Rock and Roll RoadTrip

With Matt working all sorts of crazy hours because of the heat, (98 hours last week alone), he was so excited to find out he would have a VERY RARE 2 days off in a row because of the 4th of July.

The first words out of his mouth was, “Do we have any plans for the weekend?”  I answered, “No.”  “Good!”, he said, “Keep it that way!”

We did some brain storming and thought about all of the places we’d like to go, when all of a sudden it hit me…  “How about the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame?”

It was a plan!  So at 7:00 am Saturday morning we loaded up the car and we were off the Cleveland, OH.

The trip there was rather uneventful, thankfully in part to the portable DVD player.  (God bless the inventor of this wonderful device!)

About 1/2 way though the trip we did  see some Amish people enjoying some Ice Cream from a Hardees rest stop.  I felt like I was in the movie “Witness”.  I took several pictures of them, but then Matt told me that it was against Amish rules to take pictures of the faces of the adults.  So, to respect their religion and rules, here’s the one I can use.

Matt made record time getting to Cleveland.  5-1/2 hours.  The first thing we did was check into the hotel and then we went to get something to eat.  We always like to ask ‘the locals” where to go and we were told to go to 4th St.  No cars allowed and nothing but restaurants! 

We had a great meal and then it was just a short walk to the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame.

Unfortunately, there are NO pictures allowed INSIDE the Hall of Fame, but I can tell you it was truly an AWESOME place!

We saw everything from Elvis’s suits and one of his cars, the clothes of the Beatles from the Ed Sullivan Show and Sgt. Pepper’s, Jimmy Hendrix guitar and clothes, Michael Jackson’s glove and his “Thriller” costume and mask, Guitars from just about anyone you can think of and countless other treasures.  It was really amazing!

After the Hall of Fame, we got to go through Johnny Cash’s Tour Bus.  Here we could take all the pictures we wanted to.

After all of this, we went back to our hotel room to crash.  Matt order pizza and had it delivered to the room.  Oh yeah…  And Kevin  made it along for the trip as well.

The next day we got up and took a short walk around the city to see some of the sights.  We went to Progressive Park, home of the Cleveland Indian’s baseball team.

We had missed the free breakfast at the hotel, so Emerson and Vivienne decided they wanted hotdogs from a street vendor in front of the ball park.  Breakfast of Champions!  (And the award for Parent’s of the Year go  to….)

Next it was over to the football stadium, home of the Cleveland Browns.

Here’s the statue Drew Cary dances around in the opening of the “Drew Cary Show”.

And here are the kids in the front of one of the MANY painted guitars located around the city.

After a quick walk around the city, we checked out of the hotel and we were off to a place I think Matt was the MOST excited about going to…  The house used in the movie “A Christmas Story”.

From the moment we pulled up, Matt started clapping his hands yelling, “There it is!  There it is!”  He’s such a little kid sometimes!  LOL!

And here are some pictures from there.

The house.

The Leg Lamp in the front window.  “It’s a Major Award!”

Emerson and Vivienne in front of Ralph and Randy’s beds.

The bathroom. Complete with Decoder Ring and Lifebuoy Soap, (with teeth marks in the soap).

The phone the mother uses after Ralph rats out Schwartz.

“Blee Ricka Flaaaab!  Who moved the damper?!!!”

The sink Randy hid under.  “Daddy’s gonna kill Ralphie!”

“Some men are Catholics, other’s Protestant.  My father was an Oldsmobile man!”

Here’s Randy’s snowsuit.  “My brother looked like a tick ready to pop!”

Matt even got to meet one of the extra’s from the movie.  His name is Jim and he’s one of the guys that deliver the crate with the leg lamp in it into the house.  He was really nice and had a bunch of really fun stories.

And here’s the family in front of the “one and only” actual Leg Lamp from the movie in the living room.

After the tour of the house, (and several purchases from the gift shop), it was off to lunch.  Where you ask???  Well where else?  “The Pearl of the Orient" where we took part in some “Chinese Turkey” just like in the movie.  (“The Pearl” has had quite the facelift).

After that it was on the road back home.  We only made a quick stop in South Bend, IN to see the famous, University of Notre Dame.

Then it was back home  Another family adventure!  We had a great time and we can’t wait until the next one!