Leaving Milwaukee early after an awesome night at the Brewers game, Phil and I strapped in for the 7 hour drive East to Cleveland Ohio and game number 16/30 (it’s all downhill from here guys)!
The drive was another very pleasant one, which began driving directly South of Milwaukee and sticking close to the coastline of Lake Michigan, bypassing the City of Chicago (providing us with an unreal view of the city’s skyline), and then a virtual straight shot to the classic “rust belt” city of Cleveland.
One fun fact about this drive was that it actually took us through FOUR different states – Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio – with us also coming dangerously close in some points to the state line of Michigan.
Upon arrival in Cleveland, the first thing we noticed to our right side was industry that appeared no longer in use. A sad reminder of what the city used to be.
In stark contrast, on our left you see the Cleveland Indians home field “Progressive Field” (kind of an ironic name for the field given the nickname “Indians” but I’m not politically correct enough to care) and also what is a decent looking skyline consisting of some tall buildings that have a very “East Coast” vibe in terms of their design.
After checking into our hotel it was time to hit progressive field to see the in-form Cleveland Indians take on division rivals (and fellow “rust belt” city) the Detroit Tigers.
Progressive field was one of the more interesting stadium designs I’ve seen in that one area is completely open and more or less at street level, with a sunken field so people can’t actually see the game from the streets.
Whilst you may think this would detract from the atmosphere it actually works really well as all the seats immediately surrounding the field go up a steep incline creating a ton of noise. However, because of this seating arrangement and open space, Cleveland actually has the second smallest stadium in the MLB seating 35,051 fans.
The game itself was another beauty, with a warm Saturday evening in Cleveland and with their team playing well ensuring a sell out crowd in both the standing room and seats. We took our seats on the first base line and settled in for a show from the home team who quickly took a 3-run lead by the bottom of the first inning.
Detroit would get a run themselves in the top second, before another run in the fourth from Cleveland would ultimately lead them to a 4-1 victory and party time with huge fireworks following the game and a carnival like atmosphere.
The game was also notable in that I was able to pick up a foam hand of one of my favourite logos in all of sports, none other than “Chief Wahoo”!
In what I believe is a sad turn of events (I’m not going to engage in the political correctness of the thing), the Cleveland Indians have agreed to retire this logo from all on-field references e.g. jerseys, hats, helmets etc. (which I think means they might still use it elsewhere but it’s only a matter of time before it’s completely phased out). It is an awesome logo and I had more fun than a kid with some bubble wrap putting it over my face and carrying it out with me to the bars after the game.
The next day, Phil and I got up to check out some of downtown Cleveland, including the “Factory of Sadness” aka the home of the Cleveland Browns NFL team who have won only 1 game in the last two seasons – let’s hope they can turn it around this year!
Despite what people say about Cleveland, the downtown area, specifically the area around Lake Erie (which is so big it kind of made me feel like Cleveland was on an ocean) is actually really nice with cool art installations, people jet skiing & playing games on the grass and also the “Rock n Roll” Hall of Fame which would be the next activity for the day.
Again, it’s kind of tough to write about the workings of a museum, however The “Rock n Roll” Hall of Fame was an awesome experience that gave a fascinating recount of the impact of not only rock music, but all different genres throughout different periods in American (and therefore the world’s right?) history. I thought it was interesting how opposed many parent groups were to the music in early days, and gaining further understanding of the hippy movements out on the West Coast was also a highlight. Anyways, check the pictures below and if you’re ever around Cleveland this place is a must do!
As Phil was flying back to Minneapolis that evening, we had one last milestone to achieve in Cleveland (well Phil more so than me but it was still cool), which was to visit the house of the famous and classic movie “A Christmas Story”.
Honestly, Phil and I have had some incredible times over the last 3 days but I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen him as happy as when we got to this house. Very cool to see, so nice one Phil and thanks for everything over the last few days – it’s truly been another highlight of the trip!
As I was now back solo, I realised I was close to one of my favourite cities in the US and could go down and see some of my old friends down there. So I made a phone call and would be driving down to Pittsburgh to see one of my close friends Jill Hundenski, and also my other mates who reside in the Steel City (shoutout Eric, Barb, Joe, Claire, Jay and Ali) before beginning the trek up to Detroit for game 17/30 on Tuesday.
I’m looking forward to relaxing in Pittsburgh as it’s been a whirlwind the last few weeks, and following the break I’m excited to check out the beautiful state of Michigan (including Ann Arbor aka home of the University of Michigan).
Thirty before 30 