Cleveland Rocks! ... kind of
I have to say, I definitely hesitated for a while about writing this entry. I don’t really know why, I just think it’s obligatory to write about things that you do while you’re away from your home state.
Jonathan Roberts and I traveled to Cleveland, Ohio.
“Ohio is lame, Mike. Why did you go there?”
Good question, Jon is going to graduate school in the fall; he has been accepted at the Cleveland Institute of Music for a masters degree program in Piano Performance. He went there to find an apartment, because, people need places to live. Why did I go? Well, it’s a 650 mile drive and I didn’t think Jon could make it alone.
Boy, was I ever right! As much as I enjoy being right, I didn’t really enjoy all of the minor annoyances that occurred while en route and while there. For instance, while traveling through Pennsylvania around 10:00 PM on Thursday night, we stopped at a BP to fuel up. While inside, I am paying for the petrol and Jon is pouring us some coffees. The man notices our Jeep Liberty has a Rhode Island license plate, so he asks us where we are heading. Now, it is important to note that up until this point, the weather had been pretty abysmal, flash rain waves, lightning, thunder, et cetera. After we mentioned Ohio, he kind of looked surprised and said: “Don’t you fellahs know that there is a tornado warning in that are? They’re gonna be hit!” Jon and I looked a little panicked, but pressed onward anyway.
We drove some high-intensity winds, totally gnarly rain blasts and a totally awesome lightning show and lived. Several hours we got to Cleveland and unfortunately, our terrible excuse for a hotel.
Now, Jon, of course wants to do things cheaply. When I travel, I stay at Embassy Suites, a Hyatt Regency or at the very least, a Marriott. Nothing less is acceptable. This place, the America’s Best Value Inn was an absolute pit. First off, the electrics were inoperable. I had to unscrew two bulbs in order to shut off lamps. The bathroom sink had some filthy calcium deposit marring the basin. The shower had ridiculously insufficient water pressure, the cable television functioned intermittently and to top it off there was no iron or coffee maker in the room.
The only saving grace is that we were near a restaurant, the “Brooks Family Restaurant”, which is equivalent to Bickford’s, only far more awesome. For $1.99, you get 3 eggs, 3 bacon strips, 3 sausage links, 2 pieces of toast, home fries and all the coffee you can drink. Tell me that is not a steal!
We toured around Cleveland, did the whole sight-seeing thing, it was pretty cool. Met some really chill people in some sketchy areas of town, but, it’s all good. Jon found a cheap apartment that has an indoor swimming pool and a sauna, go him.
Then, of course, we left. Jon ran out of money, so I had to pay for the rest of the expenses. He’s running a high tab with me so far, hah. Unfortunately, I didn’t have cash on me, so we had to pay for the tolls with checks, but that’s okay. Worse things have happened.
We got home in once piece and the objective(s) were accomplished.
I’d say successful mission. Although, it is so great to be back.
Jonathan Roberts and I traveled to Cleveland, Ohio.
“Ohio is lame, Mike. Why did you go there?”
Good question, Jon is going to graduate school in the fall; he has been accepted at the Cleveland Institute of Music for a masters degree program in Piano Performance. He went there to find an apartment, because, people need places to live. Why did I go? Well, it’s a 650 mile drive and I didn’t think Jon could make it alone.
Boy, was I ever right! As much as I enjoy being right, I didn’t really enjoy all of the minor annoyances that occurred while en route and while there. For instance, while traveling through Pennsylvania around 10:00 PM on Thursday night, we stopped at a BP to fuel up. While inside, I am paying for the petrol and Jon is pouring us some coffees. The man notices our Jeep Liberty has a Rhode Island license plate, so he asks us where we are heading. Now, it is important to note that up until this point, the weather had been pretty abysmal, flash rain waves, lightning, thunder, et cetera. After we mentioned Ohio, he kind of looked surprised and said: “Don’t you fellahs know that there is a tornado warning in that are? They’re gonna be hit!” Jon and I looked a little panicked, but pressed onward anyway.
We drove some high-intensity winds, totally gnarly rain blasts and a totally awesome lightning show and lived. Several hours we got to Cleveland and unfortunately, our terrible excuse for a hotel.
Now, Jon, of course wants to do things cheaply. When I travel, I stay at Embassy Suites, a Hyatt Regency or at the very least, a Marriott. Nothing less is acceptable. This place, the America’s Best Value Inn was an absolute pit. First off, the electrics were inoperable. I had to unscrew two bulbs in order to shut off lamps. The bathroom sink had some filthy calcium deposit marring the basin. The shower had ridiculously insufficient water pressure, the cable television functioned intermittently and to top it off there was no iron or coffee maker in the room.
The only saving grace is that we were near a restaurant, the “Brooks Family Restaurant”, which is equivalent to Bickford’s, only far more awesome. For $1.99, you get 3 eggs, 3 bacon strips, 3 sausage links, 2 pieces of toast, home fries and all the coffee you can drink. Tell me that is not a steal!
We toured around Cleveland, did the whole sight-seeing thing, it was pretty cool. Met some really chill people in some sketchy areas of town, but, it’s all good. Jon found a cheap apartment that has an indoor swimming pool and a sauna, go him.
Then, of course, we left. Jon ran out of money, so I had to pay for the rest of the expenses. He’s running a high tab with me so far, hah. Unfortunately, I didn’t have cash on me, so we had to pay for the tolls with checks, but that’s okay. Worse things have happened.
We got home in once piece and the objective(s) were accomplished.
I’d say successful mission. Although, it is so great to be back.