Sunday, May 29, 2011 Mall of America

Today we left the cheese state and had a 5 hour drive into Minneapolis, Minnesota to see The Mall of America! It was Sunday, so we had to be sure to get there in enough time for Brett to shop for his new "interview clothes" before they closed at 7pm.

This was the Indy 500 race day and the son of Rich’s good friend qualified as a rookie to race!! We pulled into a rest stop along the way to fix lunch and try to see the last ½ hour or so of the race. NO TV SIGNAL!!!!!!!!! So, we got on the phone and had a blow by blow update of the race from my sister, Barb. Way to go Barb, you saved the day J Long story short; JR Hildebrand was in the leading pack for most of the race, was in 1^st place by 3 seconds going into the final lap of the race, just short of the finish line he hit the wall! A car passed him, but he was able to limp over the finish on three wheels!!! It was second place for JR. As a friend of ours was quoted to say at that very moment, “That was a 10 million dollar wall”! So close, but what a race! Way to go JR!!!!!!!

We packed up from lunch and continued to Prior Lake, MN where we found a campground for the night. We parked the RV, jumped into Brett’s car, and drove into Minneapolis. We had a little more than two hours before the mall closed so we headed right to H&M. He found the perfect outfit! Be ready Apple Execs, Brett is ready for you!! I know it goes without saying, but this is a HUGE mall! As soon as we walked in, we were faced with a zig-zaging escalator that went up 5 floors! It has over 520 stores, and 50 restaurants, free shuttles to hotels and the airport, a Nickelodeon Universal theme park with 24 rides, an underwater aquarium, flight simulators and a 14 theater multi-plex! It is the largest fully enclosed retail and family entertainment complex in the world. Some fun facts; 7 Yankee Stadiums would fit inside the mall, built with over 13,500 tons of steel (more than twice that of the Eifel Tower), it has over 30,000 live plants and more than 400 live trees in the theme park area alone!

When the mall closed, we went into downtown Minneapolis to see what it was like and to find a place for dinner. We were surprised to see so many corporate headquarters in one place, especially in Minnesota! The buildings here represent some of the most interesting architecture that we have seen. For the most part, the downtown seemed deserted, maybe because it was late on a Sunday night. We found a really nice Indian restaurant, the “Bombay Bistro”. Not sure if Lindsey was a big fan, but the rest of us chowed down!

Saturday, May 28, 2011 around Chicago

In the morning we were ready to drive into Chicago and see what we could see! The KOA check out was noon so we got the RV Ready to go and parked it at the Pilot truck stop. We got into Brett’s car and hit the highway. TRAFFIC!

This is a huge city! There is a river that runs through town with a walk along it sort of like San Antonio. The walk ends at the Marina that opens into Lake Michigan. Navy Pier is there, which has a huge Ferris wheel, and carnival rides. We walked from downtown to the Marina, and then back into town, to stroll the Magnificent Mile. Every store known to man is here. The Trump International was gorgeous! It was shiny silver reflective glass and VERY tall. Rich was here a couple of weeks ago when he taught a class at Kellogg MBA School. He was very luckyto to have stayed at the Trump and see a game at Wrigley Field! Brett took a picture at the Apple Store, and can I just say, it was hilarious! We saw the old water tower that was built in 1869 and used to equalize water pressure for the city. After the big Chicago fire in 1871, the water tower was literally the only structure left standing. It is the second oldest water tower in the United States. All down the main street there were planter boxes that were very cool. Some of them even had fountains and small rock waterfalls. and he said there were tulips everywhere!

We stopped to get lunch at Giodonno’s Pizza for some Chicago style deep dish pizza! The slices were enormous!! Rich and I opted for the thin crust, and it was plenty. The menu said famous stuffed crust deep dish, and the just as famous thin crust, hahaha, so we were justified in our choice. Lindsey and Brett however…..I can’t believe they ate 2/3 before boxing the rest!!!

We walked a little more, but it was starting to rain, so we went back to the RV. We drove into Wisconsin and stayed just outside of Madison. We went to the Cheese Chalet and got some cheese and crackers for some snacking. We decided since it was earlier than we usually turn in, that we would clean out the refrigerator of some of our leftovers, watch some TV, book Lindsey’s tickets for Indiana (Performing Arts Festival) and catch up on the blog.

Friday, May 27, 2011 on our way to Chicago

This morning we are heading to Chicago, IL. We have a new passenger on board, Peppi, an 11 year old box turtle that belongs to Brett. She is really cute. Not knowing our route or time table in advance, we are making our reservations on the road. We’ve never had any trouble finding a place, but we didn’t think about this being Memorial weekend! So far our only scare was not finding something around Chicago. After a few calls, we had our reservation.

We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Sturgis, Michigan. Every trip has to have a little mis-hap, and today was ours. Coming out of the gas station after lunch, Rich mis-judged the curb a bit and literally tour out the cement curb with our tial pipe! The pipe was wedged behind our wheel and we dragged it all the way off the road and into a parking lot, all the way scraping the pavement VERY loudly! A man saw what happened, pulled over, and offered to help. He had a reciprocating saw in his car and he offered to cut the exhaust pipe off at the tail pipe which was only slightly bent. The parking lot we were in was for Walmart. Another man pulled up to our RV while the guys were fixing it. He was going to run into the store and asked if we were going to be here a while, could we watch his car and trailer that was packed with stuff. So we said yes, and Lindsey and I took the opportunity to do some grocery shopping. After only about ½ hour, we were fixed up and ready to hit the road.

Our route took us in and out of Indiana a few times. The people at the campground gave us special directions to the campground outside of Chicago so we could avoid going through town as the GPS would have taken us. Well, somehow we missed the exit and ended up in some major traffic!! We had plenty of time to check in, so we just enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the city during commute and soaked in the skyline.

Lindsey found a BBQ restaurant right next to our campground. Brett and Lindsey had Sarsaparilla with their dinner, and they thought it was pretty good. Tomorrow we plan on going into Chicago to see some of the sights before moving on into Wisconsin.

Thursday, May 26, 2011 around Cleveland

This morning Gwen (Brett’s Mom) came with us to drive around. Cleveland Heights reminds me a lot of Berkeley. In the center of town there is the University surrounded by the museum, theatre, shops, performing arts high school, etc. We drove out to Brett’s old high school, Hawkin. It was HUGE! I’m not sure how much property it covered, but once we were on campus, that’s all we could see forever! It is situated on very green, rolling hills, with each building nestled under large, beautiful trees. We drove our car to the soccer field, Lacrosse Field, Tennis Courts, Olympic indoor pool, Dining Hall, Science Building, Theatre, Faculty housing and more! His graduating class was about 100 seniors.

Next we drove to Chagrin Falls to visit his Grandmother. Again, we drove through tree covered country roads, over streams and past homes straight out of a storybook. Downtown Chagrin is as close to “Stars Hollow” (of Gilmore Girls fame) as I can imagine a town could be. As we drove in, they were even putting up small tents in the park for their candy parade. We heard about how the high school kids roll pumpkins down the hill into the center of town as a prank every Halloween. It was so much fun visiting with Brett’s “Grammy”. She is 90 years old, living on her own, and takes care of her own dog as well as caring for a friend’s dog long term. She and Brett are very close, and we heard many stories of them together when he was growing up. We had such a great visit that I hated to say good bye, but we were meeting Brett’s brother at “Melt” (featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on The Food Network) for lunch.

We had the biggest, cheesiest sandwiches EVER!! Eric (Brett’s brother) told us all about his internship he was starting in Vancouver, Canada, in a few months. Eric just graduated from college with a BFA in Industrial Design with a minor in Glass blowing. His work is awesome. After lunch, we dropped his Mom back at her house to get ready for a fund raising event that she had for work. She is a director for an Alzheimer’s/Dementia/Assisted Living home in Cleveland. Eric went back to work on a project and the four of us went into Cleveland.

We saw the Cleveland Indian’s Stadium, the Cleveland Brown’s Stadium, the world’s biggest rubber stamp outside of the newspaper office (Freedom of the Press), the painted guitars all around town, Lake Erie, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! Before we left town, we just had to do some geocaching!!! Brett wanted to find a trackable so he could log it in all the way to California. We checked out the end of the pier on Lake Erie, and Brett found it under a bench. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is right on the water. It was almost closing time when we got there, so we didn’t have time to take the tour. They did have a lot of exhibits in the lobby and downstairs, so we were able to see quite a lot. Johnny Cache’s tour bus was on display outside, and Janis Joplin’s psychedelic painted car was inside as well as Billy Joel’s Harley. We will for sure have to come back to take this all in.

We headed back into Cleveland Heights for dinner at his Dad’s house. It was still a bit early so we stopped into Tommy’s for a milkshake! Yummo! After that, we went to Big Fun, a toy store that has all the games, dolls and trinkets from decades ago to fairly recent. You could get game consoles, parts and games for Atari as well as just about every board game ever made! It was a lot of fun taking the trip down Memory Lane J

Brett’s Dad lives just a few blocks away from his house. His step Mom and her mother were there as well as her daughter. Eric met us there for dinner, and Gwen came after her event. We had a ton of pizza and salad. Rick (Brett’s Dad) was excited to show Rich his classic Fiat he is working on in his garage. It was another fun evening.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 arriving in Cleveland

When we woke up this morning, we could finally see what a beautiful campground this was! There is a huge lake almost all the way around the RV sites and they also have extensive equestrian trails. We had our breakfast and headed out for Cleveland. We were all very excited to see Brett’s home turf and family! We stopped for a quick bite at Chipotle because we drove straight in to Cleveland and our tummies were rumbling J As we came close to Cleveland Heights, where Brett Lives, he began giving us the tour. It was really fun seeing his old schools, places where he lived , worked, and his favorite hangouts around town. Cleveland Heights is a really fun community with lots of character! He lives on a beautiful tree lined street with lush greenery, Azaleas and Rhododendrons. His house has a front porch with a swing! I love it J His Mom planned dinner at her place with Brett’s Aunt, two cousins, brother and his Dad. Shortly after we arrived, the sky turned dark, the wind came out of nowhere, and it absolutely poured! Just minutes before, we were sitting in the backyard enjoying the patio and playing with Diddy, their Italian Whippet. Everyone hadn’t gotten there yet, so we were concerned about them driving in such bad weather. Soon everyone arrived safely, and we all sat around the dining room table and enjoyed all of the food that everyone brought. What a feast! We had sushi, chicken wings, green salad with avocados and strawberries, chicken casserole, macaroni and cheese, lasagna, coleslaw, hummus and pita, Brett’s favorite pickles, bread, cookie dough brownies with ice cream and cookies! It was great getting to know everyone and sharing stories! Tomorrow, Brett is taking us around downtown Cleveland.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011 Nashville

On Tuesday, May 24^th, we saw all of the damage done from the storm the night before. Everyone was telling their stories of how unsettling it was in their RV’s. Two couples near us were also from California and we all agreed that we would take our chances with earthquakes over these severe storms that seem to be everyday occurrences in these parts! We fixed a good breakfast in the RV and took Brett’s car into town. Our first stop was the Ryman Auditorium where we did a self guided tour. Lindsey and Brett had a really cute picture taken on the stage. Then we walked to The Country Music Hall of Fame. We didn’t have time to go in, but we walked through the park and took some pictures in front of the building. Then we drove to the life sized replica of the Parthenon. It is situated in a very quiet park with acres of trees, grass and small lakes.

We still had a long drive ahead, so we went back to the KOA, hooked up and headed for Louisville, KY to see Churchill Downs. We stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch and pressed on, hoping to be able to see the racetrack before it closed. Well, we almost made it. Roadwork slowed us a bit, but what REALLY hurt our chances was the time change that none of us thought about L We still got to see the beautiful entrance and took some pictures. We walked around part of the perimeter and tried to get a glimpse of the inside. We couldn’t see much but its beauty was still very evident. We drove all around the facility and saw the hundreds of stalls out on the backside of the track.

Back on the road again, we were headed for Cincinnati, OH. We finally arrived at the campground at 10:30pm. And of course, the office was closed. When we called ahead, the office said there would be instructions on how to call the Rangers to come and open the gate for us. No problem, right? But the phone number for the Rangers was only good until 10pm, so the next instructions for arrival after 10pm were to call the Cincinnati police, who would then call the Rangers to come and meet us. We didn’t have to wait long, and we hooked up, ate our emergency dinner and hit the hay.

Monday, May 23, 2011 we're off to California, via Ohio

Today we all (except Lindsey) got up between 6 and 6:30 to finish putting things in the cars, and organizing what was to go in Lindsey’s car on the trailer. We dumped our tanks at the dump station, stopped by Speedco to swap out our fuel filter, went by U-Haul and hooked up the trailer, got the car tied down and packed, stopped by Dunkin Doughnuts and hit the road, all by 10am! All along we planned to leave Jackson by 10am, AND WE DID IT!

We had lunch on the road near Memphis and then drove on to Nashville. We planned on going to “The Aquarium” restaurant for dinner. We went there before and thought that Brett would enjoy it. I checked out the hours while en route and found out that not only that restaurant, but everything for blocks around the Opry House, was still closed from the floods in 2009!!! Wow, I can’t believe how much in this area was devastated during that disaster!

We checked into our KOA then headed to the Opry. When we got there, it was as if the Opry was now an island in the middle of an entire deserted outdoor mall and blocks of empty parking lots. It was late and it was starting to rain, so we decided we could check out more of Nashville in the morning and headed to dinner.

We were awoken at 4am by strobe like lightning coming through every window and vent. Have you ever seen the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”? It was just like when the little boy was awoken by the light coming through the door and blinds! I was pretty sure it wasn’t aliens, but the threat of tornados was real. Lindsey and I sat up in bed and started checking out the weather on our phones. By this time, the lightning was accompanied by torrential rain and hail. But the worst part was the WIND!!!!!! Our phones said there were “Severe Thunder storms coming through Nashville!” It said to shelter in a sturdy building, and stay indoors. Our RV was rocking really badly and we wondered if it could be considered a sturdy building! By now the guys were awake. Was it necessary to make a run to the KOA concrete bathrooms in our PJ’s at 4am? Maybe :/ Doppler radar was showing that the storm was passing over Nashville and moving East, so we figured the worst was over, and we went back to sleep (sort of). In the morning we found that several large branches had fallen all over the campground! A tree fell right on top of one of the cabins, and another fell on a shiny corvette parked just outside the grounds. The power was out throughout most of the campground. Luckily we had our generator to run one air conditioner because even with all of this weather, it was VERY warm.