Day 2.1: Cleveland Rocks (More Than We Thought It Did)

For our first full day of the trip, we did one of our favorite things: sleep in. But despite that, we still managed to leave the room ahead of schedule for our lunch reservations at Michael Symon's Lola. Even though we got there about 45 minutes early, they had plenty of available tables.

It was every bit as good as our dinner there from two years ago. Madison was anxious to try the Mac n' Cheese, which she loved, but didn't place at the top of her "best ever" list (I'll have to get her to do a post on that).

Afterwards, we strolled down to the 5th Street Arcade, which was really cool, but most of the shops were closed. Since it's Monday, this had us confused. We would have explored downtown some more, but it was raining and we'd accidentally left one of the umbrellas in the car.

On the way back to the hotel, we passed by the Federal Reserve, which also has the Money Museum. Entry is free, so we decided to check it out. The building itself is beautiful -- constructed during the 1920s I think. The security is understandably tight, but the museum itself is great.

The various exhibits teach you all about the history of money, checks, and banking in the U.S. My favorites were one where you learn to recognize counterfeit bills and the sniper ports over the main entrance. We would have stayed longer, but we managed to get in only 30 minutes before closing.

Then it was back to the hotel to grab our checked bags and car. The rain was starting to pick up, so we were ready to hit the road. We realized, though, that by sticking to Downtown, Cleveland has charmed us. We'd definitely like to come back when it's warmer and see much more.

Day 1: Christmas Vacation

We seem to be having a hard time sitting still these days. With Christmas day behind us and a full week before it was time to return to work, we'd wondered just what to do with our free time. Normally, we'd spend it at home relaxing, sleeping in late, watching movies, and having lots of company. But this year we all had the same thought: Road Trip!

But where to go? That was the tough question. Madison and I immediately suggested London, but that was too expensive (and considering the current world situation, not the best time to travel to Europe). Naturally, WDW is always a suggestion, but none of us wanted to go this week, which is their busiest time of the year (January is another story).

Then Marsha got the great idea of going back to Cleveland and re-visiting the Christmas Story House at Christmas! Even better, we could have dinner again at Lola, Michael Symon's restaurant. We've been dying to go back there ever since our first visit two years ago, but Cleveland Which is a little out of the way for us. Perfect opportunity.

After some thought, however, we realized a couple of things: 1) As much as we lived the Christmas Story House, we really just wanted to eat at Lola. 2) Chicago is only five miles further (Madison pointed this out).

So there you have it: drive all the way to Cleveland just to eat at Lola. For anyone that knows us, that is perfectly understandable. Unfortunately, Lola was all booked for dinner, so we grabbed a lunch reservation instead before hitting the road for Chicago tomorrow.

After a long day yesterday due to driving back and forth to a family get-together, we hit the road this morning an hour later than planned. However, since we were taking I-77 all the way there through the western tip of Virginia, then West Virginia, and Ohio, we weren't too worried about traffic jams. The route was a near exact duplicate of the first leg of our cross-country trip two years ago. I'd forgotten that it was mostly mountains practically the entire way.

It was a nice leisurely drive the whole way and the perfect start to our trip. Despite leaving late, we still had an extra hour of wiggle room on our ETA. Which was good, because we managed to use it up looking for an ATM in West Virginia. We also had a fair amount of rain for a good stretch, but luckily we managed to drive out of it after crossing into Ohio. It had dropped down to 40 by the time we reached Cleveland, which was actually a welcome change from the unusually balmy 75 degrees we'd left back home in NC.

Keeping with the Michael Symon's theme, we'd booked dinner at the Flying Fig, which we'd seen on his newest show, Burgers, Brew, and 'Que (which, for some reason, only showcased restaurants in NYC, Cleveland, and Nashville on every episode). We ended up just driving straight there, which was no big deal. Downtown Cleveland is pretty quiet on a Sunday night in the dead of winter. Shocking, I know.

The food at Flying Fig was fantastic. I had the burger (would Michael Symon have it any other way?) and Madison was all set to have the pasta until she heard about the pork chop with cheese grits special. 

Afterwards, it was off to our hotel, the Westin. As much as we liked our hotel from the last trip, this time we opted for something more centrally located. The room is huge and as I already mentioned, downtown Cleveland is pretty quiet.

Not a bad way to start the trip. 

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.