RenFest update and Day One of our Labor Day vacay

First of all, and update on the Renaissance Festival. It was fine. Aside from the temperature being a bit hotter than I'd have liked--I find the RenFest to be more enjoyable by late September when the temps are in the low 70s--it was a pleasant time. It didn't get too busy until about an hour before we left. Even though I'm really not the biggest Renaissance Festival fan in the world, after all we have been through with Covid, I had the tastiest giant turkey leg I have experienced in a long time.

Last Thursday (September 1), we headed off on a five-day vacation through Ohio, the little sliver of northern Pennsylvania that pokes up between Ohio and New York, then New York State, and finally into Ontario before returning to Michigan. We brought Avery and Nora with us.

We arrived in Cleveland at about noon on Thursday. As soon as we parked in the lot on Lake Michigan near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we were greeted by the ear-piercing sounds of several blue military jets streaking over the skies of Cleveland. It was the Blue Angels. They were in town for a Labor Day air show and were apparently "practicing" that day in preparation for the big show. They were truly an awe-inspiring sight, but the intense loudness became overbearing after about fifteen or twenty minutes. We made our way on the short walk to the RnRHoF.

I had never been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before, but I am happy that I finally made it there. I have griped and complained about the hall for years. (Why do some people get in and others do not? Do we really need an institution for what is supposed to be rebellious and/or proletarian music? In other words, the standard gripes). As it turns out, the RnRHoF is anything but austere or stuffy. It is fun and, befitting a building devoted to rock and roll music, quite LOUD. It felt like walking the halls of a college dorm with every room blasting a different kind of music. The only part missing was the aroma of pot or stale booze wafting in the air. 

We spent about four hours in the RnRHoF and could have easily stayed longer. I'm not sure how much "the kids" enjoyed it, but they were at least good sports about it and indulged the old man. The most memorable artifacts? Probably U2's charmingly mundane talent show trophy from 1978 and Jim Morrison's Cub Scout uniform. (Jimbo was a good scout--he earned all three badges. My sorry ass only attained the Bobcat and Wolf badge. Morrison got those AND the Bear badge).

We spent the night in a perfectly pleasant hotel just a line drive's distance from the Cleveland Guardians' stadium, Progressive Field. The following morning, I strolled over to the stadium and took several photos. I have decided that next summer I want to get tickets for a Detroit Tigers/Cleveland Guardians game and stay in the very same hotel so that we can just walk to and from the stadium. I was quite taken with how vibrant downtown Cleveland truly is. I had heard the city had made giant strides but it was good to see it myself.