I’m actually from a suburb outside of Cleveland, Ohio…oh, about 8 minutes from the heart of the city.   But my town is relatively small and the only thing happening here lately is that my Mayor wrote a book.   Which wouldn’t be very interesting except for he included a chapter on the size of his genitalia.   But we don’t want to discuss that here.  Yuckie-Bleh-*spitting*

So today I’ll be presenting the big picture and giving you some insight into the larger area in which I call home.    Many a joke has been made about the City of Cleveland.   And lately it seems like we’ve been hit with a number of unfavorable outcomes in ‘polls’…such as the Most Miserable and ranking on lists of the worst place to live, fattest and worst weather.   I say, bull poopie.   I’d really like to know who actually VOTES in these things.   Northeast Ohio is a wonderful place to raise a family…yeah, it’s cold in the winter but duh, it’s Northeast Ohio!

Summertime in Cleveland is beautiful.  We have bazillions of festivals and street fairs, tons of unique restaurants (like MELT!) and taverns and Downtown Cleveland is clean and beautiful.   The beautiful breeze coming off Lake Erie on a scorching hot summer day is relaxing and welcome.   There are so many sights to see Downtown and in and of itself it’s a great vacation destination!

Summertime – Tall Ships come to the Lakefront
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Labor Day Weekend, Air Show
In the pics above you can see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Science Center, Browns Stadium and the beautiful lakefront.   Every summer Cleveland is host to the Gravity Games, Rib Festivals, Weekend Outdoor Summer Concerts and more.  There is always something happening in the City.

We have the Cleveland Zoo which includes a huge wolf exhibit, a Rainforest, an Australian Outback exhibit and lots of bird shows and demonstrations.   Oh!  And the stingrays that you can touch.

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Our fall season is spectacular with colors so vibrant it will knock your socks off.

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We even have a couple ski resorts very close to home (Brandywine and Boston Mills)

Like spooky and scary stuff?    Haunted Cleveland during Halloween time will take you on a tour of haunted places!  Or, visit the Mansfield Reformatory a little further south of Cleveland.  Or, a little bit East, check out  Gravity Hill (on the Kirtland Mentor border.  Put your car in neutral and it will go uphill.  Whoooooo.)

We also have a HUGE National Park System with so many different trails to blaze and things to do that I couldn’t possibly list them all here.   If you are a hiker, biker, nature lover, explorer….our Cuyahoga Valley National Park System is worth checking into!  You can even explore it by train!  We hike local trails all the time, but haven’t touched more than 5% of them yet!

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No matter where you go there is something to do. Whatever your interest, you’ll surely find it in Northeast Ohio! From our Children’s Museum, to the USS Cod, Put-In-Bay (a mega resort area….There’s many places to visit on the Islands including many wineries), Cedar Point and the nearby drive thru African Safari, one of our many museums including the Natural History Museum and world renown Cleveland Museum of Art….you’ll find it here!

To all those pollsters who give Cleveland a bad name? I bet they have never even been here!

Fun facts about Cleveland:
*The original spelling was CLEAVELAND (after it’s founder, Moses Cleaveland) but the ‘a’ was dropped to fit into the newspapers’ masthead.
*Euclid Avenue was once called Millionaire’s Row. John D. Rockafeller resided there.
*Playhouse Square is the nations 2nd largest performing arts center!
*We had the first traffic light, by local inventor Garret Morgan.

And last but not least….if you have not visited Blogtrott yet…what are you waiting for?  Trot on over there right now!

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Don't these look like old saggy legs?

This is my cousin Laura's thigh. She was attacked by a very mean and nasty 40 lb. cicle.

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For more Wednesday Fun go to Seven Clown Circus.