Cleveland is the Gem of Ohio

Shhh.  Don't tell too many people I said this but, I.Love.Cleveland.  Yup, ALL of Cleveland.  Of course my family makes it extra special ( and so does Slymans plus sized corned beef sandwiches)  but truly I love the city of Cleveland and it's lesser burbs.  This visit, the Three Amigos trekked to somewhat cooler climes  to meet new family members and hang out in a part of Cleveland I was totally unfamiliar with; this really helped me see Cleveland in a completely different light.  And I've been trekking to Cleveland for over 30 years!  Cleveland has always had this gritty but friendly industrial, urban/academic feel to me.  This time I got to experience a calm and serene Cleveland I didn't know existed.  We chose a home a stones throw from Lake Erie which got me excited the moment I saw the photo.  The opportunity to walk along the amazingly beautiful lake shore every morning had us seriously considering buying a cute fixer upper on the next block.  I am sorry Florida, but the sunsets on this mistake of a lake rivaled anything I've seen in the Keys.  As an added bonus this trip, I also got to meet my father-in-laws extended family for the first time since I married the ultimate Clevelander over 30 years ago.  Talk about excited and accepted. I now have a whole new cadre of cousins to get to know on top of the dear sister and nieces and nephews I already love!   Dad seemed to enjoy the trip although because of the age of the home and its furnishings we had to make a few modifications for accessibility.  Our Airbnb hosts were gracious enough to remove moldings in the bathroom so that we could fit Dad's small wheelchair in.  It was a big ask that had the potential to cause permanent damage to "Maria's house" but they came through for us quick, fast and in a hurry.  We decided on an Airbnb again as it afforded us more room, was very reasonably priced  and had the killer access to the lake.  But we found out soon enough that the cheap price came with a bit of a creepy factor in that there were tenants both upstairs AND in the basement.  It was like an old fashioned boarding house my Dad told me about from in back in the day day.  It was hard sleeping with one eye open but, EVENTUALLY we adjusted to the comings and goings and settled into really enjoying visits from family and friends. Times like these make me wish I was a cool hipster European used to flexible living arrangements.  I, alas, am a wary Detroiter who ALWAYS has her head on swivel waiting for the craziness to begin.  Between the daily visits from family bearing food to the laugh-a-thon visit from my husbands dear friend to one of my goddaughters coming up from Canton, I cannot say enough about the good will of Cleveland.  Long live The Land!

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