6/4/07 Buffalo, NY to Cleveland, OH

Waking up well rested, we spent the morning acquiring the last few essentials for the trip. A portable camping grill, granola bars, goldfish, fruit (to defend from scurvy) and three bags of trail mix completed our packing list. Finding ourselves to be slightly behind schedule we ate a fast lunch, poorly packed the Land Rover and headed on our way to Cleveland. The drive was filled with alternating sunny skies and brief showers. It wasn’t until we could see the city of Cleveland on the horizon that we were welcomed with torrential downpour. Fortunately, the rain stopped by the time we parked outside the famous Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Arriving at 3:30 pm and with the Hall of Fame closing at 5:30 pm we were forced to take in as much of the museum as quickly as possible. The highlights of the exhibits were those of Tom Petty, Jimi Hendrix, The Clash and the area of eccentric wardrobes worn in famous concerts. Throughout the exhibits of these artists and others were loose pages of original lyrics written for several famous and some not so well known songs. I thought these provided a stark sense of realness and humanness to many songs and artists that before seemed so untouchable. It was especially rewarding to be able to fully appreciate all of the history and famous names of Rock and Roll as we had learned in our Rock class at Cornell. Unfortunately, we felt slightly rushed through the last floors of the museum which housed exhibits for The Clash and The Doors. In order to adhere to the prompt closure time of 5:30 pm, the museum staff shut off all video and audio stimulation and released a small army of poorly trained security professionals to escort visitors out of the museum. They also implemented a freeze out strategy, by drastically lowering the temperature within the museum, an attempt to force out the last remaining visitors via sheer discomfort.

Next, we walked through downtown Cleveland to see Jacob’s Field and the Quicken Loans Arena (The “Q”). After finding no possible entry into the two venues we decided it was time for a beer. Jonah and I went to the Winking Lizard Tavern for a couple beers before meeting up with Dietz for dinner. The three of us went to Hard Rock Café for dinner. After dinner we headed to Twinsburg, OH (Dietz’s stomping ground) and visited a couple of the local bars before heading back to Dietz’s, where it was nice to find that a comfortable bed awaited each of us.

-Alex