Kayaking at Ohio's Findley State Park

Since we got to Ohio, our kayaks have been sitting on my Mom's driveway next to the rig.  They (and we) haven't been in the water since late March when we kayaked on Lake Pleasant just north of Phoenix.

So yesterday we decided to take a spin on the lake at Findley State Park near my Mom's in Wellington, Ohio.

Findley isn't a challenging paddle, but it has enough inlets, overhanging trees, and wildlife to make it interesting. Since it was a Saturday, we had company -- probably two dozen other kayaks, canoes and paddle boarders were on the water, plus a lot of folks were fishing along the shore. The lake is big enough that it didn't seem crowded.  

To get in the water we used a boat launch that put us in the lake with dry feet -- the first time that's ever happened.  With all the kayaking we do, we've only seen this particular launch (called an EZ Launch and which also allow folks in wheel chairs to get in/out of kayaks or canoes) twice; both are just a few miles from my Mom's.

Jim using the EZ Launch, which is like a pontoon boat with a ramp.  If you are in a wheel chair, there's a bench you can use to slide into your canoe or kayak.  Sans wheel chair, first you put your boat on the rollers then (photo 1) stand over the boat; (photo 2) get in the boat; and (photo 3) and grab the handrails and push yourself into the water.

An earthen dam completed in 1956 created the lake at Findley State Park.  Per the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the lake has 4.2 miles of shoreline and 83 acres of fishing water.

A Great Blue Heron sat on top of a tree long enough for Bev to get some good photos.  We also saw lots of little fish, the usual Canada Geese, an egret,and  a kingfisher. Plus we heard lots of cicadas.

Ohio's only national park: Cuyahoga Valley

Tuesday we went to Ohio's only national park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park. 

Ohio has 11 other memorials and historic sites run by the National Park Service but CVNP is the only full-fledged national park. It became national recreation area in 1974 and a national park in 2000.  

The other national sites in Ohio are the William Howard Taft Home in Cincinnati; Fallen Timbers Battlefield and Fort Miamis in Toledo; James A. Garfield Home in Mentor; the First Ladies National Historic Site in Canton; the David Berger National Memorial (in honor of an American citizen who was one of 11 Israel athletes killed at Munich's 1972 Olympic Games) in Beachwood; Hopewell Culture Earthen Mounds National Historic Site in Chillicothe; the National Aviation Heritage Area and the Aviation National Historical Park, both in Dayton; Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial in Put-in Bay; the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Xenia; plus the North Country National Scenic Trail which runs though seven states including Ohio. I've been to the Garfield home, and we've both been to Put-in-Bay, so we've got some exploring to do.

Jim said I really didn't need to list all those parks -- but I really just did it for me as a kind of  "to do" list.

Part of Cuyahoga Valley was once a superfund site (now cleaned up). Another section was once home to the Richfield Coliseum, where the Cleveland Cavaliers played from 1974 to 1994 (now torn down). Now the entire park is 33,000 protected and beautiful acres along 22 miles of the winding Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland.  

We stopped at one of the visitors centers, walked some trails, went to Brandywine Falls, and then drove through part of the park. There's farmland, forests, meadows and it's very pretty. Afterwards we went to a brew pub called the Brew Kettle in Strongville.  We highly recommend both CVNP and the Brew Kettle. 

The Cuyahoga River as seen from near the Boston Store Visitor's Center.  That's I-271 crossing the river, which begins in Burton, Ohio -- about thirty miles due east of Cleveland as the crow flies -- and winds for 85 miles to it's mouth on Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland. There might be big freeways nearby, but  much of the park seems remote, quiet, and has 125 miles of trails.

Jim near the Tow Path Trail (that's the trail to the left) which follows the historic Ohio & Erie Canal, which opened in 1827.  The canal launched commercial development, allowed farmers to get agricultural products to eastern markets, and helped the entire area boom. Water was diverted from the Cuyahoga River to fill the canal. At the peak of the canals, Ohio had 1,000 miles of them in 44 of its 88 counties.  The ranger told us boats were towed up the canal by donkeys and horses.

The Boston Store Visitors' Center was once a store and post office that advertised selling "clothing, flour and feed."  In 1905 it became a private residence until it was purchased by the National Park Service in 1980.

This is Bev's family visiting the parks Brandywine Falls around -- from the looks of us and the fact that Brooke (back row second from right) is shorter than her cousin Ashley -- about 25 years ago.  Missing from the shot are Toby (not yet born to Don and Trudy) and Jim (not yet married to Bev).  Bev must have been the photog. Jim and I visited the falls this trip too, because the park ranger told us "that's what you do at this park."

Rock and Roll

Museum overload, thy name is Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There are enough displays, movies, interactive exhibits, photos, and stuff to look at that you could spend spend two to three days there. Instead, we spent one big day at the Rock Hall, as it's known, on the shore of Lake Erie in Cleveland. We actually went there even before our several day stay in Cleveland that we wrote about two posts ago.

Jim knows the musicians, history, and song lyrics of every band past and present. My knowledge is more like Beatles, Rolling Stones, Monkees (the latter of which has yet to be inducted). But we both really enjoyed what was our second trip to the Rock Hall.

I seldom remember watching American Bandstand as a kid, but there was a great 30-minute movie of Dick Clarke introducing nearly every band known to man, followed by a snippet of each band's music. Very well done.

Also great were the photos of the late Herb Ritts, a still photographer known for his "anti glamour" black and white shots, and who later directed music videos and TV commercials. His first photos that garnered attention were of friend Richard Gere when Gere was an aspiring actor. Ritts went on to shoot Michael Jackson, Elton John, Cher, Diana Ross, and other music icons. Per the display, Ritt's first music video was for Madonna, who talked him into directing because she loved his stills.

Great museum.  Pictures can't do it justice. Don't miss it when you get to Cleveland.

Front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Per the museum, Cleveland DJ Alan Freed coined the term "rock and roll" in 1951 and put together the first rock and roll concert in 1952.  

The Rock Hall as seen from behind the museum from the shore of Lake Erie. The museum was designed by architect I.M. Pei, who has designed buildings for cities all over the world.

From top left going clockwise, onstage clothing by Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Keith Richards, and Katy Perry. 

Madonna portraits taken by Herb Ritts. 

Part of an exhibit about exactly what it says at the top of the pic. 

The Beatles exhibit included a video wall of interviews and music from their albums.

Another exhibit about people and organizations who have protested rock and roll and/or its singers and lyrics over the years.  Guess it seemed like a good idea at the time, Tipper Gore.

Janis Joplin paid $3,500 for this 1965 Porsche and had it customer painted.  It was stolen while she was playing a gig in Sand Francisco; when recovered it was partially painted over with primer.  Joplin had it restored.

This inflated guy (and the two smaller creates to the right) had to do with Pink Floyd's album "The Wall." By the time I got to this floor I was on brain overload, so I don't have much to say.  If you are a Pink Floyd fan, it probably needs no explanation.

Guano, guano, everywhere

Update July 14, 2015:  The picture above was taken this morning just before the swallows tested their wings and flew the coop. They and their parents were gone all day but everyone is back tonight and tucked in for the evening.

When Jim and I got to Mom's in northeastern Ohio about Memorial Day, two swallows were building a nest on an outdoor light attached to her garage.  How pretty, we thought. How nice to be so up close and personal with nature. How fun it will be to have little baby birds peeking over the edge of the nest. How graceful to see swallows swooping about like in the movie Cinderella. 

Well it's all that. But it's also a a whole lotta bird poop all over the light fixture, the side of the house, and on the driveway below. Plus we get dive bombed every time we walk out the garage, which for me and Jim is many times a day. Those birdies literally come within inches of our heads, all the time squeaking something that sounds like "Get away, get away!"

Get away yourselves little birdies. You are lucky that the residents of this house are soft hearted.  

A swallow parent stands guard while two babies hope for food.  You can see the beak of a third baby t0 the right, and there may be one other hatchling in the nest as well.  We read that swallows have two broods per year and return to the same nest year after year.  Great.

CLE

We're doing the rust belt tour. Went to Pittsburgh last week. Had plans to leave for Buffalo tomorrow but Cooper Dog has pneumonia so we're staying close to Mom's in Ohio for now.

Last month we spent a couple of nights in downtown Cleveland at a cool hotel. We went to the West Side Market, Great Lakes Brewery, and the observation deck of the Terminal Tower. We bought Cavaliers shirts at "The Q," admired Cleveland's architecture, had fun at our hotel's bars, and walked all over the city. We also spent time in the wine, beer, and coffee departments of Heinens, an upscale grocery store next to our hotel. 

Downtown buildings are behind restored/renovated. Condos/apartments are in demand. Public Square is being redesigned by a man said to be America's leading landscape architect. Playhouse Square -- the largest theatre district outside of New York City-- has been revived and reopened.  

And Cleveland is attracting a diverse crowd. Last year the city hosted the 2014 Gay Games. Next year it will host the 2016 Republican National Convention. Can't get much more diverse than that. 

Bev in Playhouse Square near what the city says is the world's largest outdoor chandelier. As I walked to get coffee one morning I saw two guys on a cherry picker hand polishing the crystals. 

Jim at Great Lake Brewery in the Cleveland area called "Ohio City."  We liked the beer at Great Lakes; the food not so much, but the place was packed.

In February 2015 Heinens Fine Foods opened an upscale grocery store in the restored Cleveland Trust Company bank, which was built in 1908. The second floor has an automatic wine sampling machine and beer tasting.  The hotel where we stayed -- the Metropolitan at the 9 -- is in the building to the right.    

The centerpiece of Heinens grocery store is the former bank's beautiful glass rotunda.   That's Bev's wine in the foreground.

The lobby of the former Cleveland Trust Company bank is now a lunch spot for downtown Clevelanders. Heinens operates 23 grocery stores in northeastern Ohio and the Chicago area. It seems funny to post three photos of a grocery store -- but it's right next to our hotel and we went there for something every day.

Our hotel room. When we first walked in, I thought the room had a glass partition.  If I had noticed the towels I would have realized it's a glass-enclosed shower.  

We bought cannoli at the West Side Market not pig heads.  Besides pork and pastries, the Ohio City market sells, veggies, fruits, meats, periogies,  flowers,  pasta, herbs, olive oil, maple syrup, honey, fish, popcorn, prepared foods, you name it. It began operating in 1840 and is the oldest indoor/outdoor market in the state.  It's a fun place to visit and in a great neighborhood with lots of restaurants and shops.

Two standout buildings in Cleveland's skyline:  The Key Bank Building, left, and the Terminal Tower. The Key Bank Building was completed in 1991; it's the tallest skyscraper in Ohio and the 23rd tallest building in the US. You can see the being-redesigned public square at the bottom of the photo. To the right is the Terminal Tower, the fourth tallest building in the US when it was dedicated in 1930. The Terminal Tower was opened as office space above a rail hub, and has  an observation deck on the 42nd floor.  Today the complex includes a shopping mall.

We visited Cleveland during the NBA finals while the Cavs were playing in Oakland.  Cavs signs like the two above were all over the place. It was a fun atmosphere.