Day 2: Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana, Gary

Today was the first of a couple of days where we just drive. We hit the road at about 10:30, drove through the rest of Ohio and across Indiana.

As soon as we saw a sign for Gary, Marsha immediately thought of Michael Jackson, while I thought of The Music Man. Marsha did some impromptu research (thank you iPhone) and since we had no set schedule, we made a quick detour to see the Jackson house at 2300 Jackson Street. Marsha was surprised that I knew the address. I told her that the Jacksons wrote a song with that as the name.

About the time we got to Gary, a warning message came on in the car that the oil was low. We've traveled once before to Massachusetts and back with a tire that needed air every few days, so I wasn't too worried. We pulled over at a service area and found it right on the minimum mark. Since we'd just had the car serviced, I hope that didn't mean we had a leak.

Marsha found a Jiffy Lube in Gary, but we only had ten minutes to get there before they closed. And, of course, we hit just about every stop light on the way. Luckily, we made it just in the nick of time. The super-nice gentlemen there topped us off for no charge, and no complaints for us driving in as they were closing up. Superior customer service!

Then it was over to the Jackson house. We had no trouble finding it thanks to all the neighbors selling T-shirts in their front yards. Love the entrepreneurial spirit! The real shock was how incredibly small the house is! We just couldn't believe that such a large family lived there. It's tiny!

Thankfully, it's also very well kept. A black metal fence surrounds the property, the house and lawn are pristine, and there's an impressive black marble monument in the front yard memorializing Michael.

The bigger surprise, though, was the rest of the neighborhood and all of Gary itself. Most of what we saw looks like an apocalyptic landscape. Just like the sadder parts of Cleveland, much of Gary is boarded up or falling down. Again, we saw a lot of buildings that were once nice. Gary, too, could really use a revitalization. Joe Jackson was a cruel taskmaster the way he pushed his kids, but we can certainly understand his reasons behind it.

Not long afterwards, we crossed into Illinois and hit our first major traffic jam on the expressway through Chicago. Hated not being able to stop (though, technically, and ironically, we stopped a lot on the expressway).

Finally, after much debate on what time we would actually arrive due to the time zone change and whether or not our GPS updated automatically, we made it to our final destination, downtown Madison, WI. What a beautiful downtown! We just love how all of it spokes out from around the Capitol building, which is modeled after the US Capitol in DC. We had a great dinner at The Old Fashioned Tavern which, true to form for us, we had seen on Food Network. Perfect way to end a long day spent (mostly) in the car.

Day 1.5: And the Winner is... Iron Chef Symon!

Tonight we finally realized a long-held dream. In our on-going quest to eat at all of the Iron Chef restaurants, the elusive "silver tuna" (to quote Joe Pesci in Home Alone), has been Michael Symon. The guy who has won just about every Iron Chef battle. That's because, while just about everyone else is in or near  NYC, Iron Chef Symon's restaurant is in Cleveland.

Hence, the main reason we came to Cleveland.

Suffice it to say, it was well worth the trip. Now we know why he wins so many battles. Oh. My. Gravy. That was an incredible meal! We had the Hanger Steak, Pork Chop, and Chicken. The steak came with some of the most amazing fries I've ever had. Up there with Anthony Bourdain's. Yes, I said it. And the kicker was the dessert -- the 6am Special. French Toast (couldn't believe that, as much as we watch Chopped), caramelized apple bits, and maple and bacon ice cream. If we hadn't been so stuffed, we might have ordered another.

Day 1.4: A Tale of Two Hotels

So, we pulled into the InterContinental Suites (which was really nice) close to 6:00pm. We needed to check in quickly, get changed, and head back out to make our 7:00 dinner reservations. Surprise, surprise! Turns out we're at the wrong hotel! There's another InterContinental Suites, their sister hotel, just a few blocks away. And ironically enough, the clerk at the front desk of the first one was the actual sister of the clerk at the second one.

So, we go to the second one, try to check in, and our room isn't ready. Even though its after 6pm. The clerk very nicely comps our parking and gives us some extra points. Even so, we're scrambling to get clothes out of suitcases packed for two weeks in order to change in the lobby bathroom, and the extremely nice valet is trying to move our car to a spot out of the way since we're coming right back out.

Needless to say, Marsha is not really thrilled. She goes in to chat with the clerk and comes back out a few minutes later with the clerk and room keys. Don't know what she said, but I can only imagine.

In the end, we get changed and make it to Lola with time to spare. And the suite here is awesome. Quite roomy. While it's close enough to downtown, maybe next time we'll actually want to stay downtown. Location, location, location, you know.

Day 1.3: It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a House!

Second stop in Cleveland was the Superman House. This is the house where young Jerry Siegel grew up, and where, in the early 1930s, he conceived of a hero who was more powerful than a locomotive. He and his artist friend, Joe Shuster, would later sell their comic book pages to National Comics (which would change its name to DC).

Sadly, it's not exactly in the best part of town. Many of the surrounding homes are boarded up or just falling down. It was nice to see that the streets where Jerry and Joe lived have honorary names for them.

The houses themselves are really quaint. Someone would do well to start restoring them and turn this area into a thriving neighborhood once again.

The former site of Joe Shuster's house is just a few blocks away. The fence is adorned with large comic book pages from Action Comics #1, which introduced Superman. The sad part, however, is that half of the fence is missing, along with the first several pages and the marker that explains why the pages are there.

Also not far away is an historic marker honoring Jerry and Joe as the creators of Superman.

Day 1.2: You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!

After a reasonable five-hour drive (just a little rain), we made it to Cleveland -- our first time here. Oddly enough, we started on I-77 in NC and took it the entire way here. As soon as we got into town, we went straight to the Christmas Story House!

The house is amazing, restored to just the way it looked in the movie! All of the house and street exteriors were shot here, and some of the interiors. It's "fully-interactive" -- they have everything inside the house from Ralphie's BB gun to the Old Man's bowling ball. You can pick them up and pose for photos. 

And, of course, "the soft glow of electric sex" -- the leg lamp shines proudly in the front window. It's a major award!

Across the street are a nice gift shop (currently undergoing an impressive expansion) and a little museum, which has a number of costumes, behind-the-scenes photos, and more.

We also rode downtown to see the former Higbee's department store (now a casino), which was where Ralphie and Randy went to visit Santa. Ho, ho, ho-o-o! It's also, according to our House tour guide, the reason the movie wound up in Cleveland to start with. It was the only department store that would let them shoot there.

Day 1.1: Bumpasses!

This morning in Charleston we were awoken by the Bumpass hounds in the room next store. How apropos, since the Christmas Story house is our first stop today.

Day 0: Our Trip Across America

Today was the pre-leg of our two week journey across the great USA. We headed up through the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia to our first overnight stop, Charleston. Tomorrow the real journey begins as we head for Cleveland.

So far, the trip got off to a pretty good start. The drive through the WVA mountains was just beautiful (Wild and Wonderful). We hit our first few tolls, but were glad to see that friendly purple logo for EZ-Pass. One of the best things we ever did for travel. I could do a commercial for them.

The only snags we hit were right at the end. A bit of rain, and then a big traffic jam (road construction) just three miles from our exit. We took a detour and ran into more roads that were closed off for a street fair.

Thanks to getting this pre-leg behind us, we only have a few hours drive to Cleveland. Tomorrow we finally mark another Iron Chef off of our list, among other exciting things. Can't wait!

Allow Kermit and Sam to Explain

Fans of Walt Disney World, particularly Hollywood Studios, should recognize the title of this blog. But for those of you who do not, it's from Muppet Vision 3-D, which happened to be the very last Muppets project created by the late Jim Henson. Our family loves this attraction and can quote most of it from memory. Which is why it made for the perfect title.