All the little chicks with their crimson lips
Go "Cleveland…read morerocks!", "Cleveland rocks!"
Livin' in sin with a safety pin
Goin' "Cleveland rocks!", "Cleveland rocks!"
Cleveland rocks!
Ohio!
Ahem! Now that I have got that out of my system! Visiting the city of Cleveland never crossed my mind this year until I saw a promotion for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Half Marathon on my Facebook feed. After researching the event, its location, and the registration prices, I was sold. It turned out to be the perfect reason to visit the city the best way I know how--by running! Some notable Cleveland foods that I wanted to try included Lake Erie perch and walleye, pierogies, paczki, cassata cake, and buckeyes (the candy, not the team). Researching activities outside of the run itself--like the city's history, the Great Lakes Science Center, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the USS Cod Submarine Memorial, and, of course, the iconic A Christmas Story House--made me highly anticipate the visit.
As for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Half Marathon, it began as a way to combine Cleveland's rich music heritage with a major running event. Giving runners a scenic loop around the city, passing landmarks. The run elevation for this half marathon event was downhill, but of course, there were some climbs--nothing wild, though! The highlights encountered for me were starting downtown near the Great Lakes Science Center, Huntington Bank Field, the Cleveland State University campus, the lovely cultural gardens along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Lake Erie, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum--which reminded me that the finish line was just ahead.
Prior to my visit, I bookmarked several restaurants to try some of the foods of interest to me, which were The Lakehouse, Butcher and the Brewer, and Mitchell's Homemade Ice Cream. However, the restaurants I ended up visiting during my three days visiting were Mr. Hero, Zanzibar Soul Fusion, REBOL, and Jake's Pizza which were notable restaurants within the city. Next visit, I would love to visit either Winking Lizard Tavern, Mabel's BBQ, 7 Cravings, or Mitchell's Homemade Ice Cream which were popular ones I discovered or did not get to visit. Notable sights that I would love to visit or revisit in Cleveland in the future include the Great Lakes Science Center, the USS Cod Submarine Memorial, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, A Christmas Story House, and the Superman House. Finding out that Cleveland is the birthplace of Superman completely blew my mind. High school friends Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster dreamed up and illustrated the iconic superhero in 1933 while living in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood. Learning this piece of history--which I hadn't fully known before--was a major highlight of my visit, right next to watching the Cleveland Browns versus Buffalo Bills game.
I am very open to visiting Cleveland again. The city grew on me within the three days I visited, and there are some sights I did not get the chance to see yet. The thought of revisiting puts a smile on my face.
~Escape the ordinary. ~
Thomas G