I began this post a few weeks before we left, and now that we've been gone a few more, I don't think I have anything else to add. There are LOTS of pictures and memories, but it was a fun post to write.
Until we moved there, Cleveland seemed like a really boring spot on the map. Snowy, cold and ugly. It wasn't until we began to explore that we saw that it was actually quite a gem. Since our time there was always going to be short, we made more of a point to do and see things, something we sort of regret not doing more in Washington (well, it's more like Carson wishes he'd taken me places, since he's explored lots of places there).
Having a bucket list has been a fun way to get out and do things and see the city we don't have the rest of our lives to see. Some of them are in the city, some of them are a drive away, and some are places we wanted to see while we were in driving distance. I wrote down absolutely everything I could think of and of all the things we were encouraged to do here and wanted to do here, I'd say we did a lot! I tried to include a picture with each thing, and a link to the post where we did it, if there was one, so... sorry about how long this is but there we go!
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Until we moved there, Cleveland seemed like a really boring spot on the map. Snowy, cold and ugly. It wasn't until we began to explore that we saw that it was actually quite a gem. Since our time there was always going to be short, we made more of a point to do and see things, something we sort of regret not doing more in Washington (well, it's more like Carson wishes he'd taken me places, since he's explored lots of places there).
Having a bucket list has been a fun way to get out and do things and see the city we don't have the rest of our lives to see. Some of them are in the city, some of them are a drive away, and some are places we wanted to see while we were in driving distance. I wrote down absolutely everything I could think of and of all the things we were encouraged to do here and wanted to do here, I'd say we did a lot! I tried to include a picture with each thing, and a link to the post where we did it, if there was one, so... sorry about how long this is but there we go!
Until now, I hadn't officially written down a list, so this is off the top of my head, but here we go, in no particular order:
Cleveland Indians Game (May 2013)
Get up to Grand Rapids to see friends and explore (September 2013)
Get over to New England (Carson visited Princeton and Yale in October 2013)
Cleveland Browns Game (Carson went to a preseason game in August 2013)
Amish Country (we went with friends in August 2013)
Chagrin Falls (we've been lots of times. First time in September 2012)
Cleveland Metroparks - Euclid Creek Reservation (April 2013)
Cleveland Metroparks - North Chagrin Reservation (October 2012)
Cedar Point (October 2012)
Patterson Fruit Farm (November 2012)
Drive over to Columbus (we met Dustin and Mellonie there in November 2013)
Cleveland Orchestra (we saw the orchestra play at the opera of The Cunning Little Vixen in May 2014)
Bay Village - Lake Erie (July 2013)
Cleveland Metroparks - Edgewater Reservation - Lake Erie (we walked on it in February 2014)
(Carson went in May 2013)
See Niagara Falls (June 2013)
Tower City (December 2013)
Public Square (December 2013)
(Spring 2014)
Cleveland Public Library (May 2014)
South Euclid Library (Summer 2013)
Carson - drive down the one-way at John Carroll (May 2014)
Happy Dog (January 2014 for the first time)
Find a great church (found in August 2012)
Mangia Mangia (May 2014)
West Side Market (January 2014)
Christmas Story House (February 2014)
Eat in Ohio City (February 2014)
Cleveland Metroparks - Acacia (June 2014)
Botanical Gardens (May 2014)
Lakeview Cemetary (May 2014)
Melt (May 2013)
See Akron (May 2014)
Mitchell's Ice Cream (July 2013; picture from May 2013)
East Coast Custard (November 2013)
Sweetie Fry (May 2013)
Coquette Patisserie (May 2014)
Arcades (December 2013)
Visit East 4th Street (July 2013)
Eat on East 4th Street (June 2014)
Go to a Corn Maze (October 2013)
Holden Arboretum (October 2013)
Get Carson graduated (May 2014)
Not crossed off:
There are, of course, a few things we weren't able to do while living here. We'd have loved to take a trip to Chicago, and nearly did a few times, but wanted to have enough money saved where the trip was as much fun for us as it could be. Same goes for New York and Boston, two more places we'd have loved to see.
In Cleveland, people kept telling us to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the $20 admission price, we had a feeling that it just would not be worth it for us. Neither of us wanted to go, and we aren't really interested in music so even though everyone else said to, I don't think it would have been a good choice.
The food scene is apparently THE THING here but as I've mentioned before, we aren't food people. We're cheap, and we like food that falls under that category. Most of the things people said to do here involved eating, and most of the time, it just wasn't that appealing to us. Lots of people explore places by eating through them and we are just not those people. We did love the food we did have here, but also loved the Cheesecake Factory, so...
We would have loved to see all of the Metroparks, but kept forgetting to go when it was nice out. The ones we've seen are lovely. We had no desire to see a Cavaliers game since we don't like basketball.
Thanks for giving me another view of Cleveland. I always had it pictured as dirty and ugly, but it can be quite pretty in places, as you have shown.
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