Day 8 - Cleveland

We were staying at a campsite with a check-out time of 2 pm so, of course, we took advantage and slept for a while.  Besides, it was another rainy day and not much we could do outdoors.  We packed up the trailer at lunch time and hit the road to Cleveland.  The city which has been called “the mistake on the lake,” has reportedly gone to great lengths to improve its tourism over the years- we’ll see about that!  

We pulled up to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame around 3 pm.  The building looks like a glass pyramid and is right on the water of Lake Erie, which I would imagine is lovely on a sunny day.  After paying $22 for tickets to the museum and getting our wrist bands (so rock n’ roll) we explored the first floor out of six.  The history of Rock was chronicled from the 1930s to the present with biographies of the artists and a lot of musical artifacts. 

The entryway to the main exhibits was lined with photos and biographies of early jazz and blues influences.  There were two large rooms dedicated to Elvis, another for Jimi Hendricks, and the top two smaller floors were all about Springsteen.  Les Paul, who perfected the electric guitar, had his own area.  One of the best parts of the museum for me was the collection of clothes and other donated items of the artists.  There were signed instruments, set lists, stage clothes- a lot of Stevie Nicks’ wardrobe, Michael Jackson’s red jacket from Thriller and his BEADAZZLED WHITE GLOVE on a rotating pedestal-, and a lot more that you’ll have to see for yourself :)

We left the city after a short driving tour, and while passing through the suburbs of the city happened upon a town called Lakewood, Ohio.  It looked like a neighborhood that you would see in a Thomas Kinkade painting- the homes so charming and with beautifully manicured landscapes.  If I didn’t worship the sun and beach so much, I might plan to live there one day.  

DETOUR > Our original plan was to go from Cleveland to Chicago, but we decided to take a trip up to Michigan, just to say we did…and so north we went.



View Larger Map


STATS

             Miles  = 188.4

      Road Time = 4-ish hours

                Gas  = $108.00

               Tolls  = $0.00

  States Driven  = OH, MI