Random Stuff this week

Well unfortunately for y'all I didn't get as many views on my last post as I thought I would so you don't get to see the new hilarious "Gina Dancing" video on YouTube. Too bad because it's really funny. I actually thought my last post was a shoe in since the one before that got over 100 views and I @ mentioned a bunch of people on twitter. I guess it'll have to wait for next time.

As for my Merwin's Wharf post... I did hear back from them with an apology and a request for feedback. I'll get to that someday. I also heard from my Aunt Fran who went through a similar experience there recently with the same stupid Clam Bake!?! I'm kinda sad that my experience wasn't just a fluke but I'm also happy to know that I didn't write that post for nothing.

I had to read a post to Gina that didn't get the attention that it deserved, including her attention. It made her laugh and she had great things to say about it... which means she was being nice and only 1 or 2 of you will like it. If you don't want to read the whole thing go down to the part about honoring famous Clevelanders. I don't want to toot my own horn but I thought it was funny:
http://365daysincle.blogspot.com/2014/09/browns-boondoggles-freshwater-and.html

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Don't ever lose your wallet... this has been the worst week ever because of it. If you do, make sure you have your passport or you're sunk! This has nothing to do with 2 sections down. I lost this one on my own.

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May the Foie Gras be with you!

Happy Halloween! We have no parties to go to and really no reasons to wear our costumes. We did dress up our cement goose but only ironically. It's kinda sad really but after last weekend with my friend CJ and his new gal pal (God does the phrase "Gal Pal" sound awful... ewww) Heather, I need to catch up on sleep. Gina and I took them to Greenhouse Tavern on East 4th for some delicious food and then to Hilarities for a show. After the show we headed to the Chocolate Martini Bar in the Arcade. We indulged in a few alcoholic chocolate treats and were then done with downtown. Lastly we headed to the Treehouse in Tremont and drank "angry balls" until we blacked out, broke a glass, lost Heather, and threw up all night... and by "we" I mean "me". Man am I old. I did beat CJ in arm wrestling though which I only know because Gina told me I did. She may just be being nice though. Either way good times were had by all... except Gina... who was on call.

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A negative to living in an urban area is crime and we are all susceptible to it. This week there were a rash of burglaries from cars in our neighborhood including Gina's. They smashed the passenger window right in and took her purse and GPS. Fortunately she has nothing in her purse worth anything. We found it a block over hanging from a fence with nothing missing from it, not even the cash that was in it. The GPS however is long gone... BUT thanks to my awesomeness, we kept the box around and were able to give the police a serial number in case it was found.

The more we talked to neighbors and police, the more we learned of other and much worse thefts this week around Tremont. We learned a few new tips from the police about how to make your car look like it was the scene of a sex crime murder/suicide and now a homeless person sleeps and bm's in it. Needless to say we are taking the proper steps to keep our stuff safer from the scum that would steal from another person.

Oh and for the smashed window in Gina's car... we don't have to worry about that anymore. Why you ask? Because she got a brand new one! A gun metal grey Passat and boy is it roomy! I'm kinda bummed she didn't go American but you can't win'em all. I'm just glad that I don't have to bend my head to the side just to fit into it anymore! Congrats babe!

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I didn't get a chance to go downtown and celebrate the return of Lebron James and opening night because I had to work late. Boo-whoo I know right. The city looked great on TV and it was nice to be in the spotlight for awhile with all the attention and whatnot. Cleveland went all out and the fans were as die hard as ever. I was proud... proud of my city.

As for the game however... well I will be the first to admit that I have no idea how to coach basketball and my game is terrible. I dribble with one hand and shoot like a monkey flinging poo so it's hard for me to criticize. I did take this screenshot of the game last night that I think sums up what I witnessed:

Was it embarrassing that they lost after all that build up? Sure it is! Does it ruin Cleveland's coming out party to the sports world? See that's the great thing about being part of something bigger than yourself. We, the city, won last night. The river didn't catch on fire. Jimmy Dimora didn't escape from jail and streak down Euclid Ave. We didn't have to file bankruptcy after paying the electric bill for all of the lights and speakers. Just like that sense of accomplishment after the Gay Games was over, we once again didn't fail as a city when the stakes were high. We're starting to string together some victories Cleveland. Good on ya! OK, I love you buh bye...

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2014 Best of Cleveland Party

10/10/2014 - Cleveland Magazine’s 2014 Best of Cleveland Party brought together the "Best of Cleveland" reader and editor picks for 2014 under 1 beautiful roof in the Cleveland Public Auditorium. A few of our friends were winners this year so we saw adverts for the party pop up on social media more times than in the past. My wonderful and beautiful girlfriend Gina saw them, thought of my blog, and immediately bought tickets (10% of the reason)!... plus we got a chance to see the best of the best this city had to offer all in one place (10% of the reason)!... plus we got to sample eats from the best places in town (80% of the reason)!

I've never been to Public Auditorium. I really can't think of too many opportunities that I've seen to go recently except for maybe Hall and Oates or for the Gay Games. Like a lot of old downtown buildings that were once celebrated gathering places of a great urban city, this building is a beautiful memory of what once was and what could be again. It is nicely preserved unlike a lot of buildings from its era in rust belt towns. Walking in, you see a relic frozen in time... a once glorious place to go and see debates, celebrations, and performances. It's ornately decorated and detail oriented but now deemed too small to hold a proper crowd. To build something like this again would cost millions of dollars and require years of planning and cutting through red tape. The rust belt mentality of the shrinking Midwest city would kill the idea before it even left your brain, flowed though your hand to a pen, and hit the paper... but it's here now... like a great ship without a crew. I say god bless Cleveland magazine for using the space! It truly is beautiful on the inside and should be utilized more as a medium sized venue in our city as we continue to grow back into the large suit we once wore.

I felt a bit under dressed when I walked in and surveyed the inside of the building... as if I should be wearing a suit like you see in old baseball crowds... 3 pieces with a hat. As I looked around at the people in attendance though I settled at about medium dressed. I mean I still looked good! There were a lot of people there walking from booth to booth to see Cleveland's best show off a bit and remind you of how cultivating the seeds of small business could help lead your city back from the abyss. These once small restaurants and clothing stores now have beyond a cult following. They have honest to god brick and mortar storefronts that are the new anchors in a city that can't seem to keep the major corporations from blindly moving to the crumbling suburbs in search of smaller tax rates and sprawling headquarters... all driven by greed. These entrepreneurs are the pioneers that are leading our way of out of the depression and into a new era. They aren't sports teams or political conventions. They are people like me and you who have a dream and the drive to push their dreams forward in the city they call home. They are visionaries who see their new clients and customers flocking back to the city center to be a part of something great. They see the potential of a place where a city block can hold thousands of people and not just a few McMansions with gates and sprawling grass. In this game, the potential of thousands of people spending money outweighs the money held on to by the few. Every man, woman, and child is an advertiser for start-ups that can't afford flashy commercials in prime time spots. In this strange time when small players can play right next to the seasoned veterans, they have seized their opportunity... this was a celebration of that.

The party was beyond fun and dare I say "off the chain". Everyone of the winners were impressive and their samples and coupons were awesome. Booth to booth you were introduced to great food, jewelry, art... but most of all you were introduced to great people. Each was engaging... down to earth salespeople who tried to make every connection that they could as people shuffled by. There were games and drawings for people to interact with. Everything was geared towards you remembering who these people were and what they represented. The entertainment was fun and local. They set the mood for a wonderful evening and even got ole Gina's feet a tappin... and if you know her, her hands in the air like she just didn't care... that it wasn't 1992. (If this post gets enough views... I may give you a taste of what that looked like on YouTube so share share share!) I am still surprised that we were even in attendance. It was fancy and felt as if powerful connections were being made right in front of our eyes. The cities most popular movers and shakers were all in one place. It was good to be there with everyone though because I truly believed that we were all rooting for the same thing... all of us want businesses to prosper in Cleveland once again. We see these tiny stores that we may have found at the Cleveland Flea or in a small shop somewhere off the beaten path blossom into something bigger... and we never want that to end. I know in my heart that beyond the money we all spend, we owed these businesses this organized Thank You!

So for the friends we've made since we've been here... I attended this to cheer for you and support you. You are my heroes. I can only wish not only to have a great idea but have the guts to take it to the level that you have. You've made it to a point that I can only dream of and I can't begin to imagine the pride you must have taking a labor of love and bringing it to a city that needs you and so many others like you. So for Sassyfras, Brewnuts, and all of the other best of Cleveland winners... I speak for all Clevelanders when I say Thank you... and Congratulations!

When you go to sleep tonight Cleveland know that the future is bright and that you too have the opportunity to do something great. We truly live in wonderful times. Sweet dreams... love you Cleveland.

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Merwin's Wharf - A Huge Disappointment

When the Cleveland Metroparks took over parts of the Flats, I was excited because it meant that someone would finally start to look after those areas that have been neglected for so long. It was part of a bigger project for the Columbus Road Peninsula where the pieces are finally starting to be put together. The Cleveland Rowing Foundation purchased the former Commodore's Club Marina and made it its new home. The Crooked River Skate Park is set to open in November. Many new businesses including the soon to open Brick and Barrel craft brewery and winery have popped up in the area recently. The Columbus Road lift bridge is set to be finished any day now to open up traffic flow to the area. Just across the bridge new luxury town homes are being built... It was the perfect time for the Metro Parks to roll out something that could take advantage of all of the great things going on here. That thing was Merwin's Wharf Bistro. 

The Metro Parks renovated the old Rivergate Park Cafe into a full service restaurant with a 3,000 square foot landscaped patio with fire pit and fireplace overlooking the scenic Cuyahoga River. Eat delicious food while watching the ships and row boats go by. Enjoy everything Rivergate Park has to offer. Get away from the hustle and bustle of Downtown and Ohio City. I'll be honest... it has all that going for it.

Now granted we should have vetted the place 1st before having my family up for a Sunday afternoon clam bake this past weekend. Unfortunately for us though plans need to be made fast and furious with Gina and my schedules. We assumed that since they were advertising the Clam Bake they would be able to accommodate the people that would come in for it during the times and dates that they had set forth. With all of the positives mentioned in the above paragraphs, we assumed that even if the food missed the mark a little, the beauty and atmosphere would make up for it... we also assumed at the very least, an average restaurant experience. We were wrong...

From the minute we walked in the staff and service at Merwin's Wharf disappointed us all. The woman at the front desk couldn't find our reservation and all but blamed us for why she couldn't find it. Our reservations were made for a table out on their scenic patio. When we asked why we weren't getting seated outside, we were told that we would have to wait for a table to open up on the patio or we could sit inside right now. We chose to sit inside because nightmares of a 2 hr 15 min wait at Melt in Lakewood still haunt my dreams even though we were all disappointed that we wouldn't get a chance to enjoy the outdoors.

Once we sat down we were told that there would be no organic chicken and no corn which were both part of the clambake package. After Gina had a brief talk with the manager, we were then told that our substitutes would be a different chicken meal off of the menu and corn on the cob. I'm not sure what would have happened if Gina wouldn't have negotiated that. Would we have received a discount since half of the advertised meal was not going to be served? During the moment I would have given them the benefit of the doubt but now as I look back my guess is we would have received nothing and still had to pay full price. We were also told that we would be immediately moved to a table outside on the patio.

We quickly received our drinks and there was a TV close so we were able to occupy our time for awhile. Unfortunately after drinks, we sat there for 40 minutes and were given no service what-so-ever. I got my nephew Jeremy to follow me on to the patio since by this time he had completely colored his place mat and was looking bored. We watch a large ship go by and waved to a tour boat that went past. It was a pretty cool experience for for the both of us. Shortly after, the rest of our party came out to take in the sights and snap some pictures. Notice that there are open outdoor tables in some of the shots I took. I could actually see them from the waiting area before we sat down. I wasn't too happy about it but we were told that we would be moved out there immediately... over 40 minutes of immediately ago. Again unfortunately for us, we never did get moved outside. In their attempts to practically avoid our table at all costs, they forgot they had made that promise.

Feeling like we may have been outside too long, we went back in to our table hoping we had got some sort of food and that it didn't get cold... no food still. A short time later we received our chorizo and clam chowder soup. It was very spicy but welcomed after our hour or so wait since drinks. We also received a fried calamari appetizer and a baked pretzel for free since there had been issues so far with our experience. We each tried a bite of the fried calamari and had no more. It was cold and frankly I thought it was gross. I'm sure it was sitting out for some time and probably forgotten about. 

Once we were finished with our soup we waited there another 45 unattended mins or so before I was told to go see what was taking so long. Fed up, I told everyone that I will just go back there and ask for our bill so we could leave. All I wanted to do was to make the waiting stop and to call it a day. The second my butt left the seat I saw them headed our way with our clam bake. We order 3 clambakes and 2 lobster bakes plus J's kid's meal. We didn't receive 1 of the clambakes. Once we brought this to the manager's attention she told the waitress to "Just go get them another bag" like we were to blame somehow.

When the waitress returned to see how everything was, we asked her for some butter to dip everything in. She apologized for forgetting it and went in the back to get it for us. The butter was supposed to be part of the meal and is a shellfish staple that even Red Lobster gets right. Once we got our butter, we dug in. The Lobsters were hot and delicious. The clams, corn on the cob, and butter however were not. They were cold. The cold clams were not tasty and did not have the best texture. The corn I could salt and eat. The butter was starting to harden.

About 10 mins after we were initially served, we received the chicken dishes that were the replacements for the organic chicken they were out of. It looked good but came too late for anyone to enjoy. Completely fed up with the sub standard service, the cold food, and the over 2 hour wait we immediately asked for boxes and our bill.

We ordered 3 clam bakes, 2 lobster bakes, and a kid's meal. The bakes included soup, corn, and chicken. Some of us had pop. We were told that we received free appetizers for our trouble. The meal came to $200. Yep, for our trouble we were charged full price for everything except the appetizers... only one of which was edible. Gina was as shocked as I was to see that on the bill. She tried to do something nice for my family and was completely embarrassed with how we all were treated. She became further enraged when her debit card wouldn't work because of her credit union's fraud protection mechanism which is basically: if she doesn't use it to purchase things on the roof of the credit union itself, they assume someone stole it and shut it down.

The waitress apologized and said that there was nothing that she could do. I paid, signed, left no tip, and walked out. I was humiliated and to think I paid $200 to be treated this way. My family was just as upset about the experience and most of all felt sorry for Gina. It reminded me of how my family was treated like scum at the Melt in Lakewood by 2 different employees after a 2 hour and 15 min wait where we never even saw a table... at least that was free! I will never eat at that hipster shit house ever again and I will never eat at Merwin's Wharf again either until I'm assured that everyone involved is long gone and have been replaced with people who care about the dining experience of a paying group of people who made reservations for an advertised event.

In all honesty I was certain that this was going to be a home run. I was routing for it even! Gina and I planned on eating there since the day it was open. They had everything so perfectly come together that they couldn't screw it up short of bad food and service... and THEY SCREWED IT UP!!! The flats towards us in Tremont is a shit hole that is finally getting some attention. It could be a place where multi-million dollar condos could have city, river, and lake views. It could be the connector between a resurgent downtown and the popular Ohio City entertainment district along West 25th Street. It could be an urban oasis. I wanted this place to be awesome... now I have to tell everyone not to eat here. Not to waste their money and time. Send a message with your wallets that we deserve to be treated better. Especially in a city were there are tons of wonderful places to eat. The Metro Parks do some wonderful things in this area and those things should be enjoyed by everyone... just not this one.

At least the Browns beat pittsburgh. Love you Cleveland. Tomorrow's another day of progress.

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Music Box Supper Club

10/3/2014 - For as long as Gina and I have been dating we have been trying to see one of her favorite local bands, The Speedbumps. The problem is that whenever she buys tickets or says we're going to a show something happens that derails the whole night. Sickness, car trouble, nuclear fallout... it's like the fates have conspired against us seeing this band... until last Friday. My guess is that her unwavering desire to see these guys and my deep want to see the venue they were playing in conquered any bad mojo that was against us going... either that or 7 tries is our lucky number.

Gina and I have yet to be seen in the Northwest bank of the Flats since we moved to Tremont. Nothing against it, we just haven't made our way that far north yet. Now, though, we had about 5 reasons to and couldn't resist it any longer:

Reason #1 - The elusive Speedbumps: Like I said above... a string of awful luck kept us from seeing them until last Friday. Boy were we happy everything worked out this time!

Reason #2 - The Music Box Supper Club: The Music Box is the newest venue on the West Bank and a welcome addition to the meager Cleveland live music scene. I say meager because we have the freakin Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and should be right up there with Nashville and Austin... and we're not.

Reason #3 - Pat Hawkins: He's the drummer (or percussionist in hipster talk) of The Speedbumps, a St. Thomas Aquinas graduate, and a friend of Gina's! Another local boy done good story which should get most of my readers interested and on YouTube to check this band out... Go already!

Reason #4 - Dennis Devies Jr: This Marlington grad is the executive chef extraordinaire at the Music Box and another friend of Gina's. After years of travelling back and forth to the Caribbean he's settled here in good old Cleveland to make his mark as the next great local chef. Want to say you knew him before he got his own show on the Food network and authored countless cook books? Get up there Mangia!!!

Reason #5 - The stars align: Friends, local artists, tickets, live music, the Flats... it's blog porn! If only it were free it would have been the story of the year.

The Music Box is in the same building as Shooters and the Improv right by the river. In my opinion, it's the best spot in the whole city. The Flats has historically been an entertainment district and is well know with Clevelanders young and old as a place to come and have fun. You get perfect views of the lake, river, bridges, downtown, and the East Bank from their huge wall of windows. You can pull up your boat if you're on the lake. The new water taxi will be able to bring you in from downtown and from the Flats East Bank Rapid Station. There's tons of parking (which is good and bad). What I'm trying to say is it's accessible people! There're no excuses.

When we walked in and went upstairs to the concert hall, the area reminded me a lot of the Copacabana night club scene from Goodfellas. Tables ran from the stage vertically out to the back of the room and each one had a white table cloth and a candle. The lighting was dim and the ceilings were very high. My first feeling was one of excitement because this is the type of music venue I had always wished this city would have. We were ushered to a front table right by the stage. First thing I noticed when I sat down was that I had enough room at my seat to move around even though they fit over 300 people and tables for them all in there. It was comfortable... relaxing... organized. I'm so used to being crammed into places to see shows that having my own seat and personal space felt wonderful! This could easily be the best venue in which to watch music in all of Cleveland. It's the whole package and more!

The menu choices for the concert hall were all great looking and not too complicated. Executive chef  Dennis Devies said that they do it that way since there's a possibility of over 300 orders at once. The supper club downstairs offers their full menu though, if you just pop in for dinner. I ordered the Pan-Seared Chicken Breast which is bone-in with herb béchamel and comes out on a bed of angel hair pasta, roasted tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil. Now prepare yourself for a BEST EVER ALERT!!! This is the best chicken that I have ever had... best. Now, disclaimer, I said that exact thing to Gina before I even met Dennis. He could have been a complete dick (nothing could be further from the truth of course) and I still would have said that it was the best. When we go back my taste buds and brain will fight over weather I want to try the duck or go back to the chicken. My eyes may flutter and my nose may bleed as the internal struggle to make a decision goes on. Please put a belt in my mouth to save my tongue.

The performers were very entertaining and were a perfect compliment to the wonderful atmosphere and delicious food. The Gage Brother are an acoustic folk duo from Akron and were right in my music wheel house. It's a simple as 2 guys up there making wonderful music and every song in their set was great! Click on this link to their reverbnation.com page and play Sweetness. It'll for sure make you smile no matter what type of music you listen to. Like all folk music, it's better to see it live so get your tickets now!

The Speedbumps were great too! They have a folk/bluesy sound to them with vocals reminiscent of John Mayer. It's romantic, sweet, and emotional music. The harmonies and the alternative instruments make the songs interesting and attention grabbing. My favorites in their set were the songs that seemed to deviate a little from their overall tone. Their uptempo tunes, daring cover songs, and even the song with a rap break made me take notice of the risks they were willing to take and their range as artists. They were charming entertainers and worked well as a group even when there were 8 or 9 people on the stage. I'm certainly glad we got a chance to finally see them and will definitely catch them again!

Speaking of catching them again, tickets are on sale now for their Canton Palace Theatere show February 7th when they will play with the Canton Symphony Orchestra. I have been told by multiple people that this is an awesome show so make sure to buy your tickets now! I think we have broken our Speedbumps curse and will be able to go to this one as well.

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More about our Chicago trip coming soon. This post was way too good to sit on for a few weeks.

Look for us Friday at the Best of Cleveland Party at Public Hall! We're going to celebrate with our friends from Brewnuts, Sassyfrass, Tremont West Development Corp, and a whole bunch more. Plus to tie it in to what you just read, Music Box Supper Club won for best Supper Club and will be there too! I'm extremely excited to see the best of Cleveland all in one place. Congratulations to everyone involved! Enjoy the turning leaves Cleveland. I like you more than a friend. I like... like you like you.

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Chicago - Part 1 - The Train

For the past 2 years Gina has planned a secret vacation adventure for the 2 of us. She doesn't tell me about it unless she absolutely has to... or if she gets drunk. Last year's Nashville trip was awesome! She really keeps her itinerary jammed packed and full of fun. This year she planned a trip to the windy city of Chicago! The one thing I did know about it was that we would be taking a train from the Cleveland Amtrak station by First Energy Stadium at the wee hours of the morning to Chicago's Union station. Now when I say wee hours of the morning I mean 3 am... yes that 3 am. An hour after the bars close and about 15 years after I could say that I voluntarily was up at that time. Now if you know me, you know that I love our RTA rapid here in Cleveland. Heck I actually love trains in general but here in Northeast Ohio they make it very hard to love trains. My guess is because either:

a) Everyone in this town is rich enough to charter private jets out of Burke so no one needs to take cheap transportation or

b) The price of gas is $0.13 a gallon and everyone loves driving and others who drive or

c) Focusing on the road for 9 hours sounds like an awesome time to everyone.

Either way, I get the feeling that Amtrak could care less about the city Cleveland. Heck probably because most Clevelanders and Northeast Ohioans... Ohioites... Ohiouns... don't even know that there's a Amtrak station in Cleveland. You knows us NEO citizens... if we aren't traveling by a large spotless pickup truck with balls hanging from the hitch, we must poor or ugly or both. I hate that about this area. It seems elitist and just plain stupid. Mass transit is the last thought on everyone's mind when it comes to local travel and investment but everyone complains about rush hour traffic on the major highways and the price of gas. We really do complain just to fill the silence between times we get to watch TV don't we? I know I do!

[I wrote this next part before I left so it's going to sound like I'm telling parents what it's like to have kids...]

Just saying that "I love trains" isn't a good enough argument especially to my potential audience --SO-- I feel as if I owe you at least a rudimentary comparison right?:

Car Gas round trip (per MapQuest) - $108.60 Tolls = $37.90 Oil change I'd need to get before my trip - $30 Total - $176.50 5 hrs 30 mins one way - (doesn't include rush hour traffic, 7 construction zones, food stops, and potty breaks)

Train  2 round trip tickets - $216.00 Parking at the Amtrak station - $0 Us both being able to sleep... Priceless Total - $216.00 6 hrs - there 7 hrs - back

Plane 2 round trip tickets - $469.00 (Last second, I know...) Baggage fee - $60 Total - $529.00 1 hr 15 min - there 4 hr 30 min - back

* That's just getting there and back and doesn't involve the travelling to and from that we will do as part of our vacation. That's just trading parking and gas for cab service.

So in my opinion a train combines the luxury of not having to drive with the low cost of choosing to drive. I see it as the best of both options! Plus the environmental impact and other hippy stuff. Really, I just think it will be an awesome story for when I get old and am too fat to get myself out of my recliner.

[Here's the real scoop on trains that includes 2 rides worth of experience...]

Cleveland Station: First of all, getting to Cleveland's Amtrak station is an out of the way adventure especially at 2:30 am. From route 2 east you take an exit right after the muni lots and then circle back behind the muni lots west under East 9th St and then into the station's parking lot. All sorts of fun when you're half asleep and Google maps is taking you through the sewer system because it's completely confused. This is no surprise though. If you've ever gone to a Brown's game you know the cluster f#ck that is the area between West 3rd and East 9th. Exits crisscross with local roads, there's a pedestrian bridge that is closed to pedestrians, depending on where you park it's easier to learn to fly than trying to navigate the train tracks/highway/fence combo to the stadium. Anyways... FIX IT ALREADY! Maybe something like this? 

The station is a bit on the underwhelming side especially if you've been to Boston, NYC, Chicago, or DC. It's just a blah building from the 60's. Nothing exciting here. It's actually on par with other big cities on the route such as Elkhart, South Bend, and Elyria. Right up there where we belong! You check bags right when you walk in and you sit in beat up leather seats until the train comes. They have bathrooms and snack machines. It's very minimalist... but passable.

Gina likes to spread out when she sleeps...

Seats: The seats recline more than a plane seat and have more way more leg room... way way more. They are more cushiony than a car seat and have a little foot rest like a recliner does. They are still not comfortable enough to sleep well on, per Gina. I can sleep upside-down on a ladder so I had no trouble. My guess is they make them this way so that after you take a midnight ride on one of these and find out that they are hard to sleep on, you fork over the extra $ to get seats in the cars with the fold out beds. Understandable. I think the best part about it other than the extra room you get is that there's no divider arm in the middle to deal with. This makes trying to sleep a little easier... unless you're next to Gina who likes to "spread out" when she sleeps. Easily me in the pic to the left.

Timing: OK, so this one I was a tad off on. I started out being a bit naive to try to make my point that trains are awesome. You're going to experience delays on trains. Amtrak doesn't own their own tracks except for their route from NYC to DC. You're going to go through times when there are backups going into major cities because of freight traffic. More freight money than people money equals higher priority for freight. If you don't need to make a connection, you really just sleep through it or you get some extra time to eat in the dining car.

Other Awesome things:

• There are electrical outlets in each seat so you can charge your phone or laptop the whole time.
• The dining car serves meals during meal times no matter how short your particular trip is.
• The common areas are great for viewing the sights as you go past or striking up a conversation with a stranger.
• There are bathrooms on each car so there's less of a chance that you'll have to cross your legs and do the pee-pee dance.
• No baggage fees and plenty of overhead room for your 2 allowable carry-ons.
• You never have to turn off your electronic devices. Suck it planes!
• No security screening... OK only the time saving part.
• Being able to relax the whole time. The views were great in most places. Getting into Chicago it goes through some sad areas though. I got to look at them all without having to snap my head back to the road for a suddenly stopped car in front of me.
• You really won't have a problem getting around without a car. Most vacationable cities are very walkable. Cabs, Uber, and Lyft are in a lot of large cities as well. Trust me, I need to walk a whole lot more. Deep dish pizza isn't a calorie negative you know...

Things that weren't awesome:

• The running lights in the isles are always on. They aren't the full blown lights but they are annoying when you're trying to sleep. Bring a sleep mask or something to cover your eyes.
• Wear layers. The temp seemed to be unpredictable so make sure you can add or remove clothes when necessary.
• If you have a connector in your destination city, give yourself 6 hours of leeway. You may just want to give yourself the rest of the day to sight see and make your connector the next day. Like I said above, you're going to be delayed.
• Bring pillows. The seats are comfy but it's not a Craftmatic model II. Gina bought one of those neck pillows and it worked for me pretty well. We also brought another pillow that helped out.
• If you get annoyed by sounds easily while you are trying to sleep, bring ear plugs. The noise level is comparable to a plane but each stop brings awake people who are trying to settle in. I was fine with it... Gina was not.

Other Things to Note:

All-in-all I think it was a great experience and a memorable part of this year's wonderful secret getaway. I'm certain that I will take a train again and will be happy to do so. It took some of the stress out of travel which was really all we could have asked for. Look for more posts on my trip to Chicago in upcoming weeks. Enjoy your weekend Cleveland! Love ya like a brother from another mother.

A shot I snapped on the way back home.
This is in the Sandusky area.

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