We found out during this morning's breakfast conversation that there was a museum about an hour's drive out of Toledo that has replicas of the buildings Abraham Lincoln first practised law in and the building Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb in. You could also have a ride in an antique Model T Ford. It sounded far more interesting than our day. If only we had known about it.
When we left Toledo it was fine and the sun was out. We commented how nice it was to feel the sun through the windscreen. It was a pretty easy drive through to Cleveland - only about 2hrs.
Our hotel is a beautiful old French-Gothic style house, built in 1910 that has been converted into a hotel. It is on the American equivalent of the National Trust Register.
This area is called University Circle. It is an area full of museums and galleries as well as the university buildings. There are some beautiful buildings here.
We were able to check in early so we dumped our bags and went to find the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It was a bit overcast by now. The museum is right on the foreshore of Lake Erie and we could see waves crashing and plenty of white tips.
We spent about 3hrs in the museum and even then didn't read everything or watch every movie. It was a really interesting place. There are so many valuable pieces of memorabilia. Lots of Elvis and Beatles stuff - John Lennon's guitar and glasses, suits, handwritten lyrics, Elvis's car etc. There were also heaps of costumes. The top 2 floors were dedicated to a Women in Rock exhibition. There were outfits from Aretha Franklin through to the raw meat dress Lady Gaga wore last year. There were lots of videos playing, showcasing individual women.
Photography wasn't allowed apart from the foyer which is a shame. But, hanging in the foyer was a car completely covered in mirror ball stuff. It looked very cool!
There were some big ommissions from the collection - no Queen or Abba. I know Abba are not a rock and roll group but they have been inducted into the R & R Hall of Fame and had a pretty significant impact on music. And no Queen????
After looking through all the floors we ended up back at the ground level in the shop. We could see that it was pouring down outside. When we went outside it was cold and windy as well as wet. Of course our umbrellas were in the car.
When we checked in I had a quick look at reception for brochures and maps but there weren't any. We knew the restaurant next door to the hotel was closed on Sundays but had no idea where any others might be.
After leaving the museum we drove around town a bit having a look but it was very wet and hard to see. We spotted a billboard advertising the Hard Rock Cafe so decided to go there. Luckily the address was on the billboard so we could put it in the GPS. It was not quite 6pm but we hadn't eaten lunch and thought by the time we had had a cocktail, it would be an ok time for dinner.
Not sure yet what we will do tomorrow. We have a fairly long drive to Cincinnati but would like to see a bit more of Cleveland first. We know there is a sighseeing trolley tour but in October they only run in the afternoon. That would have been perfect.