A Quick Trip to Cleveland

I've been on the road way more than usual this fall. The last trip took me for a few days to Cleveland to visit my cousins.

After getting lost a few times and then enjoying lunch with a cousin on the West Side, I landed on Cleveland's East Side. Once again, the leaves were in full gear. The view from my cousin's living room was mesmerizing.

It was even kind of pretty when it was doing this snow-sleet thing that had us all alarmed. As I was sitting comfortably in Cleveland, Rick was riding his bicycle down (fortunately not camping) and we were all pretty concerned!

Our dinner out took us to Jekyl's -- a full family outing. The food was good. The view of Chagrin Falls was even better!

I love visiting family and my friend, Jane, in Cleveland. There is so much to do that we never get it all done! This time, part of the trip was a celebration of my cousin David's birthday.

David and I are like brother and sister -- we're two months apart and have a lifetime of experiences together so it was fun to be there for the party!

I met Jane years ago at a contradance when we were both sitting out. It turned out she grew up (and her parents still lived) at the house across the street from where David and Bonnie now live! So a Cleveland trip has to include a visit. This time it was Gigi's, a small bistro-type restaurant in Cleveland Heights. It was too nippy to eat outside but the bruschetta plate made being inside well worthwhile!



After a birthday breakfast at Jack's deli (we like to spread birthdays out in our family!) David and I drove around a bit and the color in this tree-filled area didn't disappoint!

When I was in Beachwood, David's suburb, I noticed a lot of yarn-bombed trees. They were done to celebrate the Peter Max exhibit at the community center.

                      

Although we missed the artist's appearance by a week, Rick and I enjoyed checking out the colorful paintings -- a blast from the 70s past!

It was hard for me to pick a favorite. There were a few iconic images along with new ones I'd never seen.



They weren't inexpensive, either -- between $6,000 and $40,000 for the ones I saw. I think this Sinatra (from Nancy Sinatra's collection) was the most expensive.

Truth be told, I loved these paintings. But Peter Max is clearly an artist derivative of himself. There were multiples of most of these paintings -- sometimes with a different color, in a different size, a different swatch of red instead of blue. I understand this. I paint the same backwards-sitting cat all the time, changing it up. But that's because I have a limited drawing and painting ability. I expect more from him.

                      
That said, I loved every single thing I saw, even the duplicates!

 

This angel was my favorite. What's yours?

We were off to home. A short visit for Rick and not long enough for me. We made a short side trip to the small college town of Oberlin. We'll go there next time!