CLE Metroparks Zoo

Last week we visited Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and I'm ashamed to admit that it was not one of the items on my CLE To-Do List.  That was a big miss!  We met friends at the entrance gate a little after 10am on a rather chilly morning and, because they are members, we were able to get in free with their guest pass (thank you Carolyn and family).  Otherwise, at $12.25 for one adult ticket and $8.25 for Ella 

(kids under 2 are free), admission would have been fairly reasonable had we planned to stay for more than just a few hours in the morning.  If we lived here . . . or rather, when we move here (yea!), we'd definitely cough up the $95 to become a member, making those morning, two-hour visits much more doable.

Getting to the park early was, as usual, key to enjoying the trip.  All of the animals were out and active, eating breakfast or lounging in the morning sun.  We got to witness a giraffe eating from a bush between his enclosure and the pedestrian walkway and were so close that I think, if he had tried, his tongue could have reached my head.  A zebra was chasing a gazelle around in circles in their enclosure, and the merkeets were so busy digging new holes to hide in that I had trouble following their movements (man those suckers are quick).

Two hours allowed us to cover a good portion of the zoo (maybe 2/3 of it) and see the most recognizable animals, at least to a two-year-old.  On return I will definitely be taking a camel ride, visiting the primates, cats, bears and the other animals we missed, packing a lunch so I'm not stuck buying the expensive and/or unhealthy available food options, and taking my husband along. 

the CLE Botanical Garden

Today we made a date to meet some friends at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens.  It was hot.  OK, it was VERY hot.  But the gardens were beautiful and well worth the sweat.  The Hershey Children's Garden was particularly fantastic.  There is a sundial fountain to splash in (bring a bathing suit if you plan to stay awhile), a larger-than-life treehouse with a ramp for complete accessibility, a pond full of turtles, tadpoles, fish and frogs that the kids can actually reach, and an activity area complete with sandbox, craft tables, and potting bench.  Ella made a turtle sun catcher (way cooler than the construction paper turtle I came up with) at the craft tables and planted sunflower seeds at the potting bench.

    

A few tips for your visit: We arrived just before they opened at 10:00am.  The pros: We got to enjoy the Children's Garden for about 20 minutes before droves of summer camp aged children descended on the garden.  And it wasn't as hot at 10am as it was when we left just before 1:00.  The cons:  Droves of summer camp aged kids crowded into the children's garden around 10:30am.  There were at least two buses full of kids waiting in the drop-off drive when I arrived in the morning and I'm sure more followed.  I'm sure this typical for the summer, and even during the school year, as the gardens would make for quite a wonderful field trip.  We enjoyed ours!

this weekend: from Bay Village to Beachwood

This weekend, we were all over CLE - from Bay Village to Beachwood.  I finally got up close and personal with Lake Erie, attended an official CLE event - The Cleveland Flea, and explored a few new parks on the east side of town.  Here it is . . . in a nutshell (of photos).

this weekend: oh, to start off with a bang and then fizzle out

This weekend was a long one, not literally . . . it just felt oddly long.  And not in a good, we-have-an-extra-day-and-we've-done-so-much-already kind of way, but in a what-the-heck-have-we-spent-our-time-doing-all-weekend way.

It started off well enough with a Friday night date of sorts for my husband and I.  It wasn't really a date exactly, because all the fuss and arrival of the babysitter was spurred only by the fact that he had a work event to attend, but we went out, sans Ella, so I guess I'll stick with date.  It was actually our first time spent in Ohio City since arriving in Cleveland in May and we had a great time eating local food, touring a few of his co-workers homes, and then finally ending up at Nano Brew Cleveland, playing a life-sized game of Jenga (and by life-sized, I mean about 4 feet tall and made of 2x4's).

We continued our local exploration on Saturday morning for brunch at The Katz Club Diner.  Great food, zero wait, and a pretty good cup of joe.  I think Ella's french toast took the cake (though the waffle was a solid second in my book).

And that's where our weekend hit a wall . . . we were all a bit shaken up after an unfortunate incident on Saturday afternoon, and so, the rest of the weekend was a bit blah.  Which is too bad since our time here in Cleveland is winding down quickly.

On the upside, I checked off another freelance design project from my list Sunday night!

the CLE children's museum

You know those Sunday nights, right before bed, when you check the weather for the week on your phone only to discover that the times you'll be able to get your kids outside to run around are going to be few and far between because rain is forecast, in some form or another, for the entire week.  That was my Sunday night just a few weeks ago, just before what turned out to be a dreary week of on and off rain showers, thunderstorms and tornado watches and warnings.

I was in a bit of a panic Monday morning - what was I going to do with Ella for the week if we couldn't do our usual walks with the dog and playground hops?  I mean, this is the stuff of life when you are living in an unfamiliar place with a very, very short friend list.  Then I remembered my list and decided we'd visit the Cleveland Children's Museum.

To be honest, the place doesn't really look like much from the outside.  I was a bit skeptical, and at $7.00 per person for admission, I really hoped there would be something great inside.  I was pleasantly surprised.  The exhibits were fantastic - well made, and with a lot of moving parts and pieces (key when you have a toddler who wants to touch everything).  The first room Ella ran into housed the current, temporary exhibit Centuries of Childhood: An American Story.  The room was filled with toddler-sized scenes of children's bedrooms, train dining cars, houses, school rooms, woodshops, fishing boats, and kitchens all representative of different cultures and centuries, and focused specifically on some aspect of the lives of the children at a particular time.  We played all by ourselves in the room until we needed to make a  diaper change pitstop.

While heading to the bathrooms, which were located on the lower level, I was surprised to discover the rest of the museum hidden at the back of the building down a short stair and in the lower level (hello water table!).  We made a stop in the Big Red Barn themed infant and toddler room for the Toddler Team Up program.  The room was fantastic, with a chicken coop, apple trees, garden tools, climbing mats, and a large barn with an upstairs loft, but the program itself left much to be desired.

A few tips if you want to plan a visit: We arrived just before they opened the doors and played for two hours, the last of which was extremely crowded.  The museum isn't huge so if you dislike crowds and want a more low key experience, get there early!  And, maybe I was there on an off day, but I'd pass on the toddler program.  If you're willing to explore and play with your kids in the museum, than stick with them and let them lead.

Oh, and remember to bring your best camera.  I forgot mine and only had my iPhone to document the trip (this is my bad pic apology).  It's hard to catch all the action clearly unless you bring the good camera.

I think $7.00 was worth this!  She fell asleep so quickly after we left, she didn't even finish her apple slices.

this weekend: back in CLE

 After a LONG week in Cincinnati cleaning my house in preparation for new tenants, it was nice to be back in Cleveland with my husband for the weekend.  We had a great pancake breakfast at Eat at Joe's on Saturday morning, followed by an emergency eyeglass shopping trip (always have a backup pair that isn't broken) for Ted.

On Sunday, we checked one more thing off my CLE To-Do List with a trip to On The Rise Artisan Breads in Cleveland Heights.  The fresh bread smelled amazing . . . actually everything smelled amazing.  We ordered up a few pecan rolls, a plain croissant, a raspberry croissant, and one very large oatmeal raisin cookie (Ella's favorite).  Some things are just meant to be eaten right away.

Go Reds (at the Jake)!

I can officially check one thing off my CLE to-do list: Indian's Game at The Jake!  Last week we took Ella to her first Major League Baseball game and it just so happened that we got to cheer for our "home" team, the Cincinnati Reds.  Ted and I haven't been to a game since our first date post-baby, 22 months ago (wow, where does the time go?!).

But it seems we were bad luck for the Reds as they allowed the Indians to win,  breaking their 5-game losing streak. 

my CLE to-do list

In order to avoid the thumb twiddling and head-wall banging that often accompany boredom, I've been trying to compile a list of sorts with places to visit, events to attend, and things to do while we're in Cleveland for the summer.  And lucky for me, a friend of the ladies we are subletting from graciously made me a quick list of "stuff to do" before they departed.

Here's what's on my list so far:

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Parade the Circle event, by the Cleveland Museum of Art at University Circle

The Cleveland Flea

R/S Boutique

Stitch Cleveland

Indian's Game at The Jake (that's what Clevelanders call it, right?)

Greater Cleveland Aquarium

Murray Hill Bolt and Spool

On the Rise

Native Cleveland

Beachland Ballroom

*find a babysitter

Great Lakes Science Center

The Children's Museum of Cleveland

Cain Park for a Kid's Matinee

*neighborhood shop

Take Ella to classes at The Little Gym (sadly, we don't have one in Ann Arbor)

West Side Market (always worth another visit)

Great Lakes Brewing Company

As with any new place, I can only discover so much online and from my reading so to all of you Clevelanders out there, let me know what "must-do's" I'm missing.  I'd love more suggestions, especially on places to eat.

this weekend: to CLE we go

This weekend, we (or my husband) officially relocated to Cleveland for the summer.  We loaded up the entire family, including the dog, Ted's summer uniforms (suits), and some basic necessities, and drove the 3 hours to our summer sublet in Cleveland on Friday afternoon.  We arrived only to find the current tenants scurrying around, trying to finish packing up their things and clean up as much as they could.  Despite this initial frenzy, I must hand it to my husband for finding us a great home for the summer, in a quiet neighborhood with friendly neighbors.

We spent the remainder of our weekend running errands and driving around.  Actually, I think we spent most of our weekend in the car.  Enough time, at least, to be clearly noticeable to us.  And it was at that moment that I REALLY began to miss Ann Arbor.  I mean, I was sad leaving our house on Friday, trying to remind myself that this move, for now, is only temporary.  And the idea of leaving this community that I've grown so fond of has been difficult to wrap my head around - it's the most established I've felt since graduating from college.  But to really BE in a new city, where things are unfamiliar and you're not sure where the best place is to go grocery shopping, or get a coffee, or the nearest playground is . . . well, that feeling is so incredibly isolating.

Ella and I returned to Ann Arbor Sunday evening to wrap up a few loose ends and pack up the remainder of our things.  We'll head back to Cleveland next week.  But for now, I must remind myself how it is I got to this place here, in Ann Arbor.  How did we create comfort for ourselves in this place when it was new and unfamiliar?  How did we become part of the community?  How did  we make friends and find the places where we felt a real sense of belonging?  

I've been able to do this before and I will be able to do it again.  

But a girl can still be a little sad too.