Cleveland: Lyrics and Doughnuts and Comfortable Beds
I woke up Monday morning in our Cleveland hotel room and thought to myself...."the Keno brothers nodded at me!" The family rolled their eyes when I mentioned it. I ignored them and we all lolled about in the comfortable beds and ate leftovers for breakfast. This was our day to hit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I had added this on to the trip because I wanted Owen to have part of the trip that was something for him. I had never particularly been dying to go before but as we planned the trip I started really looking forward to it.
Our hotel was just a few blocks away so we walked down and forked over our money. As we paid they offered to take pictures of us holding guitars. Uh, no. We headed downstairs and began wandering. It was crowded. It felt mmm...odd. I'm not sure why I didn't like it more than I did. I mean I am a person who loves artifacts. What are my antiques except artifacts of a certain age and culture? So why didn't this touch me more? I'm not quite sure. The displays seemed crowded. I somehow expected more interpretation or focus. I don't know. I loved the Country Music Hall of Fame when I went there (although it was a million years ago). I made Ernie take a picture of the CBGB awning just to point out the...well....oddness. I don't know what I would do differently but....there was just something unsettling about this.
As we headed into the displays the first things we came across were displays of items related to Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry and Lady GaGa...and someone else I can't recall. If I only had a picture of Owen's complete and utter bewilderment. "But why is this in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?" He was crushed. He and Ernie eventually found things they were interested in however. Me and Leo? Not so much. My leg was going numb which is always a bit unnerving and Leo was polite but tired and uninterested. Eventually we told the two blondes we would meet them in the cafe. Leo and I went up, spent $6 and some change on an iced tea and a water, and found a quietish spot to sit and talk. It actually ended up being delightful. He showed me all his pictures from Railcamp and we chatted and chatted. Ernie and Owen showed up and we all talked for a bit. Then Leo and I headed back to the hotel and let the two of the enjoy themselves without feeling like we were weighing them down.
For some reason my favorite thing that I saw was the display of John Cippolina's amp set up. I'm not sure why...maybe because it looked like a wonderful Dr. Seuss sculpture.
Ernie and Owen didn't take much in the way of pictures but Owen did get this. I love that boy.
Later I asked Owen what he thought overall and he said he'd give it a 6 out of 10. Not bad. Overall we were just kind of eh...although Ernie said one thing they watched did make Ernie cry...can't recall what it was now. So it had its moments I guess. We hung out the rest of the afternoon....thought about doing other things but were all just a bit road weary at that point. We ordered good Japanese food from a place called Noodlecats and snuggled into our beds. The next morning we got going pretty early and happily climbed back into our car. We'd had enough diner breakfasts during the week so went with doughnuts. A cursory search or two led me to Jack Frost Doughnuts and oh my lord were they good....these might rival my beloved Doughnut Dip!
my salted caramel doughnut above, Ernie's classic glazed below...
Then we trundled back onto the highway and sped for home. We drove through some frightening storms complete with hail and wind but eventually we made it into the sun and home. As always, as anxious as we are to get away, it feels unbearably good to be home again. I'm off the rest of this week and trying to not let work creep back too quickly into my psyche. In other news Ernie somehow hurt his back/shoulder. We're hoping it's not related to the accident and surgery. He's off to the doctor today. We shall see. The boys worry about him greatly. He has no idea how loved he is. Today I am enjoying the grey skies and am already thinking that maybe TOMORROW could be our productive day to figure out bills and everything else that needs to be done.....maybe one more day of vacation time....