Cleveland in my Rearview

 

I slept soundly waking somewhere just after 815am. The hotel bed was both soft and firm. The mattress enveloped in a thick pillow top cover. I went to sleep the night before thinking that I would wait until we got home to do my run. After all, the locals did a more than admirable job convincing me that it wasn't safe to run in and around the hotel neighborhood. However, while glancing out the hotel room window the thought of not running in the AM caused me consternation.

I told Mindy that I was gonna head down to the hotel gym and see if there were any treadmills available. I warned that quite often than not they're taken up by runner wannabes. I was still half asleep and unlike home, I didn't have the luxury of coffee ahead of a run. I didn't have the right attire for an inside run either. I packed for running outside and had a winter wicking shirt and my jacket. I opted to wear the fresh black t-shirt that I was going to wear home.

The fitness center is located on the fifth floor. Aside from me, there wasn't another soul present. They had some very nice equipment, including three top of line Precor treadmills. Nice! I tuned the onboard TV to ESPN without the benefit of earplugs. My vision was a little blurry for the somewhat small screen but it would do just fine. In the end, however, I wasn't there to watch TV. I was there to do my run.

I ran 3.25 miles in 29+ minutes. And while it felt a little cool at the outset, I was soaked through my black t-shirt by run's end. I toweled off with a complementary towel then headed back to the room. Mindy was already showered and dressed and just about ready to blow dry her hair. I watched a little TV while she finished her ready. Once she was finished I headed in for a much needed shower. By the time I was showered, dressed, packed and ready, it was just bout 10am. We planned to stop for breakfast along our drive home.

It was a gorgeous morning, the clouds parting, giving way to sunshine and warmth. We headed due west on Carnegie Ave all the way to Progressive Field. The 71S on ramp is right there. We were on the road for home in a jiffy. The kids called just as we entered the freeway. They were just getting ready to start the Sunday tournament game in Cincy.

We drove about 50 miles before we finally stopped at the Lodi Station Bob Evan's for breakfast. We hadn't eaten anything substantial since Saturday's Brew Kettle lunch. We both ordered the Farmer's Choice, three pancakes, two eggs, sausage or bacon and home fries. Mindy ordered a large OJ too. Service was quick and efficient and the food was decent. While paying our tab, I called the cashier by her first name. She responded by calling me Columbus since I had on a Columbus Brewing company shirt. Yep, first name's Christopher. Born in 1462, 30 years prior to sailing the ocean blue. She was quick, and shared that I was actually born in 1444 - 28 years of age when I sailed the ocean blue. Said she visited the spot where Columbus landed over the summer. Cool!

We left Bob's near 1115am with about 103 miles to go. The sky transitioned several times between thick clouds and sunshine. The entire time the wind was gusting big time causing lots of leaf fall. The kids called again sometime just after Mansfield. They were on their way home too. We arrived home a minute or two after 1pm. Our trip door to door was about 302 miles.

Lindsey left a note sharing that she didn't poop the evening before or that morning. Mindy and I walked Eiknarf minutes after arriving home. She was very excited to have us at home. She took care of business right away. Back at the house we unpacked in a hurry. Mindy was insistent on a quickie nap before the kids got home. It was something like 120pm. The kids pulled up at 145pm.

I tuned the family room TV to the Browns/Bengals game. Early on it looked like the Bengals might kick their ass. The kids weren't in the house long before running off to play with friends. Mindy quickly threw together a grocery list and headed off to Kroger. I took two or three naps from the comfort of the family room chair. I was paralyzed with the sleepies after a 150 miles drive and a belly full of Bob Evans.

I woke when Mindy got back from the grocery store. Can't recall the time, but I'm going to guess near 3-330pm.
We hoped the Vikings/Redskins game would be televised, but the local Fox channel opted to carry the Giants/49ers. Aside from the game we saw in Indy, we haven't seen any of the others, all victories. I guess that's what a 3-13 season will do for you.

I woke to help Mindy carry in the groceries. The Browns found a way to beat the Bengals to garner their first victory of the season. Prior, they had lost 11 straight games. I caught a glimpse of the Vikings/Redskins score early on. The Vikings kicked three field goals in the first quarter to lead 9-0. I didn't see another updated until halftime when it was 17-9 Redskins. I had a feeling we'd be kicking ourselves for not converting those field goals to touchdowns.

While I continued my nappy ways, Mindy whipped up some chili. Dinner was served around 630pm. In addition to the chili, Mindy whipped up some cornbread too. At my prompting, she added sugar and real corn kernels. Both were good. I took care of clean-up and by the time I finished it was darn near 7pm.

The Redskins scored right after halftime to take an even bigger lead. I considered my team's goose cooked right then. The Vikings, however, were determined to make a game of and kept scoring touchdowns. But it seemed that every time we scored, the Redskins would score again too. The Vikings were on the Redskins 1 yard line with a minute to go and trailing by 38-26. Fox joined the game in progress. Great, I got to see Ponder throw an interception on the goal line.

It was a lazy evening at home. Unlike a lot of Sunday evening's, I wasn't fretting the fleeting weekend. After all, I was on vacation. Other than a little work in the basement, and possibly taking the boat in for winterizing, I didn't have a whole lot planned. We tuned into SNF at 830pm - the Packers/Texans. The Packers took an early 14-0 lead and never looked back. So much for Texas' undefeated season. Mindy and the kids peeled off for bed around 930pm. I stayed up at least until 11pm.