Goodbye, Cleveland

We finished up Cleveland this past Wednesday. We had our biggest collect day yet - 299 miles. It was great being home in the summer and seeing friends and family. There were also some festivals I attended while home. The Burning River Fest is held on an annual basis at Wendy Park which is on Whiskey Island. There is a great view of the city from the park and it's also on the Cuyahoga River. The fest is held to raise environmental awareness of the river and lake and is named so from the Cuyahoga River fire of 1969. There was live music, local food, and other various vendors. The next day, I was able to go to the Midwest Reggae Fest, which was held at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park. I hadn't been to the ledges since high school, but it was everything I'd remembered. The Quarry is absolutely gorgeous. The water is extremely clean and very deep. You can basically dive in from almost any spot along the Quarry edges because it gets so deep so fast. There's also a spot about 30 feet up that you can jump off of into the Quarry. Lots of fun to be had there! And, I can't forget about the MelonHead Gainer. I was also able to go to the first Browns pre-season game against the Chiefs. We won, so let's hope it's an indication of the rest of the season. Emily and I were also able to take the Mega-Bus to Chicago for a weekend. I was able to visit my very good friend, Meredith and Emily was able to visit some of her friends as well. I also got to see some of my neighbors from college, so that was fun. We had drinks on top of the Hancock Building and the view is absolutely amazing. The drinks may be expensive, but it's worth it for the view. It was actually really strange - it was raining down below, so we thought the view wouldn't be that great, but it was spectacular. You couldn't even tell it was raining from the 95th floor. So, basically, it's a great thing to do - rain or shine! I got to have one last night out with my girlies before we left for Pittsburgh (yes, we're back in Pittsburgh). We went to a Vietnamese restaurant on the corner of 31st and Superior called #1 Pho. It was delicious - huge portions, good beer, and good service for a reasonable price. Definitely recommended! So, we're back in Pittsburgh for just a few days. We're staying at a hotel in the South Side, which is a really cool area. It's basically 20 blocks of bars, restaurants, and odd shops. We went out last night for sushi and drinks on East Carson Street, which is the main strip of the South Side area. Tonight, we think we're going to hit up the Strip District which is an open-air market by day and a bar/club scene by night. So, we're here because we had to recollect 12 scenes from our previous collect here and then we go to court Monday to sue that lady who won't give us our money back. So, we are looking forward to a victory followed by Pamela's Pancakes. Then we're off to Toledo - we think we'll be there for about 2 weeks and then Cincinnati - we'll probably be there for about a month. So, I'm thinking Toledo for the end of August, beginning of September and Cincinnati for the end of September through mid-October - just in time for Oktoberfest! So, if anyone will be in those areas during those times, let me know! Cheers!