A Great Weekend to End the Summer

It seems that we always visit Aunt Cassie and Uncle Paul in Cleveland when it's cold and/or snowy. We decided in the spring that we'd make a late-summer trip so that the boys could go fishing with Uncle Paul. The only "boy" that made it out fishing was Kevin, but it was fine because they left at 6:30am and ended up bringing home perch for dinner, so it all worked out for the best.

A crowd gathers, fascinated with the "cleaning" of the fish.

Aunt Cassie and Uncle Paul wanted to take the kids to the Memphis Kiddie Park, so they left with Katie and Kevin and I went with Mom and Dad downtown to do some sightseeing. All the times we've visited and we've never had the opportunity to walk around the city! Not having kids along helped because I'm sure we would have been dragging tired legs, but when they get older it is definitely something I'd like to do with them. The architecture and the history was amazing.

My cousin John lives downtown in a old tool and dye plant that they converted into apartments. He was able to fill us in on a lot of the history of the city while we were on the roof-top deck of his building, overlooking the city. I wish I would have taken pictures of that!

The U.S.S. Cod, a WWII submarine docked on Lake Erie

This is the Arcade, which is on Superior. I had seen this shot in black and white on a blog I follow called Shorpy. I was completely taken with it and really wanted to see it in person, if it still was around. Came to find out that it was the first building to be put on the National Register of Historical Buildings in Cleveland, and only the 9th to be put on there in the nation. It was built in 1890 and financed by a group that included Rockefeller.

My history-buff, nerd side is coming out. I apologize. But honestly, if you get the chance check it out! It is a gorgeous building that is now part of the Hyatt, but there are other establishments inside, and it is close to an alley that has a lot of nightlife. Looks like a lot of fun.

Wandering around, we came across this building. Recognize the name? It's the department store in The Christmas Story where Ralphie goes to tell Santa that he wants a Red Ryder B B gun. Fortunately, this too is on the Register and although the outside isn't as fascinating as the Arcade, the inside was gorgeous. As a whole, the building is called Tower City and inside, the majority of the used space is a mall.

Annnnd...back to the kids. They came back with stories to tell of all the fun they had at the amusement park. I'm sorry that I don't have images to share from there.

Originally, we were going to visit a Metropark and go hiking, so the boys all packed their camo shirts to wear while exploring.

That night, we had a seafood feast, with the fish that Daddy and Uncle Paul caught as well as an assortment of other sea fruit like shrimp and mussels that the boys devoured. Well, Lou at least tried a mussel.

There's such a rivalry between the cities of Cincinnati and Cleveland and I never gave the "mistake on the lake" much of a chance. But the more time I spend there I realize that it is like most places--it has some wonderful historical aspects, as well as some pretty neat things going on currently. Which reminds of the quote from Mohommed, Don't tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled. We have learned quite a bit on our journeys this summer.