So we drove into Ohio – myself,
my dad, my brother and my two autistic kids.
We are visiting family in Cleveland, Ohio. The road trip was a bit rough – 5 ½ hours is
tough for any kid, much less autistic.
We stopped once to eat at a Hardee’s, twice to go potty and once when we
were pulled over by the charming Officer Maureen.
We are staying at the Courtyard
Marriott in Willoughby, Ohio. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-information/travel/clewb-courtyard-cleveland-willoughby/ Great
brand, very clean, good and friendly staff.
The pool is smallish (which is good when it comes to controlling my
kids) and indoors (which was cool because it rained today). They have a mini convenience store area by
the front desk and a bar that serves breakfast and coffee in the morning,
snacks, sandwiches and cocktails at night.
There’s also a workout room that I may be ambitious enough to visit
tomorrow morning.
Our first night, we joined family
for a picnic at Euclid Beach Park. http://www.euclidbeach.org/This
is a nice picnic area, right on the beach at Lake Erie. They have live music there on Fridays. Playground area for the kids. Plenty of parking at the park or at the
recreation center across the street.
Saturday our original plan was to
have breakfast at Bob Evans, near our hotel.
Totally packed – and anyone who knows autistic kids, waiting is not an
option – neither are crowds. Drove by
Cracker Barrell, same deal. Saw a place
called Eat-n-Park http://www.eatnpark.com/(although my brother surmised, shouldn’t you park before you
eat? J) –
parking spaces available – got a table within a few minutes. Good food, good service, good prices.
Saturday afternoon, went to the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
http://www.rockhall.com/ Cool place! Kids weren’t very
cooperative – staff were very helpful – they have free strollers and
wheelchairs – my little guy was a bit big for their strollers, so we got a
wheelchair – got some funny looks but that pacified him for the trip through
the museum.
Saturday night dinner was at
Great Lakes Brewing Company. http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/home They don’t
take reservations, so we showed up at 4:15, granted, in their defense, we had a
party of about 28, so the wait would have been 2 hours – we instead broke up
into groups of 5 or 6 and they took us right away. Really like the venue, so relaxing – all
their signature beers fresh and on tap.
Nice menu – it was a warm night, so I got the appetizer of fresh and
local meats and cheeses – brisket, spicy sausage, chevre, gouda, gorgonzola,
along with grapes, chutney and a carmelized onion and Kalamatta olive jam –
really yummy! Kids behaved well enough –
had their standard chicken strips and fries – the fries were excellent with a
breading that was cheesy and garlicky.
Great Lakes is a favorite go-to for my relatives and I will definitely
be back whenever we’re in Cleveland.
There are also some interesting looking places right across the street –
a coffee bar, a wine bar and another small restaurant called the Purple Fig, I
think? We won’t be there, but next week
there is a Burning River festival – the Cuyahoga River, many years ago, was so
polluted it caught on fire – that was the inspiration for the Environmental
Protection Agency. Glad Clevelanders can
have a sense of humor about it now. J
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