J and K Adventures: 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.