I Am a Motorcoach . . .

. . . with some musings from perusing Northern Ohio coastal regions. If I know my passengers, this itch you call “cabin fever” is in the early stages of annoyance and will soon be driving you bonkers. I saved this trip from last year just for this reason. You need to see some greenery. You crave reminders, hope of the end of that gray dormancy of winter. In this blog I have just what you need: amusement parks, water, summer foliage, and vacation lands . . . a little inspiration for planning your 2018 motorcoach adventures. Time to start thinking about getting out and about! Now, I also know there are among my passengers those realists who loath to imagine things other than they actually are. You do not want any help reaching for spring or summer when everything you see still looks like the dead of winter. OK, a compromise: the reminders of summery foliage you will see are at a cemetery and a funeral home.

Oh, and by the way: this is 50! That’s right, motorcoach blog number 50. I’m pretty sure it should mean something (just not sure what) so I’m celebrating. Here it is, the big Five O . . .

Selfies

(which by definition means I’m in them . . . though you might have to look for me)

Sandusky, Ohio is a small city on the banks of Lake Erie, halfway between Toledo and Cleveland. With calendar-worthy coastal beauty, two world famous amusement parks, and the occasional reminder that out there beyond its shores is that other North American country, Sandusky is a north-coast vacation hot spot.

A progression of selfies , 1)the colorful horizon beyond the boat docks is speckled with Cedar Point Amusement Park thrill rides, 2) A night pose with Millennium Force, one of the largest roller coasters among the world’s largest collections of roller coasters, and 3) a roller coaster puzzle for you: what of this selfie is me and what isn’t?

Cleveland is often called the city of bridges, and many of its bridges integrate fluidly into the architecture and habitation of the city.

Located on Euclid Avenue in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland is the James A. Garfield Memorial. The resting home of the beloved President assassinated in 1881 (Just sixteen years after Abraham Lincoln), some of the memorial’s funding came in the form of pennies sent by children throughout the U.S. A short winding way from the James A. Garfield Memorial in Lake View Cemetery is the Neoclassical Wade Memorial Chapel. Constructed in honor of Jeptha Wade, founder of Western Union, the interior of the chapel was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and is a single flowing work of art in mosaics and stained glass.

Eighty one miles from Cleveland, in Dover, Ohio, is a who’s who memorialization of a different kind. Toland-Herzig Funeral Home is also home to Famous Endings Museum. Displaying memorabilia such as Joe DiMaggio’s original hand written guest list for Marilyn Monroe’s private funeral service, a lamp from Abraham Lincoln’s funeral carriage, and over 2,500 other funeral related artifacts, the museum contains the largest collection of its kind in the world. I am not sure what the attraction is to items that personalize mortal endings, but my passengers did not want to leave this place! (For more information, search: Famous Endings Museum)

MEETING THE NEWS on the roadways of America, first-hand, real time, real world news—going out and discovering the news . . .

ROLLER COASTER NEWS: Iron Dragon, Wicked Twister, Top Thrill Dragster, Raptor, Valravn, Magnum XL-200, Gemini, Pipe Scream, Wilderness Run, Woodstock Express, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Corkscrew, Blue Streak, Rougarou, Gate Keeper, Millennium Force, and Maverick – yes, seventeen roller coasters at Cedar Point amusement park, the self-proclaimed “roller coaster capital of the world!” The park boasts five roller coasters over 200 feet tall and two coasters in the top ten tallest in the world: Top Thrill Dragster (#2 in the world at 420 ft. and top speed of 120 mph, third fastest in the world) and Millennium Force (#5 in the world at 310 ft. and top speed of 93 mph). Cedar Point also has the tallest and fastest inverted roller coaster on the planet, the Wicked Twister. And the big news? The weekend of May 5, 2018 is the projected world premier weekend for Cedar Point’s latest roller coaster addition. Steel Vengeance, the world’s first hyper-hybrid coaster, will break ten roller coaster world records!

EDISON IN THE NEWS: Just thirteen miles from Lake Eire and nine miles from Sandusky (and those terror inducing roller coasters) is the quaint and quiet village of Milan, Ohio. Milan is the birth place of Thomas Edison, who was born there in 1847 and lived there until he was just shy of seven. The Thomas A. Edison Museum is a one house museum within walking distance of the Milan Museum, consisting of six mid-19th Century period exhibit structures. Edison’s beginnings were so ordinary I decided to jazz up the photo of his house/museum as a celebration of extraordinary beginnings.

ERIE NEWS: Bobbing on Lake Eire just a few hundred yards off of Cleveland’s shore line, sailboats speckle the sunset seascape. In the far distance beyond them – approximately 50 miles – are the shores of the Canadian province of Ontario. Eire is the fourth-largest of the five Great Lakes, but being the shallowest (210 ft. at its deepest), it is the smallest in terms of volume. Along with Ohio, Lake Eire’s U.S. shoreline is shared by Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York.

(Unlike selfies, these are not about me, but about travel discoveries I think you’d like to know about.)

Lake View Cemetery: You probably don’t think of cemeteries as important inclusions on your vacation itineraries, but, when in or near Cleveland, Lake View Cemetery is a worthy exception. On its own, Tiffany’s awe-inspiring interior masterpiece, “The Voyage of Life,” makes the Wade Memorial Chapel (National Registry of Historic Places) a Must See destination. And Lake View’s picturesque rolling hills are a botanical masterpiece of their own, holding numerous mausoleums of stunning architectural beauty, many notable resting places, and a wealth of American history, including immigrants, political leaders, and iconic figures of accomplishment in industry, arts, and humanitarian service. (216-421-2687 for advanced scheduling)

Kalahari Resort and Waterpark: Kalahari resorts specialize in creating America’s largest waterparks. But, with African themed first class accommodations, a challenging high ropes course, an exotic petting zoo, a food court and restaurants and shopping opportunities, the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky Ohio is more than a waterpark, it’s a basecamp for your Northern Ohio adventures.

Quote Of The Day samples

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison