It’s been face first back into the computer at the office this week, and thus a bit of a delay in getting this entry up. Paul and I hit up Cleveland starting last Thursday and lasting into Sunday, a trip born out of a two-pronged goal of an Indians game and a visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. It was a trip three years in the making and we were both excited to finally get it on the books. Accompanying this entry is a full image gallery of the sights and stops.
 
Day One: Thursday
Things began Thursday afternoon with a couple Venti Doubleshots on Ice and a five-hour drive via Buffalo. Utilizing Better Bidding I had secured us the Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center right near the water for $60USD a night, plus taxes and fees. We arrived shortly after 10:00PM and quickly checked in before setting out for dinner. House of Blues was closed, Lola was closed, and we eventually wandered into Fat Fish Blue en route to find a cab that would carry us to Lolita. We overstuffed ourselves on jambalaya and corn bread alongside an Abita Turbodog each. We ventured back to the hotel and caught some sleep as we knew it was an early morning to come.

Day Two: Friday
While buying our Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tickets in advance we’d noticed a Rock and Ride Package pairing your ticket to the Hall up with entry to the famous Cedar Point at significant savings. We’d decided to lose our Cleveland day in favour of an hour drive along the Coastal Highway and a shot at a day of coaster riding. For all who think the new Behemoth is large understand that Millennium Force is about another 75 feet or so taller, and speeds along at another 25mph faster. Sadly, while we managed two trips on that one we found Top Thrill Dragster was closed while we were there, making two unsuccessful attempts for me at this park now. We did add Magnum XL-200, Mean Streak, and Demon Drop on the day before calling it and heading back.
Dinner would be at The Brew Kettle in Strongsville, a place I’d been told combined great pub food with even better beer. It was exactly as billed as I enjoyed a side salad and small sausage and beer gumbo, but it was the beers that got us excited. Settling on 1-ounce samples we tried Atwater Voodoo Vator Doppelbock, Ringneck Barrel Aged Dark Helmet Imperial Schwarzbier, Ringneck Oatmeal Stout, Sierra Nevada IPA, Avery the Maharaja Imperial IPA, and Southern Tier Hop Sun. All were excellent and we couldn’t stop talking about this top-notch restaurant for the trip.
Day Three: Saturday
Saturday started off with a trek to Progressive Field in hopes of buying our Indians tickets and taking the 10:30 tour of the stadium. We were able to find tickets, but found out the tours don’t take place during Saturday home games. Bad luck, but it just meant a short walk to the hotel to drop the camera off and head down past Cleveland Browns Stadium to the Hall of Fame. A great collection of memories from the world of rock including clothing, instruments, records, lyrics, and just about anything else you can imagine. It’s a tremendously designed facility and we blew through over two hours with ease before heading back up into a horrible rain storm.
After a brief rest it was off to the West Side Market, a bit of a disappointing food market, and then to the Great Lakes Brewpub for more food and drink. We both enjoyed a great burger and, again, 1-ounce samples. This time it was their Burning River Pale Ale, Dortmunder Gold, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Holy Moses White Ale, Commodore Perry IPA, Eliot Ness Amber Lager, and Moondog Ale. A tour of their actual brewing facility was pretty subpar, but thankfully free and over quickly. Finally, it was back to prepare and get to the Cleveland Indians vs. Tampa Bay Rays game at Progressive Field!
Only my third park on my quest for 30 and yet another great park. No seat appeared to be bad, and being a night game at an outdoor park made for a great atmosphere. The stadium itself is well done, home to little things like a Home Run Porch, Heritage Park, Party Deck, and oversized screen. We sat in right field and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and found out we’d happened to arrive for Rock’n’Blast, an annual post-game fireworks and rock show. Second only to an experience at Symphony of Fire this was the biggest fireworks display I’ve ever seen. Paul snapped a couple videos seen below; I only wish we’d caught the seat-shaking (seriously) finale. Having been at the game until almost 11:30 we eventually found Z