Cleveland Day 1

Hi folks - from Cleveland, Ohio.

The entire car ride down, the only thing that was going through my mind was this song:



And I don't know any of the lyrics, only the part that goes "Ohio" so - I have been stuck with it for a long while trying to figure out what it was. I was somehow convinced that it was a Stevie Nicks song - when of course I should have guessed that it was more Neil Young genius. Its political message, lasting power, and sardonic melody are unmistakably Young.

Anyhow, entering Ohio is always a pleasure because the Michigan interstate routes are less well funded than the Ohio interstate routes - meaning the ride gets smooth and comfy as soon as you cross the state line. It's beautiful.

Our trip started out around 9:30 this morning, and despite some obnoxious detours in Detroit, everything went very smoothly. The trip was alright - and we rolled into the Cleveland Museum of Natural History with no trouble. It was our first stop in the city.

First - Dr. Michael Ryan from "Paleoblog" was indeed out of town in Korea at a conference, like he said he would be. I asked to meet him anyhow, just in case his trip was cancelled. It would have been neat for the curator of vertebrate paleontology at the museum to meet with us.

While the presentation isn't the most impressive we've ever seen,
that doesn't mean that a big faceoff between a Tyrannosaurus and a
Triceratops isn't cool.

The dinosaur exhibit at the museum was a little out of date - it looks like it was installed some time in the mid-80s and there hasn't been a lot of money to update the exhibits, and that's unfortunate. I think some shag carpet might have been the icing on the cake, actually.

Turkey vulture in an outhouse.

There was an absolutely awesome live exhibit out back of the museum, with deer, falcons, eagles, vultures, raccoons, an otter, foxes, hares, and bobcats. That was a real highlight of the visit. My fiance and I were absorbed with the raccoons as they played and scrapped with each other.

He's playing with a rock. He played with it a lot.

Our hotel room is great - the bed is enormous and comfortable - and I napped in it almost immediately. Another great note is that Quantum Leap was on tv here. Cool.

Our tix for the Jay's game tomorrow should be great - third baseline in the lower bowl - should be awesome. The Jays were rain-delayed this afternoon for the opening day; so maybe we'll get a double-header tomorrow afternoon? Hard to say. Should be a lot of fun, anyways. First ball game of the season!