In Praise of Cleveland
POST 34: October 4, 2020
I’ve been to Cleveland, Ohio, several times during the past three decades, and I've got to confess: I like the place.
Cleveland gets a bad rap: burning rivers, laughingstock sports teams, its "mistake on the lake" nickname, that sort of thing.
Truth is, this diverse city of 379,000 people situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie doesn't deserve its bad rap.
Maybe these photos from our time in Cleveland will help convince you that the city is worth a stop. Or at least some respect.
Why, you may ask, am I featuring a picture of bus stops and a boring office building? Because, if my photography skills were better, you'd be able to see that the name "Rockefeller" adorns the top of that building.
John D. Rockefeller's family moved from a farm in upstate New York to Ohio when the lad was 13. He first dabbled in oil in 1863, unified and dubbed his collection of oil companies "Standard Oil" in 1870, and, just like that, he was on his way to becoming one of the wealthiest Americans ever. Not bad for a child whose father was a snake-oil salesman, bigamist, and rapist.
Lucia and I agreed that the best part of our trip to Cleveland was visiting the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. Each of the 33 gardens, strung along a gorgeous East Boulevard neighborhood and Martin Luther King Drive near the famed Cleveland Museum of Art and Case Western Reserve University (yep, we arrived the night of the Great Debate or Whatever the F&$! that was) like the little gems they are, features a flag of the nationality or culture it represents and gardens reflecting the heritage and culture of each.
The oldest and, quite frankly, most poorly maintained and overall disappointing is the British Garden, which opened in 1916. We didn't deign to take a picture of it.
The mission of the gardens is “peace through mutual understanding.” Perhaps, if every city had a similar collection of urban oases showcasing the heritage of its diverse groups and its community relations folks made an effort to publicize said gardens, we'd all have a bit more mutual respect for one another.
At the very least, our cities would be more aesthetically appealing.
After our 17,000+ steps (like how I slipped that factoid in there?) walking the Cleveland Cultural Gardens and various other spots closer to our hotel, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Lucia and I were truly happy to plop down at The Chocolate Bar at 3:15 in the afternoon to order a Chocolate Raspberry No-tini and a fully leaded Macaroon Martini. Our food was damn good too.
I see from their web site that The Chocolate Bar also has locations in Buffalo, Huntsville, and Kuwait, so, if you ever find yourself in one of these puzzlingly diverse locations, I advise you to stop in.
Like all major cities, Cleveland has its share of bombed-out looking, crime-ridden areas; however, given its upsides, particularly during COVID (everyone wears masks, there are very few people around, and nice accommodations are quite inexpensive right now), I would highly recommend Cleveland as a 2-3 day/night getaway destination.
And the icing on the Cleveland cake? It's an easy, 75-minute drive to The Ohio State Reformatory, one of the creepiest places I've ever visited and where the Best Movie Ever, The Shawshank Redemption, was filmed.
And visiting in October, the spookiest time of year? Sheer road trip satisfaction.