Cleveland again

Thursday June 27:  Jeff here:  After a relaxing breakfast at Amy and Sheldon's house, we had an appointment to visit Uncle Joe at his assisted living center, the Weils.   It was a nice visit yet it was hard for me - to many hard memories of living in an assisted living center.  I did get to hear a lot of stories from the past which is always nice.  Lunch was good.  The Weils is strictly kosher so I got to eat gefilte fish, pickled herring and other taste treats that I rarely indulge in.

Lunch with my Uncle

 We left and I had a series of phone calls from here to there.  I was looking for an outdoor activity and remembered I had seen a park/hiking trail near my cousin Amy's home.  We locked the car, grabbed our hiking poles and proceeded down the trail which was totally empty of any people.  Unfortunately, we suddenly realized why there was no one else about... a zillion hungry, aggressive angry mosquito's with lunch on their minds.  We got about 300 yards down the trail and had flashbacks of Minnesota - we literally fled back to the car waving our arms while cursing the heavens.  We got back to our sanctuary only to find 3 blood thirsty pests inside our car.  We killed the intruders and only lost a pint or so of blood.

Sign should read Blood Bank--be prepared to donate!

 We met my Aunt Jan and cousin Rory for dinner at J. Alexander's for dinner.  A nice time was had by all with good food and plenty of laughs

A few pictures of Amy and Sheldon's home in the country - nice digs.

Our rental car--a Ford Focus which gets great mileage

Friday, June 28:  Kathy's Turn:  We had a busy day planned, but first we stopped at Davis Bakery to see about a care package to be sent to Oregon.  And who should we run into, but Aunt Jan!  It was the start to a very "sweet" day in all respects.  We drove to Coventry Road, the "hippie" section of Cleveland.  Walking along the street, we popped into a shop and had an instant flashback to our 20's.  Crosby Stills and Nash were on the stereo and the smell of incense was pervasive.  After browsing a little, we met Den and Laurie and had a great lunch.  Tommy's specializes in vegetarian and vegan dishes and it is the opposite of what you think of when you see those words.  My spinach and cheese pie with wheat crust was amazing. 

When we had dinner with Rory the night before, he recommended that we see the Cleveland Art Museum.  They had added a new wing and it's free admission! The collections were varied.  We saw 16th century religious paintings and medieval armor and Tiffany glass and enjoyed a special auditory presentation of "40 Voice Motet" which was 40 speakers set in a circle with each voice in the choir broadcast through one speaker.  It was like sitting in the middle of the choir and Jeff and I got chills while listening.  But I especially enjoyed the impressionist room.  Soon it was time to leave and go to dinner at Aunt Jan's.  Good, because we were hungry and footsore.

Davis Bakery--you can't imagine how good it smells!

Reflection in the mirror at the bakery

A sugar junkie's dream

Cottage Grove in Cleveland

Jeff the rastafarian

Checking out the guidebook

5 of the 40 speakers

My knight in shining armor

Tiffany glass window from the 1920's

My favorite Van Gogh

We had such a warm and wonderful time at Aunt Jan's.  I feel like they are members of my own family now.  Such a nice time with laughter and memories being shared.  There was only one sadness.  We all missed Uncle Fred.  In honor of Uncle Fred, Jeff repeated one of Uncle Fred's favorite lines at the dinner table, "Butter up your end?"  It got a good laugh.   His passing has left a empty space that cannot be filled. 

Aunt Jan makes a mean Brisket

Amy

Dennis, Laurie and Aunt Dixie

Sheldon

Can you believe that Dixie is 74 years young....her birthday is the same day as mine

Uncle Jerry

More Cleveland

Wednesday, June 26

Jeff here: Our first full day in Cleveland, home of my childhood, where I cut my teeth and became the man you see before you today - OK Cleveland, not such a ringing endorsement to settle here.

We charged out of Amy and Sheldon's at 9:30, actually charge, not so much, more like an easy saunter.  First destination, drum roll please....Jack's Delicatessen at Green and Ceder Rd.  A place that is a treat for your olfactory nerves and comfort for your taste buds - I had my old stand by, the LEO - lox, eggs and onions with a Kaiser roll with a mound of cream cheese.  Happy? You betcha!  A gallon of coffee and "The Cleveland Plain Dealer" and we were raring to go so Kat checked out the powder room and we were off.

It was still cool from all of the rain so we headed out old route 306 for Holden Arboretum.  This is a crown jewel in Cleveland's bonnet, a gardener and outdoor enthusiast's delight.  We got there around 11:45.  Due to the miles of trails and Kathy's bad knee, we decided to take advantage of a mobile tour which was scheduled to leave at 1:00.  We hung out in the butterfly garden which is designed to knock 10 points off your blood pressure.  Every color of the rainbow was represented with interesting blends of texture, design and fragrance.  Just this garden was worth the price of admission.

We boarded the 5 passenger golf cart at 1:00 with another couple, about our age from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and our intrepid guide Steve.  Well, I normally don't like these kind of things and quickly realized that my attitude would not be changing today.  At each stop as Steve would point out... "a ginko tree", Marge or Frank would feel it necessary to go "ohhh, ahhh, isn't that marvelous,"  or "oooh, that is just amazing!!!"  I wanted to turn to them and ask them pointedly, "Damn it woman, don't they have trees in Wisconsin????"  There were several times that I just wanted to throw myself under the cart and end the pain. My ears felt like they were about to bleed.  Well, as you can all surmise from this missive, we survived the one hour tour without any manslaughter charges.

Selfie in the garden

Crayfish escaped the pond

Pond at the butterfly garden, not a selfie

We hung around for another half hour, stopped for a beverage and corn dog and then headed over to visit with my Aunt Dixie.  Dixie lives out in the country and is a very amazing lady for 74 years young.  She has a kind but very straight forward approach to life - we both love her and enjoyed the visit.

We then headed over to Chagrin Falls, a quaint older town that is a tourist destination.  We window shopped, Kat picked up a book on suicides she had been looking for, (Cleveland can do that for ya) and had a Rib dinner at Rick's Cafe.  We polished things off with an ice cream cone and a walk around the falls and headed back home, stuffed but happy.

Downtown Chagrin Falls

Geese under the falls

Ready for the 4th

And on to Cleveland

 Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Kathy again: Dennis woke us with a knock on the door at 6:30 and boy was it hard to get up.  But up we got and after a quick breakfast, shower and packing we were out the door by 8:05.  The traffic was pretty heavy as we drove through Detroit, but got less as we went further southeast.  After trading drivers and a couple of rest stops we were at the Cleveland city limits.

Jeff here - Well Neara, our navigation system got us to the Tick Tock tavern - a very old towny bar where the menu focuses on comfort and ethnic food at reasonable prices.  I chose City Chicken which is basically cubed pork on a stick, breaded, fried, covered in gravy and onions with a heaping mountain of mashed potatoes - yes, I know, not the best choice on a healthy food scale but OMG - was it good.  Kathy was a bit more sensible, barely with her Beef Stroganoff.  We rolled, both literally as well as figuratively out of the happiest of Ticks around 2:20 and I decided to go over to The Westside Market at 25th and Lorain.

The market is an institution that is actually on the National Historic Registry.  Inside this cavernous building with the imposing clock tower lies individual stalls filled with the best of the best of everything from meat to flowers to amazing pastries and treats.  The air is filled with shouts of joy, recognition and bartering - a great place to go for groceries or just a hit of Cleveland ambiance.  I was so excited until we went up to the door to read that they are closed on Tuesday's and Thursday's - what? No one gets hungry on those days or is this just another example of their being out to get me.  With heavy heart, we did a bit of window shopping and then headed East over the Lorain Bridge.

The Westside Market

Window shopping, we bought the tinted thermopane

Joys candy, only the best treat ever

I snaked my way through the city trying to find this ethic neighborhood over on Kinsman or Woodland where I spent some of my misspent youth at The Elegant Hog.  The Hog was gone as well as everything else I knew, bulldozed for the sake of progress or folks who had no sense of history.  The population had also changed fairly dramatically and Kathy started to question my sanity of putting her into such a questionable milieu.  I only had to be asked once and I had good old, dependable Neara get us over to my cousin Amy's in Hudson where we will be staying.

A nap for Kathy, a chew the fat session with Amy for me and we were out the door around 6:30 to meet my Aunt Jan and Sheldon, (Amy's husband) for dinner.  Now I should warn the unschooled that Jewish folks were the World's first foodies - if we aren't eating it, we are talking about it, (it's amazing that we were able to procreate with all of the time we spend on Sustenance.) 

Dinner was at Abuelo's - upscale Mexican with heaping handfuls of laughter and memories of days gone by.  A good time was had by all until it was time to leave.  The weather had taken a nasty U turn where lightening etched the sky at 28 second intervals followed by thunder that shook my fillings.  This was highlighted by sheets of rain where wipers set at ultra fast could not keep up.  Well, it was a fun 25 mile white knuckle ride home complete with an upcoming Olympic event - Competitive hydro-planing.  Amy was amazing and I did not fault her for taking a few slugs of Scotch directly from the jug upon our arrival home.

What added to the ambiance was finding the electricity out.  Sheldon lite 40 candles and distributed flashlights to all.  He has a generator (Mr. Prepared) which allowed the pump to function so we still had the use of the loo's for our basic needs.  We watched an episode of Doc Martin on Kat's computer and turned in early.  It was a new and interesting experience huddled under the covers and both of us reading by the light of one small flashlight.  Every time I turned the page, the light would swing wildly across the walls.  The lightening show went on way past midnight and the next day, folks stood around discussing the storm of '13, the worst seen in memory.

Bayfield, part two

Kathy here:  Sunday at the Bayfield cottage dawned warm and bright with blue skies and a nice breeze.  After a quick breakfast we decided it was work time and everyone set to a task.  I weeded flowerbeds while Jeff fixed the roof on the bunkie and washed windows and screens.  Dennis mowed and Laurie worked inside.  When we were done and were nice and hot, I went for a swim and Dennis fixed us a delicious brunch with omelettes, bacon, toast and grapefruit.  A wonderful reward for the work we did!  After a break, we packed up and all went down to the beach.  Jeff loves the kayak and took a ride. I had yet another swim and Dennis, Laurie and the dogs enjoyed the sun and breeze. 

A new member of the family--Froggy found the little pond

The windows Jeff washed

The flowerbeds I weeded

On the beach

Jeff the kayaker

Part of the 55 steps to the beach from the cottage

We went to downtown Bayfield for dinner at The Docks, a restaurant, you guessed it, right by the Marina.  We met Den and Laurie's neighbors, Scott and Margo and had a great meal, interesting conversation and lots of laughs.  The perfect conclusion was ice cream and a tour of the town.  Such a quaint and lovely little village.  Home again and we enjoyed the sunset and as the evening progressed, another episode of Doc Martin.

Sunset, Day two

Enjoying the deck in the evening

Now those of you who know me well, also know of my love for water and swimming.  Duh!  I was determined to have a midnight, moonlight swim.  Sure, the water is cold, but as we say in Oregon "three times around the boat" and you are warm.  My companions thought I was nuts and declined to join me, so at about 11:30, I ventured down the stairs, flashlight in hand to the beach.  It was silent except for the lapping of the waves against the sand.  There was a brisk warm wind and little clouds scutting across the moon, which was bright enough to light my way into the water.  Doffing my shirt, I walked into the waves like Eve in the garden.  Aaaaah!  What a relief to be cold and wet and naked in the water.  There wasn't another soul for miles around, it seemed, and the whole of Lake Huron was mine to enjoy.  I paddled and floated for a long time, until I started to get cold and turned toward the beach.  The waves were big enough to push me toward the shore, and I let them.  Finally, I stood up in the knee high water. With the moon shining on my wet skin and the warm wind drying me, I felt totally alive and "in the moment".  No pictures recorded it, but believe me, it was a totally amazing experience. 

The next day, we had breakfast, clean up chores and were out the door at a little after 11 for the long drive back to Rochester Hills.  We stopped for great pizza but otherwise kept to the road.  Soon we were at the border and the good ole' US of A. 

Headed over the border.

Jeff here:  The border guard seemed very serious about his job until he heard we lived in Oregon.  He immediately asked how I thought we would do now that Chip is gone to Philly.  Well, the exchange turned from straight edged to casual with smiles and a few laughs, (He was a closet Duck fan).

Long drive with temp around 90 with 100% humidity - oh yeah, we are back in the midwest!  We got to Den & Laurie's and I took a much needed power nap - the sun had been brutal on my eyes.  Den and I then picked up my Grand nieces Maia and Rylee at Day care.  Maia is 5 years old and Rylee is 20 months.  I had been told that Rylee might be stand offish but it was a truly wonderful visit.  Rylee warmed up to Kat and I right away and Maia kept amazing me with her intelligence, love, caring and compassion.  Yeah, you may say I am a bit biased but these two kids made our day - it was better then a hot fudge sundae, for breakfast.

We dropped the kids off at home and I got to see my niece Megan - again, how lucky can one Uncle be to have two absolutely wonderful nieces.  Doc Martin and a few overdue phone calls polished off a long but wonderful day.

Uncle Jeff dressing the nieces in Duck garb

We are just too cute!!

Introducing Rylee to her first ice cream bar--Maia demonstrates

She caught on quick!

Smiles say it all - photo by Maia