and the entire thing erased. By the time all was said and done we had been up since 0530 and we were exhausted. So now I am writing this in the car as we head to Chicago! Yesterday we actually had a great day of travel considering how long of a first leg it was. What did we see along the way? Well, from Norwalk to North Eastern Jersey we saw the Tappan Zee Bridge, Palisades mall and disgruntled drivers. Beyond that, we saw farmland, tractor trailers and some more farmland. Pennsylvania is officially on my "dreaded travel" list. It takes FOREVER to drive through that damn state! And then, you're in Ohio. From the point of entry into Ohio, until we got into Cleveland, we didn't see much. Every exit was an Aamco, McDonalds and Arby's or farmland. It was beautiful to see all of the land, but way too much of nothing for me! I know my mother is reading this thinking, "really? Too much of nothing? Do you not remember your house in Stowe?!?!". Yes mother, I remember it--and this was worse. When we got into the city, we both looked at each other like, where a the people? I almost felt like we were in North Korea, there was no one really on the streets, no traffic and no tourists. We got to our hotel and checked right in--we had made great time, so we could do the 2 things we wanted to do right after! We had plans to go to rock-n-roll hall of fame and go to the Coast Guard Exchange. When we checked in, we had been upgraded to the concierge floor which meant 3 things: free drinks and appetizers in the evening, free breakfast in the morning (both in the executive lounge on the 18th floor) and the opportunity to feel "high society" :). Of course, we had to remind ourselves that we were in Cleveland, so we couldn't get too serious with our "baller" status. After getting into the room and changing, we looked out the window and could see the Hall of Fame and Coast Guard station from our hotel room! So we headed out and walked over that way. First stop, Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame. As many of you may know, I am kind of a hippie...so obviously a place where I can see belongings of my music idols, is a place where I am going to be in my glory. The problem started the minute we got our wristbands and they told me to put my camera away. Would you tell Jackson he couldn't hug Mickey Mouse in Disney World? No, so why can't I take pictures of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix clothing, cars and letters?? Okay, so we explored the exhibits, early influences in different genres...which was cool, but we really enjoyed the exhibit on musical influences in different cities. It displayed different artists who were major players in different areas: Liverpool, LA, Detroit, San Francisco, Memphis and Nashville. Can you guess which one was my favorite :). We also saw an Elvis display, which was pretty awesome too. It housed one of his cars, clothing, honorary sheriff badges--from multiple towns and a script from one of his movies. And then, we turned the corner...and there it was--the Porsche. Janis Joplin's Porsche--one of the main contributors of agreeing to pay the entrance fee to the museum. Even more amazing than in all the pictures I have seen, and just an incredibly amazing sight for me. There a few moments in a hippie's life that are very special...the first time at Strawberry Fields, Haight Ashbury, learning how to crochet, visiting Jim Morrison at Pere Lachaise and seeing Janis Joplin's Psychedelic Porsche. Perhaps it was the look on my face, or the fact the I IMMEDIATELY reached in my purse and grabbed my phone..but the security guard that was standing directly parallel to the car almost instantly called for backup. Another security guard came over while Andrew and I read all about the car and walked around it a few times. After they plotted my demise for a few minutes, the backup officer left and then there was one--let's call her Helen, she looked like a Helen. HELEN began to follow me around from exhibit to exhibit, watching my every move. I didn't notice her until Andrew whispered to me, "I think that chick is following you" and sure enough she was. No matter where I went, Helen was sure to follow. How obnoxious is that ladies and gents? Can I take a poll--who thinks that is absolutely ridiculous? Did I take any pictures? No. I can understand if I were to snap a million pictures of everything I saw and got all up inside the exhibits...but I didn't! I was respectful--don't get me wrong I thought about it, but in the end I obeyed the bylaws of the museum. Once we ditched Helen, we moseyed upstairs to see 3 more exhibits we were pretty stoked about. The first was a Janis Joplin (obviously) and when we got off the escalator, the "exhibit" looked like a display case for student of the month in middle school. It had a few pictures of her from her early days in Texas, a picture of her with Big Brother and the Holding Company and a few hand written notes that she had written in the late 60's. That's about it. Fine, okay next stop which we were even MORE stoked about was Pink Floyd: The Wall display...um, if you consider a makeshift wall with a few facts scribbled on it a homage to an incredible band then by all means. It was cool in the way that they had a big character from The Wall above us randomly saying lyrics from the album...other than that--thumbs down. The final exhibit we saw was the Grateful Dead one. I enjoyed the fact that it had a lot of personal artifacts from the band...drawings by Jerry, pipes and lyrics scribbled on random things like a big scotch tape dispenser. They also had a lot of recordings playing, interviews and instruments played by Phil, Jerry and Bob. Dn't even get me started on the gift shop :). That concludes the trip to Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame. I'm glad in my lifetime that I got to see it and the things that I wanted to see inside but overall, my suggestion is a little less Parliament Funkadelic and Sid Vicious..a little more Dylan, Joplin, Cash, Zeppelin, Doors and other actual influential voices of a genre that changed the face of music. You know, when music actually meant something. C'est la vie. Okay, that's my last hippie rant...for today :) We decided to not go to the Coast Guard Exchange because there are better ones in California and Oregon. We had a lovely breakfast in the Executive Lounge this morning and then went down to the Pier before hitting the road for Chicago. We saw the Coast Guard station, which is actually the main hub for all of the great lakes, and there was an ice breaker in port. As I write this we are in the middle of Indiana, and it's as exciting as I'm sure everyone has dreamed. It's farmland, and that's about all it is. Our plan is to get to Chicago, see some sights and tonight grab some dinner with my high school advisor...it's also her anniversary so my apologies if tonight's blog is just a late night ramble...fueled by wine :) |
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