I’m writing this post from Cleveland.

me and pat in Saratoga

Day 1: Monday, August 31st
Destination: Saratoga Springs, NY
Total Drive Time: ~4 hours

I had breakfast with my family and left Sharon in around 9am. It was a tough goodbye. I have no idea if I’ll ever call Massachusetts “home” again, which is pretty strange. I’ve lived here all my life. On my way out, I picked up Pat in Boston. I’m amazed at how much stuff fit in my little car. I’ll have to take a picture of it at some point. Three suitcases, 5 or 6 boxes, my kite gear (board, kite, suit), and a variety of other items.

Our first stop was my mother’s house in Saratoga Springs, NY. The ride out there took about 4 hours. We spent the afternoon hanging out at her house and then went into town for dinner and ice cream. Saratoga is a really fun town in the summer. I’ve had some great times there over the past few years. It was a relaxing way to start the trip, and nice to spend some time with my mom (and her awesome dogs) before heading out of the north east.

waterfallsDay 2: Tuesday, September 1st
Destination: Cleveland, OH
Total Drive Time: ~9 hours

Today was the first big travel day of the trip. We left my mother’s house after breakfast and headed for Niagara Falls. Neither of us had ever been, and it’s not too far out of the way. What an incredible sight! We arrived at the park around 3pm, grabbed a bite, and headed for the main attraction. The entire park is beautiful, and the falls themselves are just breathtaking. It was an awesome day to be there too – sunny skies and cool late summer weather. We spent about an hour wandering around and taking pictures. It would’ve been fun to take a boat ride right near the falls. I watched people getting on and off the ferries in blue ponchos. They looked a bit like little blue ants from where we were – kinda funny. After 5 hours of driving, it was nice to get out and walk around for a while. The city itself leaves a bit to be desired, but oh well.

We got back on the road around 5 and headed for Cleveland, which is only about 3 hours from Niagara.  There’s a Holiday Inn Express in the downtown area which is a pretty sweet deal. It’s about 3 blocks from the House of Blues and a half mile from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. On the way there, I called my cousin to ask about nightlife and things to do – her husband is from Cleveland. After dropping off our luggage we headed for his recommendation, the Great Lakes Brewing Company. They had an awesome seasonal Belgian on tap (Grassroots Ale). We checked out one other bar and then headed back to to the hotel. There was NO ONE! anywhere in the city. Pretty bizarre. Apparently all the young people just went back to school so no one goes out. I realize it was a Tuesday night, but still – in Boston there are people to be found on any night of the week.

Two crazy cabbies: the one on the way there had a cell phone fight with his family while we were in the car and the one on the way back gave us an impromptu tour of the city. Good stuff.

Off to see how the city is during the day…  to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and then on towards St. Louis… One sad note: my iPod is officially dead as of the first day of this trip. Poor timing.