All that Glitters

 

"Cleveland is a hard town to truly love. Live here long enough and you accept it as you do a cellmate in jail." Michael D Roberts

After a wonderful breakfast in the dining room of the Old Stone Inn, we wandered a bit more around Niagara, and then headed off to our next destination, which was to pick up our first lighting fixture of the trip. It was a rather unique turn of the century standing lamp owned by a retired Air Force man that had been in his family for over 70 years.

Our first problem was encountered as Corb went to take out money to pay the Air Force gent. We immediately realized that as charming as the Canadian side of Niagara Falls is, the American side has some pretty seedy sections. And the location of the first bank that Corb went to was absolutely one of them, complete with those scary police blasters that call out every five minutes that the place is being surveyed.

Because of the location--and the fact that we were a far cry from Massachusetts--Corb's ATM card flagged the withdrawal as possibly fraudulent and froze the card. It took us about an hour to clear everything up with the bank to actually take out the money--and even then, I had to do it with my card, at a different location. Corb's card didn't start working again until the day after.

But eventually, all was sorted out, and we headed on our way to our next location on the road trip--Cleveland, Ohio. It was only three hours away from Niagara Falls.

"I think I needed this," Corb said as we headed down the highway. 

"To get away from your family?" I asked.

"Well, yes, but I have also always wanted to drive across the country like this," he replied. "Veg out...drive...disconnect. It's good."

I felt the same way to. This morning, I texted my work wife Kim: "Is it weird the farther I get away from work the less stressed I feel?"

"Not at all. Working sucks," was her response. 

Our next night's stay was at the absolutely beautiful Glidden House, located across from the beautiful Cleveland Botanical Garden. Designed by a Cleveland architect named Edward Hughes Glidden, the Victorian was built in 1910 and is on the National Register of Historic places, and the original mansion home maintains most of its historic features including the library, parlor, and loggia. It was a truly delightful place to stay.

Cleveland on a Sunday night, on the other hand, was not exactly hopping. We had a very nice dinner at The Pickwick and Frolic and I believe we were the only customers in the restaurant. 

What did excite Corb? Cleveland has a huge honking chandelier hanging outside its theater district! The moment he saw it, his eyes lit up and he was all excited. "Wow! This is amazing!" It was all I could do to convince him we couldn't bring it home.

But generally, with little to do in downtown Cleveland--we played some slots at the casino, but that was about it, we headed back to Glidden to rest up for the next LONG leg of our journey.

With a journey of a thousand miles, best to find some rest wherever you can.