A Weekend in Cleveland, Ohio

Last weekend, we went on a weekend getaway to Cleveland, Ohio. This wasn't my first trip to Cleveland, but it was my first trip to the Cleve where I actually got out and saw the city and did some fun stuff. Cleveland is compared to Detroit a lot. And it really did remind us of our own Motor City. The downtowns are of similar size and look, but Cleveland has been more successful at developing its lakefront with the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, the Great Lakes Science Center, Browns Stadium, other attractions, and hopefully soon an Aquarium (if they raise their funds). Driving away from the city center, you see similar sites as you see leaving Detroit - blighted neighborhoods mixed with some working class neighborhoods. You also see some very industrial areas - huge areas, for as far as you can see. They look just like Zug Island in Detroit, only they're not just contained to a one area, they're set down low in the valley and cover a vast expanse of land surrounding downtown. But once you get past that, it starts looking like the suburbs of Detroit again - lots of nice areas and some more areas hit by blight. Overall, though, its a nice city and surrounding area.

We decided not to stay downtown, which we were very glad about once we got there. Cleveland isn't a place you can go and not have to drive everywhere, so it didn't really make much sense to stay downtown... plus the downtown hotels didn't have pools. So we stayed out in the suburb of Richfield so that we had easy access to the highways and were also very close to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

We arrived in Cleveland early on Friday afternoon. We headed straight to the Great Lakes Science Center. We got in for free with our Impression 5 membership. What a cool place! And its huge! Three levels of fun exhibits, from bubbles to a huge ball pit to doorways filled with fog to flight simulators. We spent a few hours at the science center checking everything out. All three of us found lots of super cool exhibits to check out! Carson kept wondering when his buddy Vayla was going to show up in her purple coat since we normally go to the museums with her. :)







After the GLSC, we headed out to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park for some waterfall finding and hiking. We found the Brandywine Falls, which are the largest in the area at 60 feet tall. Carson was so excited to see some waterfalls and thought they were so cool! He has been talking about waterfalls for the last few weeks, so we were excited to be able to show him some in person. We did a good bit of hiking on Friday, as well. Carson LOVES hiking and just being in the woods. He keeps asking us to go on a good hike every day. Then we headed to dinner at a local mom 'n pop type restaurant. After dinner, we headed to the hotel to check in to our jacuzzi suite (also free using some of our hotel points). We headed straight to the pool for some swimming. Carson is still a fish and did very well at remembering the things we learned in swim class last fall. He had a blast and did not want to get out, even after swimming for almost an hour.






On Saturday, we headed out to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and Rainforest first thing in the morning. When Carson heard we were going to the rainforest, he asked if it was the Maui Rainforest in Hawaii. He said that's where he wanted to go. :) But he was okay with it when we told him it was only at the Cleveland zoo. We were able to get in free with our Potter Park membership. It was quite a large zoo (we were there from the time they opened at 10am until about 1:45 and didn't end up seeing quite everything). It also involves a good deal of walking up and down huge hills with pretty decent grades. You definitely get a good workout! We got to see lots of animals. Carson loved them all. He is still talking about all the animals he saw and about how he had "never seen a camel before."





We took a drive when we left the zoo so that Carson could get a quick nap in. We headed east over to the North Chagrin Cleveland Metropark Reservation. We just drove through it for awhile and then parked near Squire's Castle and waited for Carson to wake up. He was so excited to see a real castle and walk through it once he woke up and saw it! This was another free thing to do. We then did some hiking in the woods near the castle for about 45 minutes. Then headed back to the car and over to the Buttermilk Falls. From there we took another hike (for about an hour) and found the nature center and lake. Carson had so much fun on this hike - and yes, he actually does the hiking, too... he only asked to ride on Sara's shoulders for about 10 minutes... not bad for such little legs. Carson got to climb down by the river under a huge fallen tree and stand on the (dry) river rocks. He thought that was so cool. But he also had just as much fun finding sticks and going fishing for leaves in the woods. He just loved it!












After our hikes in North Chagrin, we stopped for a quick dinner and headed back to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We made quick drive through the Bedford Cleveland Metropark Reservation. We stopped to see the Bridal Veil Falls and did a short hike. Then we took the Scenic Byway drive through the National Park. We made a few stops along the way at scenic overlooks and such and for another quick hike. We ended at the Blue Hen Falls and took another longer (and vertically challenging!) hike. Carson did it all and refused to be carried! Then we headed back to the hotel for some swimming and relaxing.





Sunday morning we got up with plans to ride the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Train through the National Park, but Carson had other ideas. He just wanted to swim, lounge, and relax. So that's what we did. It was nice! We'll come back in the fall sometime and bring our bikes to bike the Tow Path and ride the train to see the fall colors.

After our relaxing morning, we headed out to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History for a quick visit. We took a drive through Rockefeller Park on our way - what a beautiful park! Lots of amazing bridges and great gardens that are probably fabulous in May or June when things are blooming! We spent a little time at the museum (again, it was free with our Impression 5 membership), checking out the dinosaur skeletons and lots of other cool stuff. We grabbed a quick lunch and then hit the road for home.






It was a great trip! And it was just what we needed - a weekend away - since both Kevin and I have been having very busy and stressful weeks/months at work lately. Cleveland is a perfect weekend getaway. Only 3 1/2 hours away and a perfect mix of city and wilderness! There is something for everyone! You could definitely just do one or the other and there is so much that we didn't do. I'm sure we'll go back sometime in the future. And we'll definitely take our bikes next time!