Where Are We Sleeping Tonight: Super 8, Beachwood, Ohio Despite the ability to sneak out without paying, we paid for our campsite on our way out of New York state. After crossing through Pennsylvania again, we entered Ohio. After a McDonalds breakfast stop (shared with 2 coach loads of senior citizens), we stopped in Willoughby to put credit on our mobile phone that we bought back in LA. After we finally got the credit sorted (after some not helpful staff in Radioshack), it was time to call Julia to arrange where to meet. It was strange calling a friend that I have known for over 10 years but have never met in person. I guess deep down I was worried that we would no longer have anything in common and that today could be more painful than jumping on a bicycle with the seat missing...
With the directions loaded into the TomTom, we headed to Julia's parent's house which was cute and on a huge stretch of land with a never ending backyard - their property felt like a farm despite being in a residential suburb. Pulling up in the driveway, Clare asked if I was sure Iwe were in the right place - yes, I recognise Julia's 'green' car - surely no one else has a car that shade of green! Julia and Charlie were so different to how I imagined them - they are so down to Earth and both Clare and I felt at home in their company. The four of us are so similar in so many ways that it was kind of strange. Julia drove us in her 'green' Toyota in to the centre of Cleveland where we saw the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame before we boarded the GoodTime III, a kind of ferry that took us up the infamous Cuyahoga River where we saw heaps of Cleveland - it was so cool. Learning about how the river once caught on fire and seeing the desolate areas along the river was kind of sad but it has so much potential - if only the economy was better... On our way back to the pier, the ferry went for a little cruise out onto Lake Erie and it is easy to see how it is a great lake - it felt like a very calm ocean that stretched to the horizon.
Back on solid ground, Julia took us on a tour of the greater city, showing us where she went to high school and the university where she is currently studying. After a walk around Little Italy, where Clare got to take some lovely photos of them, we randomly found a Random Street, and we had dinner at the wonderful La Dolce Vita Bistro where we heard of how Julia and Charlie first met and got together - they make such a cute couple.
We went for ice-cream at Dairy Queen where we sat around and chatted about everything and had a great time. We even saw some strange unidentified lights in the night sky which had us guessing and making up stories at to what they could be. Turns out that they were the fires in hot air balloons! Despite wanting to stay there longer, the day (and night) sadly had to come to an end. I am so glad we meet up with them - it really makes this trip feel more like a holiday. As Julia said, hopefully it won't be another 13 years before we see each other again.
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