Cleveland, Ohio

We stayed 2 nights in a KOA campground outside Cleveland, Ohio.  I don't know much about Cleveland, Ohio, outside of a couple of TV sitcoms.  We decided to be adventurous, and drove into the city to see a few sights.  We first stopped at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, which I really enjoyed.  It's small, but a gem.  I like small gems, perhaps because the Academy of Natural Sciences is one such gem. The Gardens are composed of several theme gardens, a few of which I snapped photographs, the first few of which are the woodlands walk:

Aren't they magical?  There is a waterfall in the view below:

In the scene below is a sculpture of galloping horses, although hidden by the plethora of flora:

And of course the herb garden:

There were also the following themed gardens: butterfly, sun, shade, Japanese, meditative, children's, hosta and more.  All lovely.

We entered the greenhouse last.  It included a Costa Rican rain forest, filled with birds and butterflies.  It was very large.  If I were a butterfly, I wouldn't mind living here:

We next drove around until we found the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the help of a GPS that was as confused as we were.  I'm not a rabid rock 'n roll fan.  I'm not a groupie.  But if you go to Cleveland, you might as well go to the Hall of Fame, right?  Even if it's not on your bucket list? It's not on my bucket list, but I'm sure it's on someone's bucket list.

We arrived late in the day, and dashed through it in 45 minutes, even though we were told it should take 3 to 4 hours.  I liked looking at the costumes, and some of the manuscripts - lyrics scribbled on ragged sheets of paper when they first came to life.  There were several items belonging to John Lennon, like his Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band suit, in lime green, and his round glasses that he wore when he lived in NY.  Those were cool.  Elvis had a large section which would please Elvis fans.  Janis Joplin's little car was there, painted psychedelically.

 

 The Hall even included Johnny Cash's touring bus, which he considered his "cocoon", a safe and quiet place:

There were lots of booths were you could listen to the songs of your favorite artists.  Now that could take 3 to 4 hours.

The back side of the building shows off the Hall's interesting architecture:

My thoughts on Cleveland: not such a bad place.  It reminded me of Philadelphia in many ways.  It has a center city similar in size to Philly's, that shuts down after working hours; it has some sections that one would prefer to avoid; some areas are charming; sports arenas figure prominentally; it has a nice cultural area; a separate theater district; and a very large city park.  It's a city that could grow on you, but I would prefer not to be there during the winter months, that's for sure.