Two Halls of Fame in Cleveland & Canton plus a National Park

Even though we have been to the Rock & Roll and Pro Football Halls of Fame before we were anxious to see the new additions. Well, Kathy was anxious to get back to one, Brad, to both! We also hit Cuyuhoga Valley National Park in between the Hall visits to break up the museum action. This NP was interesting, different than others.

Our campground was pretty cool...for kids. It had a large lake with a floating obstacle course and huge water bikes along with a sandy beach. The campground was attended by a lot of weekend RV warriors and longer term trailers and fifth wheels. We got a kick everytime we went back to the campground after touring and drove over a the series of 10 hills to get there.

On our first day we went to the RR Hall of Fame. It was neat to see the exhibits of the 2023 induction class and also featured a new Beatles exhibit among others. The coolest part of the Beatles display was the 20 minute movie of their rooftop concert which was intriguing, insightful and music gold.

Here are some more of our favorite pics. The second pic below is Brad giving the wrong hand sign for Rock and Roll. It was the first time he ever did it! He is old and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rocked!

The Cleveland Browns' Football Staduim was right next door to the RR HofF and Progressive Field (home of the Cleveland Guardians) was not much further away. We took a drive around both. Brad couldn't get out of the car fast enough to take a pic with the Jimmy Brown monument. One of the first sport superstars he ever truly idolized as a young lad.

We celebrated Father's Day at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Holidays on the road are always different so Kathy stepped up her game and bought us tickets for a Scenic Railroad in a special car that had a domed solarium for 360 degree viewing. The only thing was the air conditioning was broken in the train car she booked. It was like 85-90 degrees in there. We opted out and sat in a different car. Then, after that, the train ride kind of sucked. No views, lots of trees and besides the wind was out of our sails. Two hours of not much! They all can't be winners.

Besides the train, the best way to navigate this National Park was by bike. Another bummer since we only had one. We tried not to make eye contact with any of the hundreds of bikers in the Park to lessen the disappointment of not being able to join them.

After the shitty train ride we started the next phase of our visit at the Visitors Center to get our Passport stamp. Then we took a short boardwalk hike to Brandywine Falls. That was beautiful and the walk was pretty nice too.

After, we made a stop at Pennisula Depot and had a beer at Fishers and walked the small town portion of the Park. That night we went to the Lake House for a very nice Father's Day dinner.

The next day we took the half hour drive to Canton Ohio to the National Football League Hall of Fame.

The first exhibit features all the new Hall of Fame inductees and highlights from the NFL's last season. Then it's onto the greats of the sport. The second pic below though really tells the tale about the visit to this Hall of Fame.

One of the coolest parts of the NFLHofF is the busts of all the inductees. Yes, Brad took pics of every Eagle ever inducted but he also sent some friends and family members pics of their favorites too. Most now erased from his phone.

When we were on the National Park train ride we got to talking to this family from Ohio who recommended a couple places to eat locally. One of them was what he described as a "greasy hamburger joint" called Swenson's. We went there after the Hall. It was one of those places that you stay in your car and they bring it out to you curbside and hang a tray on your door with the food. Whoa, it was awesome. Brad had a sloppy Joe and a double burger and fries and Kathy had a greasy cheeseburger and tater teasers. Yum! We now know why Swenson's has been open for over 80 years.

The last part of our visit worth mentioning was our visit to Westside Market at Market Square. We bought some truffle cheddar cheese, fresh lamb chops from a butcher and homemade roasted red pepper pasta. From market to the table. Yum!

We're winding down our journey. One more blog covering our last Great Lake visit to Lake Erie, plus Penn State and then a quick hello to one of Brad's best friends before home. Thanks for following our adventures and thanks for reading down this far. Much love, Kathy and Brad