Roadtrip: Day 2

Today's roadtrip destination was all about rock'n'roll. Early this morning we loaded up our old Jeep Wrangler and made the three-hour drive from Pittsburgh to Cleveland. Nothing says 'summer' or 'roadtrip' more than driving around in the Jeep with the wind blowing through my hair. We bought the Jeep in 1995, after moving back to California from Australia and have had it ever since. The paint is barely still visible on the hood and the bumper is pretty much rusting away, but that Jeep holds the memories of my childhood. I can still picture my great-grandma Mildred using a step stool to climb into it when she was in her 90s. I remember pretending I was Laura Ingalls Wilder when I was little and playing around for hours in my "buggy." And our family used to love drive-in movies in the jeep, even though the only one I can remember vividly is "The Nutty Professor." It's nice knowing I can add this vacation to the memories I have of the Jeep.

We arrived at our hotel without any problems (my dad finally caved in and allowed us to use my GPS). We're spending the night at a Hampton Inn downtown and about a half mile from Lake Eerie and as luck would have it, we somehow got placed in really nice suite.

Our next stop was The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We both agreed that the building itself was by far the most interesting part about the place. All six levels of the museum are in this glass pyramid building that resembles The Lourve in Paris. I wasn't sure exactly how much I would enjoy the museum until....I SAW LADY GAGA'S MEAT DRESS! Let me tell you, I can die happy. We also saw Michael Jackson's studded glove, Ray Charles' sunglasses and the outfit Britney Spears first performed 'Oops I Did It Again' in. The museum of course had a ton of music videos playing, guitars and memorabilia, but I didn't realize how many outfits there would be! It was like a fashion lover and a music lover's passions all rolled into one and shoved into a work of beautiful architecture. Leave it to my dad to uncover something interesting to do in...Cleveland.

We ate lunch on the patio outside the museum and watched the planes fly into the waterfront airport. Then after lunch we wandered around and took pictures of downtown. I should explain that when I say we took pictures, I don't mean like normal tourist pictures. My dad likes to get photos of everything on his cell phone so that he can picture message them to the rest of the family, photos that I doubt other tourists took today. For example, he took a photo of me walking against a reflective building so that it looked like I was walking with his reflection. He also took a photo of me next to the yield sign we passed because, "They're so much bigger here!" People often describe me as quirky. Ladies and gentlemen, is there any wonder why? Hilarious; I love him.

Continuing with our rock'n'roll theme, we ate dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. I had only been to the one in Atlanta where my friends and I ended up rushing through our dinners when we realized our tickets to Lion King were earlier than we thought, and my dad had never been before. It's good food and it's fun to watch the music videos while you eat, but I don't think I'm really one for all the hype.

After dinner, in the classic style of my father, we didn't just walk back to the hotel, we rambled and stopped at almost every building along the way to stare and read the plagues. We took photos at some war memorial and a fountain near the Lake that is supposed to depict someone reaching for eternal peace. We also walked around the outside of a federal reserve bank and looked at the statues outside the ginormous public library. A lot of the buildings in downtown Cleveland are older, from the 1800s, and it really gives the city a character that some newer cities don't quite possess.

We are waking up early tomorrow to head to Sandusky, OH. I will post photos soon!