Lunch by the River

Last Friday, I met a friend of mine for lunch at Margaritaville in the Flats, in downtown Cleveland.

The Flats are so called because they're lower than the rest of downtown. They're the shores of the Cuyahoga River. For a long time, the Flats were mainly for the loading or unloading big cargo ships that still traverse Lake Erie and dock at the port of Cleveland. But a few decades ago, developers started putting restaurants, bars and entertainment venues in. The Nautica Queen is a pleasure boat that cruises up and down the river, and can go out on the lake when the weather is appropriate. The Dancer had her senior prom on the Nautica Queen.

Parking is convenient, and was only $4 for the lunch crowd.

Down the street from Margaritaville is the river.

On the west bank of the Flats is one of the older bars, Shooters.

I have no idea what it costs to be able to dock your boat or jet ski in the Flats. You can see the Nautica Queen side on and head on in the two pictures below.

This is the best shot I got of the Nautica concert stage, and the Powerhouse building, which now contains several restaurants and entertainment venues, plus the Cleveland aquarium.

I think I need to get Mr. BTEG to take me down to the Flats again before the bad fall weather sets in. :)

Cleveland Playhouse Square District and the Cleveland Hofbräuhaus

I'm back! And I'm going to try to stay. This post puts together a bunch of things revolving around Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland. I hadn't been there for years, until the BTEG family watched a performance of Newsies back in November. One of the things that is fairly new is a giant chandelier hanging over an intersection in the Playhouse Square district. You can see the intersection in this article talking about how several places have picked Cleveland as a must-visit site in 2015, partially because of Playhouse Square and said chandelier. I will be glad if Cleveland has success (tired of hearing Cleveland jokes,) but it's strange to me to think that the equivalent of a sparkly coat of paint is enough to make an area that has been, and is still a place to put on shows, more desirable to visit. Of course, people have to visit the Bean when they go to Chicago, and this isn't much different; it's a pretty bauble that's fun to look at.

Another new addition to the Cleveland scene is what is probably one of the hottest restaurants in Cleveland at the moment, the Hofbräuhaus. Unsophisticated me did not know that the restaurant that had devolved into a tourist trap in Munich, has evolved into a restaurant chain here in the US. (I'm not sure who owns what on either side of the Atlantic.) Considering there are only six of these restaurants in the US (plus a restaurant and beer garden in FL,) it is kind of neat that Cleveland got one. Of course, Cleveland had quite a bit of immigration from Germanic settlers. (I believe the greater Cleveland area has one of the largest Transylvanian Saxon populations in the US.) And Cleveland is a town that Loves.Its.Beer. It may hardly be surprising that when we saw Newsies in November, there was a line a good way out the door of people waiting for a table. So when Mr. BTEG told me that his company was hosting its holiday party (yeah, it was in January, because reasons) at the Hofbräuhaus, I was glad to get a chance to visit without standing in a huge line. In the picture above, you can get an idea of what the line looked like that night, except that it was hard to get an accurate picture because the tent enclosure snaked around a corner. Apparently people were standing in that line for well over an hour. Some people were smoking and/or drinking beer, but since I don't do either, I wouldn't have had much fun standing out there in January.

Of course, since we dined in a banquet area upstairs, we did miss seeing the shows that happen in the main restaurant, where apparently performers get up and dance on the tables to oom-pa-pa music, and things of that nature. What we did get was a Germanic decorated atmosphere, fairly good German food, and beer. The men in lederhosen and the women in dirndls were very busy all night bringing very, very large mugs of beer, in mugs that are the same as the ones the Hofbräuhaus in Munich used when Mr. BTEG and I were there. Yep, I know I've mentioned here several times about our study trip in Germany as college students. Mr. BTEG had a friend in Germany who lived in Munich, so one weekend Mr. BTEG and I hopped a train there to visit him, and one of the places we went to was the Hofbräuhaus. Said friend mentioned a few times how much of a tourist trap it was, but it seemed like one of those places-you-have-to-say-you-visited-if-you-go-to-Munich, and we had a good time. Although between Mr. BTEG and I, I don't think we finished the beer in the giant mug.

Neither of us is a big beer drinker

So husband and I have been venturing out of the house this winter and doing a few different things! It's not directly related to having only one daughter at home, but maybe there will be more of these excursions in the future, since our lives are becoming freer.

As Seen About Town

There is another car in this area with the license plate Tardis 1, so apparently there are a lot of Doctor Who fans in this area. Also, don't forget the house that had the Tardis land on its front porch.

 

This young lady was standing outside the house of a classmate of the Musician's, late in the afternoon. There are way too many deer in this area, but too many people don't want the deer culled, for various stupid reasons. Some idiots have actually suggested driving slower, so when the cars hit the deer the damage is not as bad. O.o  Deer being hit by autos is not the only problem, however. They are eating too much of the local foliage, and there at least two almost albino bucks wandering around within a few miles of each other, which to me indicates there may be too much inbreeding.

Something Different

One of the things I am finding I like about Mr. BTEG's current job, is that people are relatively social outside of work. Tuesday night a group of Mr. BTEG's co-workers and their wives got together at a bar called Happy Dog, in Cleveland. I hadn't been in that area of Cleveland before that I can remember, and there was a very interesting atmosphere, urban, but not scary urban as certain areas of Cleveland can be.

Anyway, a very interesting night. There was classical music, and a trio singing Christmas carols (the bass was sick), all from the Cleveland Institute of Music. I think I'd like to try it when a different music genre was there. I guess I'm totally uncool, but most of the modern classical stuff didn't really cut it for me. Especially one piece where either the piano was wildly out of tune, or there were notes that deliberately sounded grating to the ear. Physically painful, even.

We had a chance to see hipsters in their natural habitat. Lots of them. I took anthropological notes. :D

For some reason, I really found it funny that atop the upright piano, was a bust lamp of Elvis. A very large bust of Elvis. In blues. The lampshade shook when the modern classical musicians were pounding on the piano keys, but Elvis stayed solid.

This bar serves hot dogs, tater tots and french fries, and beer. However, you can get about thirty different toppings for your hot dogs and tater tots. Including mole, the Mexican chocolatey stuff. Which, no.

I found it interesting that the cellist, who looked very Korean, was named Carlos.

School Days

I've been busy with back-to-school activities, and the year isn't even in full swing yet. Next week, the Dancer will start her four dance classes, and the two classes she will assist. The Musician is a junior in high school this year, and is busy three nights a week with marching band stuff. That will change once the football season is over, which is probably for the best. In general, I'm really enjoying being involved with the girls' activities. My eldest is already a junior! The years are running by, and I'm doing my best to make the most out of them.

Don't Blink

The days are going by incredibly quickly! It's fun, until I look around the house and see what's not getting done, while I'm out running errands or going places for the girls. Ach! Definitely can't have it all, so I might as well have fun with what I have.

On a related note, sometimes bipolar people, when in their manic state, will do crazy things, like go on a shopping binge for shoes and clothes. Mr. BTEG showed me something I hadn't seen, which was that while I don't go on shopping sprees to that extent, I do have my shopping weakness. I occasionally buy some organizational bins, drawers, etc. on a quest to organize. Could be worse!

Things That Make You Go Hmmm

While out and about the other day, I saw a bumper sticker for breast cancer that really gave me pause. It said, "Everyone deserves a lifetime." My first thought was, everyone? Really? What about all the millions of babies that have been aborted? Don't they deserve a lifetime too? Why does someone with breast cancer deserve life more than someone with Down's Syndrome, or even someone who could be born perfectly healthy, had he not been conceived at an inconvenient time? Also ironic is that the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which raises funds for breast cancer research, also financially supports Planned Parenthood. I guess they don't really believe that everyone deserves a lifetime.

While searching through breast cancer paraphernalia to get the exact quote for above, I also found a shirt that was off-putting to me. I do believe that prayers can avail much in our earthly fight against illness and death, but putting a pink ribbon around the cross seems very wrong. Ultimately, Jesus died to take away our sins, not for his cross to be co-opted for the cause de jour. What do you think?

Lastly, while reading a blog's comments, the subject of religion came up, and a member of the Eastern Orthodox church declared that Orthodox believe that Jesus died to destroy death, not to pay the price for our sins. Is this really what Orthodox believe? Does anyone know?

Irish Pride/Ohio Pride

Students from the Burke School of Irish Dance perform to Ohio's "theme song" at the Irish Cultural Heritage Festival yesterday. I like going to the festival just to see the dancers. Burke is a top Irish dance school which has produced a world champion, although not at its Ohio school. Great achievement since it is my impression that it is very difficult for non-Irish (nationality) dancers to win worlds. We were lucky to get seats; the place was packed.
ETA: Hello Innocent Bystanders!

Baseball Report

The family attended a Cleveland Indians game last night. It was sponsored by the department where my husband works, so the tickets were less expensive, and it was Dollar Dog Night, so the overall food cost was not so pricey.

It rained quite a bit last night; the tarp was actually pulled over the field for a rain delay at one point. We had planned ahead and brought hats, jackets and a blanket, but they were not waterproof, so eventually our stuff got soaked through. We weren't planning for such a deluge as we got, and anyway, we don't own serious rain gear. Eventually we ended up a little further back of our original seats, under the roof. From there we were dry, but couldn't see the big screen, so I missed when my youngest daughter was once again briefly on it. The stadium was relatively empty last night; whether that was related to the economy, the weather, the Indians' lackluster season or all of the above, I don't know.

"The Prog" is not nearly as cool of a name as "the Jake", but the Progressive Insurance SUV they have near center field by the home bullpen adds some fun to the game. For every home run and at the end of the game (I presume this is only when we win), the car spins, the doors open and shut, the hood goes up and down, and items such as T-shirts are shot out of the top of the vehicle. There was also a big spray of confetti at the end of the game.

Speaking of home runs, as you can see from my husband's picture, we were near center field so we had a good view of every home run that got hit, and in a 5-1 finish every run was scored by the long ball, mostly solo shots. I was rather surprised and pleased when the Indians pulled it out last night. It's always more fun when they win!

Books, Books, Books!

Mr. BTEG wanted to stop at the bookstore while we were out today to look for a particular book. The bookstore we visited had many books on sale, and they were also buy two, get the third free. We needed no further prompting to add some books to our home library. One of the books I picked up was Crocheting for Dummies. I would like to try to learn how to crochet at some point, and an extra reference book is always useful. We also picked up an American Girl Mystery Puzzles set. There are four puzzles, and you put the puzzles together to solve the mystery. The Dancer and I are looking forward to trying this out. Perhaps the Equestrienne will join us.

Our main purpose for going out was to get dance clothes and dance shoes for the Dancer. She needed new ballet slippers, new jazz shoes and some new dance wear. That stuff really adds up, but fortunately she doesn't need it all that often. She *really* loves dancing, though, so it's worth whatever we can do to help her.

Full Weekend

A fun Friday night started off with picking up my husband from work. As we were pulling out of the parking lot of his building, which is definitely in an urban area, although close to a park, we saw two does.

Wildchild, my husband and I went to Jacobs Field last night, along with several thousand others, and watched the Indians play on the big screen. It was a little chilly, but a fun night, except for the fact that CC was off, and we lost rather decisively. Oh well. We had a good time, and we were bundled up well so we didn't get too cold. Even Wildchild's doll, who came along to keep Wildchild company, wore a lovely hat and sweater.

Then today Wildchild and I met some friends at a farm park in Lake County, where there were activities such as pumpkin painting and cornhusk doll making. We had a fun time, and dinner afterwards with them was nice as well.


I think Sunday after church will definitely be a day of rest!

Cleveland Underground

Today our family got a glimpse of Cleveland's past, taking a tour of what remains of the W. 25th subway station, and walking part of the subway tracks. This tour is only open twice a year.

A trolley car, coming around a bend.

A subway wall.

Underground tracks.

Walking along where the tracks used to be, underneath the current Veteran's Memorial Bridge. This turned out to be a little more dicey for me than I would have thought. There was a metal grid, with steel girders every 24 feet or so. There were pieces of plywood on top of the metal grid to walk across, but where the steel girders were, the metal grid did not quite meet the girder, and there was a few inches that were open, straight down to the river below. For some reason, it really bothered me to cross over the girders and the empty spaces. I'm not normally afraid of heights, although usually when I'm up high, I'm nicely buckled in to a roller coaster car!

Here's a view looking down through the grid.

Looking at a bend in the Cuyahoga River.

Where the Cuyahoga meets Lake Erie.

A view of the Westside Market (the tower) from underneath the Veteran's Memorial Bridge. We stopped at the Market on the way home and bought lots of fresh fruit.

A trolley car you could walk through. Not really different than a bus, on the inside. There were lots of pictures to look at in different areas around the station, and even a couple of movies showing the old subway system in use. Some pictures showed older looking, horse-drawn trolley cars. It would be fun to ride in a horse-drawn trolley today! Well, maybe not so much in the winter.

Beautiful in Bay

Well, we haven't gotten to the beach this summer, but we did get to the lake!

Last night since we were in the area, we did a geocache in Bay Village, where I grew up. The easiest and most convenient one to do was in the Bay Village cemetery, which overlooks Lake Erie. If you like old cemeteries, this one is nice. A few of the men interred there fought in the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812. There is an unknown soldier from the Civil War.

The cache was a "multi-cache." We had to get dates from the historical site marker and a few gravestones in order to find the exact coordinates of the cache. Wildchild found it, under a rock by the back corner of the cemetery.

A Day at the Faire

As I mentioned yesterday, today was the day we went to the Great Lakes Medieval Faire. Ah, the Medieval Age, that halcyon time of plastic elf ears, leather corsets, lots of cleavage and put-on accents. Truly, we hath a lovely time. Here are some highlights of our day.

We let our children have weapons. What were we thinking? They aim at the target, with their uncle doing the same.

We got to see some battles on horseback, hand-to-hand as well as jousting.


What's a fair without rides? For a medieval faire, it's only appropriate to have people-powered rides. Here's one I rode with my daughters called the Crow's Nest. A cheerful pirate pushed our seating compartment around just enough so the ropes twisted around the center pole. After a couple times of back and forth to really get the ropes twisted well, we got some good centripetal force going and got a little bit diiiizzzzzy.

Here's a medieval carousel, with a turnstile in the center for somebody to turn, to propel the carousel. I've been on that style of ride before too, actually pretty fun.

Another activity offered for the children was pony rides. The Scientist is finding out all about her pony, while Wildchild smiles graciously at her subjects. Note her lovely tiara. I didn't get a good shot of the Scientist's new necklace/tiara, but she's wearing it as a necklace in her picture.



If you wanted to get around the fairgrounds, you could grab a medieval taxicab ride.

The theme for this weekend was A Celtic Celebration. We missed the Highland Games in the morning, but there was lots of good Celtic music all day, and a lot of kilts to be seen.

Isn't this a big Irish Wolfhound?

I bought two things for myself, a cast stone shelf to hang on the wall, and a wall hanging with a cathedral feel. I can't wait to get them hung up.


It was a super day, spent with family.

Our Sweet Daughter?

After church tomorrow, we're meeting up with my sister-in-law and her husband, and attending the Great Lakes Medieval Faire. I was reminded of when we went a few years ago, and my daughters were each allowed to pick one item to buy from among the vendors. The Scientist was going through a musical phase, and chose a flute made out of wood. Wildchild's choice was a little more interesting. She chose this pretty ring.

Only thing is, it's a poison ring. The stone lifts up, and there's a place where poison can be placed to be secretly deposited into an unfortunate's drink. Perhaps it was just us, but it was weird buying a poison ring for our five-year-old. She liked it, though, and it was what she chose...

Also in the maybe-it's-just-me category, I used to refer to it as a Borgia ring, after the Spanish family notorious for poisoning, but nobody ever seemed to know what I was talking about. Would any of my intelligent readers understand if they heard about a "Borgia ring"?

Weekend Doings

This was the busiest weekend I've had in a while. Saturday we hung out at our church garage sale/get-together. Yesterday after church we went to the high school graduation party for my husband's nephew. Here's a picture of him opening our gift, a refrigerator for his college dorm room. That should work out well, since he apparently eats enough for several normal people. :)

I am hoping that my sister-in-law will email me some of the pictures that her husband took (hint, hint!) :) We finally got to meet our great-nephew, and I held another one of the babies who were there, a cousin's daughter.

I wasn't entirely happy about being out all weekend, but I think it was good for me all the same. I feel better about tackling things here at home now since I've had a couple of days break.

Hot Friday Night

Nothing says fun like playing miniature golf on a Friday night. They turned off the lights right after we left! :)


Of course, we missed the Cleveland Indians' big comeback tonight. When we left the golf course the Indians were down 11-7. I turned on the TV at home right after the Indians won the game in the 9th inning, 12-11. Oh well. At least we keep beating Detroit. And speaking of, the Indians are playing the Tigers at home again tomorrow night, and there will be big screens outside the Q right next door showing the Cavs-Pistons game, as the game is played inside. Cleveland should be hopping tomorrow night. Go Cleveland! Beat Detroit!

Woodsy Walk

We took a nice hike in the woods today.


There were some pretty views, and we caught a glimpse of a few natural inhabitants of the woods. I saw a cardinal, Scottius, but he didn't have a glove or a baseball bat. :)

Stay-at-Home

Do any of you who are stay-at-home moms have the same problem I do? On the weekends, my husband likes to hang out at home and just veg, whereas I get moody and depressed just sitting around on a Saturday. I like to have plans and do things, get out of the house. I suppose having my daughters around me pretty much 24-7 just exacerbates the situation. Yeah. I need to get out of the house more.

Play Ball!

Today was Weather Education Day at Jacob's Field in Cleveland, Ohio. Four weather forecasters from WKYC News spoke to over 11,000 kids and adults about forecasting the weather and how weather can affect how far a ball will fly. We had a speaker from the National Weather Service give tips for safety during floods, thunderstorms and tornadoes. We also had someone from NASA demonstrate a nifty computer program which shows how weather conditions can change the flight of a baseball. I also found this neat program which lets you play with the aerodynamic forces on a curveball.


It was this little one's first game. She sits with some others from our homeschool group.

For Scottius Maximus, a few pictures of the ballpark. I'll take more next time we go.

Here is the Home Run Porch in left field. You can see how close Jacob's Field is to Quicken Loans Arena, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team. Also notice the giant Cavaliers shirt hanging from the Terminal Tower behind the Q. The Cavaliers are in the NBA playoffs.

Here is the Terrace Club restaurant, where people with season tickets can go and enjoy a nice meal while taking in a game. I'm not sure what else, if anything, qualifies you to get in there.

Right field, from where we were sitting during the weather part.

Here's right field from our seats during the game. We were up high, but it was worth every bit of the $5 per seat we paid. :) You can see the walkway from the parking garage, and the Caxton Building, where Mr. Evil Genius worked for a short time.

An overview of the infield.

It was a fun game. Fausto Carmona pitched a complete game and his first career shutout, while Victor Martinez and Ryan Garko hit back-to-back homeruns off of Johan Santana for a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Go Tribe!