Cleveland Rocks

We love to travel in the Dunn household, in fact I hope this is just one of many travel blogs I write for my readers. In all of our travels though, we have rarely spent time in Cleveland, Ohio. Probably because we are HUGE Tigers fans and my husband cringes when he is anywhere near an Indian fan! My brother, however, attends Baldwin Wallace, which is just a hop, skip and jump away from the city, so for my 31st Birthday we decided to spend the weekend in this undiscovered land to our East!


Dewey and I not knowing how
to take a picture!

For starters its not a bad drive from the Toledo area, all turnpike makes for a smooth, quick trip. Also, almost every rest stop along the Ohio Turnpike has a Panera and a Starbucks... BONUS! So with the kids piled in my van and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the DVD player we were off. My parents, Jaynann the driver and Randall, leading the way in their car. Maybe I should have led because, Mom driving or should I say lane switching, was a little hard to follow. She's in the middle, now the left lane, now the right, where will she go next? Other then playing follow the leader on the turnpike, the drive was great. Easton slept all the way, and the older kids were occupied with the blissful technology my Mini Van has, it was quick and quiet.


Nana and Papa loving on Baby E!

Now because Jaynann and Randall are empty nesters, they recently got a little beagle to keep them company, Daisy Jane or as I refer to her Pansy Pain! So we had to pit stop at my brother's campus house to drop her off for the weekend before we hit the hotel. The kids could not wait to see his bachelor pad, you know the one my Mom kept referring to as the "slums". I have to admit my extra large iced tea was hitting my bladder pretty hard so I too was anxious to get there and use the bathroom (although I contemplated stopping at a Pilot because that might be cleaner). 


Uncle James living the dream!

We got there and headed inside to find a clean bathroom, I was impressed, but a not so clean house. Seriously it looked like a typical college guy house that you would see in the movies. Four couches, a HUGE T.V., no decorations other then a giant beer bottle plaque and a pile of shoes that could cover the feet of an entire third world country. Although, I found it quaint I was ready to hit the luxury of hotel living, the kids on the other  hand wanted to stay. Why is it that kids are amused by the little, simple "luxuries" of life? So as they said, "Where are we sleeping?" because they had their hearts set on staying the night with Uncle James, I quickly replied "Well we sure as hell aren't staying here... get in the car"!

Finally we arrived at the hotel, just in time for a late dinner. As we entered and headed towards the in house restaurant, we noticed the welcome sign in the lobby read "Welcome Platinum Member, Matthew D.", ego inflation perhaps? After Dewey's head de-swelled enough to sit down and eat, I enjoyed a very tasty Cesar salad, then headed back to the room to get some beauty rest on a very comfortable, fluffy king bed. Did I mention the part about knowing that I don't have to make the bed in the morning, which adds to getting an even better nights sleep! Not to mention when I woke up I took a long, steaming hot shower and didn't have to worry about paying the water bill. Yes, yes, I know that its not good for the environment but cut this Mama a break, after all it is my Birthday weekend!!!


Uncle James and the kids!

We had a great family breakfast, with the inclusion of my brother James' new lady friend, Kayla! She captured my attention the minute she said "I never buy anything over $10.00"! A bargain shopper in the family, be still my beating heart! Hopefully on our next trip we can hit up some Goodwill's and TJ Max's! As for shopping in Cleveland this time around, we journeyed over to the West Side Market. The marketplace is home to over 100 various vendors, selling their ethnically diverse foods. We wanted to try a Gyro but the line was so long that we passed, but the smell was incredible. After stocking up on sliced turkey to go with our Jewish Rye Seeded loaf we hit the jackpot on pork chops! One cool thing about these independent vendors is their ability to barter with you. After haggling, we all took a jaunt across the historical market to collect a bag of fresh coffee beans and a block of Havarti cheese (my favorite). The cheese we used later for a snack along with Golden Delicious apples, HEAVENLY! Besides it being a bit crowded and hard to maneuver with a stroller, which I would leave home next time, it was a fun filled, family adventure ending with the whole gang indulging in a scrumptious baked good of choice that my Mom treated us too. It didn't take a whole lot of coaxing to convince me to eat a Pistachio Cannoli paid for by someone else! The West Side Market is a true gem of Cleveland featured on various programs from The Travel Channel to Food Network. If you are in the area you must check it out!

We finished the day off with a great lunch at a local diner called Mike's Bar and Grille where I had the Hot Brown. A thick sliced piece of Italian Bread covered with mashed potatoes and thinly shaved roast beef, then topped with a smooth, rich brown gravy. Now this meal will not be making the top 10 healthy meals of Cleveland anytime soon, but if you want to splurge on some good old fashioned comfort food, dig in! It was absolutely fantastic and the perfect end to our weekend get away!