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at a Hampton Inn.
Thursday, July 22: Today, I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, OH. I was very
impressed with this museum. From its very well done unusual, contemporary architecture to its diverse groupings
of professionally done exhibits and displays. It has interactive computers with headphones, so that you can listen
to interviews and music about the history of rock and roll and its performers. It has displays of the well known
clothing of famous artists placed upon life-size mannequins. There were individual displays with literature about
and memorabilia from the most influential groups and artists: The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Jimmie
Hendrix, U2, etc. There was a temporary exhibit of Annie Liebowitz photos, the theme of which is artists doing
their typical day to day activities or posing in a costume and setting congruent with their personality and/or
reputation. There were short movies on the history of Rock & Roll. All in all, it was one of the best museums I
have ever been to.
This evening a friend of Stacy’s, Lisa, drove downtown from the suburbs to show me around and join me for
dinner. We walked around The Flats area next to the river. This is the nightlife part of the town with restaurants
and bars. After walking by the river and checking out a few restaurants, we ended up eating at a tapas/wine bar.
The food was good and we got along well. She has lived many places around the country and gave me her
impressions of the cities in which I am interested.
Friday, July 23: Drove from Cleveland to Canton, Ohio to see the Football Hall of Fame. The building from
the outside was looking a little run-down, aged. But inside, most of the exhibits were in pretty good shape. The
highlight was the bronze busts of all of the inductees into the Hall, including: Vince Lombardi, Jim Brown, Otto
Graham, Joe Gibbs and John Riggins – The Diesel. They have a circular theater where the stand of seats rotate
180 degrees taking the audience from training camp on one screen to the regular season and Super Bowl on the
next. There is an exhibit on the history of the league with associated memorabilia: uniforms, photos, autographed
footballs, etc. There was a section on some of the great players. There were interactive terminals to look-up
players, coaches and managers, which had video-clips – pretty cool. I thoroughly enjoyed this place. It brought
back a lot of memories from my younger days, nostalgic.
Drove to Darnestown, Maryland, where I found a hotel for the night.
Saturday, July 24: My journey has ended. I arrived at my brother Neal’s house this afternoon to camp out
for a couple of days before moving over to Steve Schram’s. This time I will spend typing my written journal into
my computer then updating my web-site and running all my errands necessary before making my move to Miami.
*Final Thoughts: My travels over these past eleven months was a once in a lifetime experience. Something I
would never trade-in. It did have its difficult moments and its periods of bliss and exhilaration.
The trip in general was pretty much what I expected it would be. I got to see many places and attend many
spectacular events that I had always wanted to see and never had the time and/or resources to do so before. I
got to catch-up with old friends and family across the country and meet many new and interesting people. I was
able to pursue my interest in photography; both, digital photos for my web-site and to document my trip and film
photos which enabled me to pursue my ambitions as a photographer. It helped me solidify in my own mind where
I want to move and what exactly it is I want to do, both career wise and how I attend to my life in general –
pursuing certain interests, dealing with people and the world around me and keeping life in perspective. It wasn’t
all sun and fun. I knew going in that there would be times that I would feel lonely during the long stretches
between family and friends and that came to pass. I learned that nothing in life is perfect, you take the good with
the bad. But, hopefully the benefits will far outweigh the costs and this is the case with my journey.
I hope everyone who has read this got something out of it. If only helping you to decide where to take your
next vacation, I would be pleased.