Real World Cleveland

Derek has been busy posting some great photos on his blog (no need to post them twice), so I thought I would provide some of the highlights/lowlights of the trip.

Since people don't know who James is, many of the jokes (which were at his expense) will be lost on people. However, for those in the know "do we have any ice," "there's a lake," non-working windshield wipers on "daddy," the whispering of "dude am I an alcoholic?" and shouting out the window were a few of the highlights on the way up. You know who you are.

Not knowing Cleveland, we decided to stay downtown in the Theater District, which was pretty dead when we arrived. After checking in, we headed down to the Warehouse District for a couple of libations, including a late night birthday toast ("Cheers!"). The evening was non-descript but we were pretty beat after a full 7+ hour drive and knowing tomorrow would be a full day. Besides, Mr. Chips was pretty hammered and looking to pick a fight with some of the locals.

Saturday arrived and we went to the New York City Diner, which as Derek noted, was a shithole. We ended up there because it was the only thing open within a couple of blocks from where we were staying. Suffice it to say, I passed on the salami omelet and the boiled potato.

After choking down breakfast, we hiked over to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, which was great. They had some amazing artifacts and displays and is a really great museum. I just wish we had more time to spend there because there was way too much stuff to try take in one day. Hell, the ZZ Top display took over an hour by itself.

With good intentions, we headed over to the Warehouse District for some later afternoon coffee. However, we succumbed to the seduction of the bar at Sushi Rock, where we had a few blue drinks and some decent sushi. This is going to be a long night.

After heading back to the hotel briefly, we headed back out for big dinner at the Chophouse (where one of the parties in the group ate a rack of lamb AND a lobster tail for dinner) and drinks at various Cleveland establishments, including, without limitation, Sushi Rock, Brasa, Mallorca (were we actually ate more food, believe it or not), Metropolitan Cafe and XO.

There were a lot more fuzzy/funny details, but you get the idea. A couple of pictures courtesy of Derek are posted below:







Cleveland was okay as a destination, but it was pretty dead in the daytime so we need to find a new destination for next year. We've done New York a couple of times and Pittsburgh and Beaver PA are out for a number of reasons, so we're open to some suggestions. We've kicked around Miami, Montreal and San Diego among other places, but recommendations are welcome.