Thursday, June 15, 2006

Cleveland Rocks!

Over the weekend, I attended a conference in the suburbs of scenic Cleveland, Ohio. During our stay, we saw a few of the following sights:

First up was Lake Erie (it's sort of hard to miss it as you fly over it on landing approach). We drove through Sandusky and up North to the Marblehead peninsula to get a good look at Lake Erie, the shallowest of the Great Lakes (maximum depth of 210 ft.). In the past, it has frozen completely over, allowing people and cars to traverse the lake over ice to the islands. Ice fishing is also fairly popular, or so I was told.

Thankfully, the weather was very pleasant while we were there so no cold weather gear was required! :> While on the Marblehead peninsula, we visited the Marblehead lighthouse, which is the oldest lighthouse on the US side of the Great Lakes. We managed to visit on the one day of the week it is closed (Sunday), so we had to make due looking at its exterior and watching folks catch fish nearby.

On the way back to our resort, we stopped at the Firelands winery, on the outskirts of Sandusky. For $1, we were able to sample some of the local wines and then took a self-guided tour through the winery. The wine was good enough to persuade us to purchase a bottle, so I'd easily recommend the stop to anyone.

I didn't have a chance to do any more sight seeing until our departure date, as I was busy attending seminars, presentations, and the like. However, our last stop was the best by far. We stopped at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum for about an hour and a half, and were quite impressed. With a $20 admission price, I'm glad to say that I think the museum is worth it. A fan of rock and roll could easily spend a half day there, and a whole day isn't out of the question. Two thumbs up, definitely!

After four days away from home, I was glad to slip back into the ocean yesterday! There's just no place like home.