Ohio: A Photo Essay

For a state with no ocean, these people sell an awful lot of lighthouse stuff. And saltwater taffy. Yes, I know the lake is really big, but its not an ocean. I don't care if its like an ocean.

The Amish make some great cheese. And they are not stingy with their samples. Hundreds of teeny cheese cubes everywhere! I thought I was in heaven.

And by the way: Rainbow sherbet flavored cream cheese is every bit as nasty as it sounds. Trust me.

Cleveland fans get cranky when they lose. Especially when they are sitting in front of a row of Boston fans. They also don't seem too thrilled with the original dirt dog, Trot Nixon. He must be sad out there, what with the weird accents and all. But it was a heck of a game, and the Jake is a pretty cool stadium. (The Jake is a cool name for a stadium, by the way. "The Fen" just doesn't seem to work very well).

Drive thru liquor stores = brilliant! Plus, they sell live bait & dog food. And, three different kinds of Zima (if you're into that kind of crap, er, stuff).

One stop shopping, and you don't even have to leave the car!

People in Ohio (Ohioans?) know how to cook my favorite things. Sausage Gravy & Biscuits. Chicken & Noodles over mashed potatoes. Who comes up with these things? (Aside from Bob Evans, of course). I'm fairly sure my ginormous breakfast was at least 1,500 calories. But, I can't find the info on Bob's site, so I'll just say it was 300 and call it a day.

Fireworks are legal to buy, but are illegal to light.

Define that logic. (Best sign ever, by the way).

Dollar dogs don't taste great, but they're only a dollar. 6 per person limit though, which was a bit sad. I heard they sold 27,000 hot dogs. That's a lot of, well, whatever actually goes in hot dogs.

The beers at the Jake were only slightly less expensive than at Fenway. But they're twenty four ounces. And they sell them in the stands. Unfortunately, they pour the big cans into a cup. I love beers in cans as big as my head, so I was a bit disappointed.

The Amish also know their wine. Which kind of surprised me. Goes well with their cheese. And, if you wrap a bottle in a sweatshirt really well, it will survive the flight to Boston.

Basically, I can't say for sure if Cleveland rocks or not as we were only there for a few hours. But this lamp in a downtown window definitely does rock. Careful! Its Fra-gee-lee... that must be Italian!

Cleveland Rocks!

To be fair, I'm not really sure if Cleveland does, indeed, rock. (I actually couldn't even spell it correctly). But I'll find out this weekend and be sure to let you all know! J & I are headed out to Ohio for four days to visit some friends. I've been to Columbus for the weekend, and was so mesmerized by the flatness and lack of ocean, that I can't wait to return!

To get myself excited about our trip out (mid-) West, I looked up some fun facts about Ohio:

• "Hang On Sloopy" is the official state rock song. (The MA state song is "All Hail Massachusetts" Yawn).
• Akron is the rubber capital of the world.
• East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue in Cleveland was the site of the first pedestrian button for the control of a traffic light. The boy chosen for the 1948 newsreel to demonstrate its operation was Louis Spronze.
• Dresden is the home of the world's largest basket. It is located at Basket Village USA. (Basket Village! That must really be the happiest place on Earth!)
• Ohio is known as the Buckeye State. (This I knew. And, I've had buckeye candy. Its almost like I'm an OH resident!)
• Ohio gave America its first hot dog in 1900. Harry M. Stevens created the popular dining dog. (Now, this I like. We're even going to Dollar Dog Night at the Indians/Sox game. They're going to lose money on me -- I can eat a lot of hot dogs!)

I hope you all (all = my 5 faithful readers) enjoy your weekends/week beginnings and pray I don't get beat up on Tuesday night for wearing a Dice-K shirt to Jacobs Field. While you're at it, please pray for the Red Sox to actually win a stinking game in July. Seven games is a sad, sad lead.