The Jumping-Off Point

Today, we cleared the city of Cleveland to the west and ended a shortish saunter in Rocky River, OH. We also marked our twentieth straight day of slowly sauntering forward.

Bidding Cleveland Farewell

It's a bittersweet departure.  Crossing cities is always a bit of a challenge, but Cleveland treated us well.  From the food to the art to the friendships, the three day crossing proved to be an excellent opportunity for a little recovery while still making forward progress. We crossed paths with a friend and colleague who is travelling their own path, but the time our trails ran in parallel were some of the highest highlights from the last fifty-six days on the road.  We'll miss the banter, and hope we share the trail with you at a not too distant time in the future.

Dad put his skepticism aside for a couple of hours and visited the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I’m not sure he really enjoyed it, but he reports that it triggered some moments of introspection. I’m not sure Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and introspection have ever been written in the same sentence before, but I, for one, think it’s great.

I experienced my own moment of growth when I put aside my general dislike of seafood and sampled a walleye sandwich. I don’t know what I expected, but I know I didn’t anticipate the emergence of a gustatory delight.  That sucka’ was tasty.

In many ways, leaving Cleveland feels like we've reached the real jumping-off point in our journey.  The expanse of the American West stretches before us, and the vast (relative) emptiness is quite daunting if we think too much about it. Fortunately for us, we've learned quite a few lessons along the way, and we've never been accused of being too very deep, intellectually speaking.  I'm optimistic.

Thanks to all the people who have helped us along the way. The water on the side of the road, a filling meal, a place to stay, words of encouragement, moments of laughter and camaraderie too numerous to count, sage advice on places to go and places to avoid, the offers of rides that we had to reject, and the welcoming porch that kept us dryish during a passing rainshower.  I’m sure I’ve missed many ways that the people we’ve known and the people we’ve met have enriched our travels, and I apologize for the oversights.

Know that we are grateful to you all.  We would not have gotten this far without your generous support and encouragement. Now, on to the west.

Cleveland Rocks

Crossing cities poses some unique challenges as well as opportunities. Cleveland will end up being about a three day effort when it's all said and done, but today, the opportunities made the challenges worth the effort.

My friend and work colleague Nick has been hyping Cleveland from the day that I met him.  Frankly, I was a little worried that the city wouldn’t life up to the stories, but today, I’m forced to admit that my concern was wildly misplaced.

Home of the Browns with some firefighter city pride leading the way.

Cleveland has it all.  Good food, big sports, and a cultural scene that includes a thriving arts community and, of course the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Sixteen miles of walking and experiencing this great city at a pedestrian pace couldn’t even dampen my enthusiasm for how the pilgrimage turned out today.

After a more than pleasant ten-mile saunter through Euclid and along the shores of Lake Erie, we found ourselves in one of the many Metropark complexes that line the shoreline and provide public access to the lake.

Ever since we ran across the Walleye Association in, I believe, New York, my Uncle Bill recommended we find a walleye and eat it.  I've been looking for an opportunity to sample the pescatarian delight, and today, we found that opportunity.

Down on the shores of Lake Erie, the East 55 Bar and Grill carried their signature crispy walleye sandwich on the menu. Now, I'm not normally a fish person. I like my protein brought in on the hoof, but suggestions are suggestions so we decided to give it a shot.  

Crispy Walleye Sandwich - East 55 Bar and Grill - Cleveland, OH

Tasty.  That's the only way to describe it. I'm not sure if it's the most tasty fresh water fish, but walleye is certainly in the running.  Thanks for pushing me out of my hamburger comfort zone Uncle Bill. It was a delightful experience.

When you walk to Cleveland from Rhode Island, you'd be a fool to stroll casually past the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame without poking your nose in the door.  I almost made that mistake today, but a friend pushed me in the right direction and we took a little time to pay appropriate homage to the masters of Rock.

A work colleague of mine and I have had a running debate about what genre of Rock & Roll is represented by the music of AC/DC.  Now I know that my opinion is not the most popular one, but I have consistently argued that AC/DC fell into the "Hair Band" category of Rock & Roll. Don't get me wrong. I love them, and the album Back in Black is clearly a true gem, but I’ve held my ground.

Angus Young’s AC/DC costume and initial draft of Highway to Hell lyrics clearly displayed in the Heavy Metal section at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Earl B.  I was wrong.  The curators of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame place AC/DC front and center in the Heavy Metal genre of the craft of Rock & Roll.  I hope you can accept my very public admission of error and acknowledgement of your enduring correctness in this particular matter.

Please accept this photo of Bruce Springsteen's acoustic guitar as a token of peace between us.

Bruce Springsteen’s Acoustic Guitar circa 2005 - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - Cleveland, OH

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was epic. Walking here from Rhode Island made the experience that much sweeter.  It's almost as if we're actually on a real pilgrimage with visits to the shrines of America along the way.  Good stuff.

Finally, the art scene.  If you’ve been following along, you know that I love finding murals or other displays of public art to photograph while in cities.  Our route today through Cleveland proved to be a target rich environment.

Prince and a Donut - Cleveland, OH

From the larger than life paintings on I-90 overpasses, to the very small but poinent messages of grief and loss, the city covered all the bases.

Trying to Fix a Broken Heart - Cleveland, OH

Thanks Cleveland!  You've exceeded all expectations!

Cities

Strolling through cities have been a challenge for both Dad and I.  On the one hand, you certainly have relatively easy access to anything you could possibly need during the course of a cross country walk. This single advantage is not a trivial one.  When you’re carrying as little as we carry, sometimes it’s a huge moral boost to pop into a convenience store and grab a nice chilled bottle of seltzer out of the refrigerator, drain it before the condensation even begins to form on the outside, and toss the bottle in the handy garbage can right beside the door.  Our trip to Rochester and the REI there probably saved the pilgrimage a couple of cities back.

On the other hand, challenges abound when traversing the urban environment.  I like to take photos of landscapes, and inspiration is often hard to come by in the concrete wilderness.  It’s there if you’re patient, but it’s not all around like it is in the more rural areas we’ve traversed.

You can find good landscapes in the city, but you’ve got to be a little patient.

One of the other challenges is the atmosphere.  Having spent weeks out in the countryside, the pervasive competition that seems to come part and parcel with large human populations living together is particularly acute and noticeable.  It seems like people are more reserved….more skeptical in the cities. Making that comfortable, easy connection takes a little more effort….a little more time.

We’re on the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio this evening.  Tomorrow we’ll really start the traverse through the main body of the city.  It’s the last truly big city we’ll cross on our path toward the west coast. We’ll pass through the outskirts of Chicago, but we’ll be pretty far out.

I wonder if I’ll miss the hustle and bustle, the art, music, and unpredictable things that emerge when large numbers of people gather.  After the next three or four days, I suppose we’ll start the process of finding that out.