This past weekend we went to Cleveland, Ohio, to watch the Cleveland Browns VS New England Patriots. We left first thing Saturday morning. John & Kathy and John and Suz met at our house at 5 AM and we drove and drove and drove. But, you know what??? Those seven hours of road time never seem long when traveling with these friends!!! We talk. We laugh. We stop for coffee. We tell stories about our kids and dogs and then talk serious about life's struggles. The whole entire trip was a blast and the only thing that wasn't good was that it went too fast!!!
We arrived in Cleveland around 1 PM and we went straight to the building that we hoped to get a trolley to tour us around the city. Learning the history and seeing the nicest parts about each city is something we do every time. The ticket booth was still closed, so we walked around outside and waited awhile. When we went back to the booth, there was a line and I'm not kidding when I say that the very people right in front of us got the last tickets!!! We checked into having someone drive us around on a private tour but everyone was busy. Sigh. I missed not doing this tour of the city but we decided to go find a few places on our own. And it was great!!!
We visited the West Side Market. I love markets and so I was in my happy place! We got juice drinks, basil olive oil, smoked salmon, caramel apple and stuffed olives. Great foods and lots of people. Then right beside the market was the produce building. It was one long row of many fruits, vegetables and nutritious foods!
Carrot, apple and celery with a handful of Chia Seeds!!! So yummy!!!
Just look at the inside of this building!!!
We then drove to Cleveland Botanical Garden. It didn't take us long to walk through a few green houses and look at the outdoor gardens but the 'real life' plants were cool!
We went down Millionaire Row and looked at the old, old homes that are still there. Cleveland had lots of neat buildings and tons of heavy details on the older buildings!
Eating in Cleveland was something we were excited to experience!!! And our best experience was on Saturday night! Mike made reservations at the Adega!!! He asked if their was a chief's table or a table along the water.?. When we arrived, they had us sit right next to the chiefs!!! We got to see each plate get prepared, cooked and taken out to the tables. We also got to talk to the chiefs while they cooked. It really was cool!!! Some of them took great interest in making our experience spectacular!!! We were served so many dishes!!! First, we ordered our platters. Then one of the cooks whipped up an appetizer for us to eat while we wait. He pushed it right onto our table. It was so good!!! Then he made us a plate of their specialty of Iberico Pork. It was a rare pork sliced thin and very good! They gave us flatbread to try and enjoy! I ordered the scallops and they were delicious!!! It took us 2 1/2 hours at this restaurant because we took our merry time and kept eating all the extra foods from the chiefs!!! We ended with dessert and we ordered one of each favorites. Three desserts were prepared right in front of us and "given" to us to eat!!! We were having so much fun trying these great entrees and desserts! We would HIGHLY recommend this restaurant if you are going to Cleveland!!! We had wonderful food and great hospitality!
We switched things up a bit this year with our lodging. Normally, we stay at a hotel over looking the city. This time we got a vacation home in the woods. We took a 30 minute drive out of the city and drove into the driveway of a small house. This will be memories of a lifetime!!! The house really wasn't anything fancy. Nothing special really! It had three bedrooms with two baths. But, two of the bedrooms were children's rooms. This house is a home that a mother and two children actually live there. It felt so weird going into this house and making our selves at home with their furniture and things all around us. Because Suz is with child, she wanted the couch to sleep on. John of course joined her. John and Kathy picked the pink bed!!! Laughter exploded when John crawled into this bed! Pink everywhere!!! A small chandelier over top of them. Dress up clothes were at their footboard. Mike and I got the king size bed. I promise we didn't insist on this and we offered it highly to the pregnant couple but they said no. The walls were paper thin and we chuckled as we laid in bed listening to the other couples talking. Would we do this again? Did I like this? I was hesitant about the whole idea and really didn't like to think that we were sleeping in someone else's regular bedroom but we did enjoy the open fireplace and cozy living room chatter!!! We missed the over looking the city at night and our own private motel room, but it was cheaper and maybe, maybe we will do this again?
When the owner leaves a note on the kitchen counter saying to help yourself ... that's what they did! :) Goofy! Uncle and Nephew.
Sunday morning, Mike and I went out for a short run and then we all headed for the city again. We got to the Cleveland Browns football stadium in plenty of time. The sun was out bright and we had a great time watching the game!!! The stadium was packed and lots of New England Patriots fans! The Patriots won.
Enjoying some coffee and tea before the game!!!
What a blast!!!
We watch for this after every game we go to. Prayer from some of the players after the game!!! It's so neat and encouraging to see!!!
We were all given scarves when we got the game. Gotta have some fun with it!!!
This time for supper we made reservations at the Cleveland Chop. We had decent food but nothing like the night before!!! We drove through "Little Italy" and then went back to the house for more fellowship and laughter!!!
The whole weekend was a blast and what a blessing it is to have such fun friends. We really do talk about everything and anything! We laugh so much! Thank you John's and John's for going with us again to another football city!!! We already can't wait for next year!!!
P.S. Many, many thanks to those who kept our children all weekend!!! They had a great time too and weekends like these really boast our marriage and love for each other!!! Getaways are always a good idea if you want to laugh and take a break from every day routines!!! Thank you!!!!
