Destination--Cleveland, Ohio

Recently the travel editor, Susan Glaser, at the Cleveland Plain Dealer published an editorial about the newly formed Positively Cleveland and their toughest task: getting Clevelanders to recommend their own town. We have been at the wrong end of so many jokes and have dealt with so many disappointments in sports and politics that many have become disillusioned about what the city has to offer to those who visit. So for a few posts, I'd like to take a closer look at the city and the area where I live--from a visitor's point of view.

There have been several times when I have been asked about what someone would see if they visited the area. The first time I truly had to scramble to come up with some things. After all, I live here and like anyone else who lives anywhere else, I don't look at where I live in the same way. I started by mentioning the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. That was easy. Everyone knows that Cleveland Rocks thanks to Drew Carey. The real gem is not the Hall of Fame itself but rather the museum that fills the majority of the unique building designed by I. M. Pei.

After that I started scrambling but once I got going, the rest just started to roll off my tongue. The Playhouse Square, the lakefront, the Cuyahoga River, the museums, the orchestra, the architecture, the restaurants (you can find almost any ethnic choice), the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (and the Scenic Railroad), the Cleveland Metroparks we call the Emerald Necklace, depending upon the time of year--baseball, football, basketball, golf,  hockey, and more, the list goes on.

As you expand to include a little more area surrounding Cleveland that is easily accessible, you have another long list of activities that include several amusement and water parks, the Football Hall of Fame, Amish Country, wineries, islands, and well, as you can see, this list goes on too.

Over the next few posts, I'd like to highlight several points of interest and perhaps put together an itinerary for a visitor with a weekend, or a week to visit our city and the area. Come to Cleveland, I say. Let us surprise you.