July 15--Sandusky to Cleveland

Well as my Mom used to say, “You make plans and God laughs.  My idea was to get up early, pack and drive to Cleveland for a breakfast of monumental proportions at the Tick Tock Café.  All was humming along and we are 30 miles closer to hot coffee, cinnamon buns and other taste treats when I turn to K and asked about my medicines that Dr. Vic had prescribed.  She looks at me, I look at her and we do a 180 back to Sandusky and the Discomfort Inn.  Now breakfast is really looking like lunch.

We hit the Cleveland West side and pulled into the old Tick Tock  around 11:30.  The Tick is a working man’s bar on one side and a central European restaurant on the other.  Dinner’s range from $6 – 13, portions large and dishes like stuffed cabbage, goulash, pierogi’s, city chicken (breaded pork on a skewer, fried and slathered with gravy and mashed potatoes) my hearts delight and not so much delight and other ethnic treats.  K had ribs which they are known for and I went for the artery clogging afore mentioned faux chicken.  Total bill, $15.00, amazing.

After lunch, we headed through the city with me giving a running commentary on every memory I could dredge up from my past life.  I give K credit for her patience as most folks would have stuffed a dish rag down my throat after the 5^th hour.

We headed out towards the far eastern reaches and got to Holden Arboretum around 1:00.  The arboretum is 100’s of acres of meandering paths filled with flowers, tree’s, ground cover, lakes, wild life and all of it (except the wild life) is carefully labeled.  The various attractions are a wild flower area, Rhody concentrations, butterfly habitats and on and on.  We had a mellow stroll highlighted by stops along the way where good conversation wafted in the air as gentle, sunlit breezes cooled us like the best natural balm available on the market.

We then drove to my Aunt Dixie’s/Uncle Jerry’s home which is out in the country.  K had an immediate bond with them and we relaxed and renewed.  Dixie has an informal country home, (much like K’s) where she boards dogs and operates a kitty shelter where she works to have unwanted kittens adopted by good families.  It is a load of work taking care of 16 cats and 3 – 10 dogs but she does it and does it with style and grace.

My Uncle J then drove us over to Corky and Lenny’s where I stocked up with lean corned beef, pickles, coleslaw and rye bread that could make a Eugene baker blush over the shoddy product they declare as bread.  We dined with my Uncle Fred and Aunt Jan.  Although they have both faced considerable health issues, those faded and laughter and joy filled the apartment.  My Aunt Jan (who is an astute judge of people) fell in love with K and could not stop saying how I had found the flip side of life – I have to agree.   Aunt Jan gave K Yiddish lessons and it was almost 10:00 before we left.  

Aunt Jan and Uncle Fred

Fred, Jan and Jerry

We set up the camper next to the cattery and settled down to watching two episodes of Taxi, (thank you Robert  and Betsy) and enjoyed the sounds of crickets and bullfrogs who sang us to sleep.