Fun Times in Cleveland

With this Hallas duo traveling between Columbus, Ashtabula and Youngstown during much of the summer, it seemed only logical to meet in Cleveland for a fun weekend together.

We decided to meet at the Crowne Plaza hotel and then walk north toward the Great Lakes Science Center and the Rock Hall. We strolled and saw many wedding parties getting photos near the lake, but our destination was the William G. Mather Steamship. This ship was comissioned in 1927 and retired in 1967. It was owned and operated by the company Cleveland Cliffs. It is now open to visitors as a maritime museum.

So with our AAA discount, we paid $6 each to tour the Mather. Both of us thought it could end up being somewhat lame, but we were both REALLY impressed. We did the self-guided tour, which was easy. Docents were readily available in every location of the boat to answer questions. We viewed the dining room, captain's quarters, engine room, mess hall and many more fun places aboard.

After the Mather tour, we did our favorite Cleveland activity: Indians Game!! The Tribe played the Toronto Blue Jays and we were surprised by how many Jays fans attended the game. Those crazy Canandians even had their own cheering section. Much to our dismay, the Indians lost 4-3. That's alright... we are ready for an awesome second half to the baseball season. Beautiful fireworks followed the game... so there still was an upside.

M-I-C... See you next time, Mickey!

The rains came in, over and over, on our journeys this month. It didn't slow us down too much on our way to Charlotte, NC for Chris (cousin) & Jamey's wedding. Keith was so excited for the storm that came right after the outdoor nuptials that we went outside during the reception for this photo:

Juneteenth weekend brought our friends, Carrie & Jim, to Geneva-on-the-Lake. We kept our pace up in order to beat the rain on "The Strip." We played skee-ball and Pop-a-shot indoors and finished the pub crawl in record time. We got back to the cottage without a drop of rain on us and sat down to enjoy Jim's pasta sauce. Yum!

Chris (friend) & Traci's Disney wedding was so beautiful that even getting off the bus and on the monorail in a monsoon didn't bother us. The Disney staff made sure all the wedding party had umbrellas in hand so as not to ruin their fancy appareal. It looked a little somber when the guys walked from the limo to the Wedding Pavilion.

Our favorite travel buddy, Christin, had more car troubles than one should have. In fact, the plan to drive from Orlando to Ohio was put on hold due to... her car being struck by lightning! Gotta love those storms! While in Orlando, Christin, Keith and I were hoping to go to Epcot, but the high humidity before the thunderstorms came in forced us to find a different way to enjoy the day. We took a suggestion from cousin Susan to play the Disney mini-golf. Quite a deal at $12 per person! The mini-golf was pretty shaded and right near cool spot, Blizzard Beach. They even let us go into Blizzard Beach for free to get some food. Here we are enjoying Blizzard Beach free of charge:

Take Us out to the Ball Game

It seemed that we had to tip-toe through the raindrops during much of May. But when the looming clouds could hold off just long enough, we happily tip-toed to our favorite ball parks in order to enjoy America's favorite pasttime: Baseball.

For Mother's Day, we headed over to Huntington Park for a Columbus Clippers' game. Mom loved her first time at Huntington with her son-in-law, sons, and daughter! The team wore bright pink uniforms in honor of the Komen Race for the Cure. Each mom/woman received a pink drawstring bag. We stayed for the sunny 7 innings of the first game and opted not to stay for the second (rain make-up) game.

The Cleveland Indians were so HOT this spring, it is hard to believe that all the rain could keep us away until May. We made it up to Progressive Field on May 22... and so did everyone else!! It was a beautiful day, Choo Jerseys were the promotion for the game, and the Indians were playing the Cincinnati Reds which resulted in the first sell out of the year. So many people were entering the stadium that they actually ran out of the promo jerseys by the time we got there. But the real prize was another W in the win column for the Tribe.

With nothing more American or more relaxing than baseball, we cannot wait to attend more games this summer!!

Yough Tree House 2

Kentuck Knob

Since Keith has always been interested in Frank Lloyd Wright's work, we ventured to one of his Usonian homes called Kentuck Knob. This journey was taken after we had checked out of the Yough Tree House. It took us (and Carrie & Jim) about 25 minutes from the Tree House to get to Kentuck Knob.

Upon our approach to the Visitors' Center, we noticed a giant apple in the yard. Peculiar. We walked into the Visitors' Center to buy our tickets ($20 each, ouch!). Immediately, someone yelled out, "Keith!" Surprisingly, it was someone who had worked at the theater in Disney when Keith was in BLAST! Her name was Lisa and she recognized Keith from ten years ago. She is now the curator at Kentuck Knob. Small world.

Shortly after that encounter our tour guide arrived to take us on a shuttle up the hill to the home. The tour of the home was neat with little tidbits about quirky Frank Lloyd Wright throughout. The home was built for the Hagans who owned ice cream shoppes. After the Hagans needed to be closer to hospital care in nearby Uniontown, the home was bought by the Palumbos of England. The home was built entirely on a hexagonal pattern and had some very skinny hallways. Wright's compression-and-release designs were see in the ceilings and made the home feel cozy but open. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the home, since it is still privately owned, but we got some nice outdoor shots and plenty of the "Sculpture Meadow."

The back patio with metal structured windchimes

A spindle of one of the sculptures

Hanging out in the one of the sculpturesThe panoramic view from the "knob"

Yough Tree House 1

The adventures continue as six friends traveled to the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania for the weekend. This journey will have to be blogged in multiple parts since there are quite a few stories to tell.

Our research lead us to this beautiful cabin adjacent to the Youghiogheny Dam on the Youghiogheny River affectionately called the Yough (pronounced: yauk) Tree House. Cortney & Nick arrived first and were nervous to enter an unlocked home in the middle of nowhere... but it was the right place. Carrie & Jim arrived shortly after and made the house more full. Keith & Julie showed up later after a longer drive and a stop at St. Joan of Arc for fish fry sandwiches. It was still light out so the scenery was a priority to take in.

The first night included hanging out in the hot tub, playing Wii games and a round of Uno.

Our second day was casual and relaxing starting with breakfast, a drive to Ohiopyle, hiking, scenic outlook, yummy lunch, Ferris Beuller's Day Off, a bike ridealong the Great Allegheny Passage for Keith, more hot tub time, Jim's Chili for dinner, birthday cake for the Cooks and more evening shenanigans.

The last day went too quickly. A few more "Happy Anni-birthdays" were sung before the Cooks got on the road. Once were all packed and loaded, a short drive took us to theFrank Lloyd Wright designed Usonion home, Kentuck Knob. What an experience! What a trip! More to come...

To the Moon and Beyond!

A beautiful afternoon and time between CCHS winterguard performances lead these two young adventurers to embark on a "giant leap for mankind" at the Neil Armstrong Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio this past weekend. Inside, we saw moon rocks, Neil Armstrong history, a short film (soundtrack: "Moonlight Sonata"), memorabilia, and Ohio astronauts' bios.

Mr. Armstrong's journeys inspired us so much that we couldn't help but to add to our vehicle collection. No, not a aviation vehicle... a proper bicycle for Julie. Now, we can hit trails together or quickly get to the grocery store. With Keith's plan to ride the Great Allegheny Passage (www.atatrail.org) may suggest that there will be some team training. Yummy meals at Northstar Cafe followed all the weekend's adventures.

Winter at the Lake

It is so neat to see Lake Erie in the winter. Keith's parents have shown us video of when Keith was a kid and saw the lake frozen for the first time. He was quite the narrator of how the lake looks like frozen waves and you can walk right out on it. We was impressed as a kid and we are still impressed every time we see it.

Our most recent trip was really a business trip to get our boat to the mechanic before summer. But we took a few minutes in the rip-roaring wind and blistering cold to take a few photos of the view. In these photos, you will see what looks like a sandy beach... that is where the water normally is. The white foam looking parts are literally frozen waves, as if God just stopped them in time... to wait for summer.

View from Olive Drive

View from the Lodge at Geneva on the Lake