Monday, 12 April 2021: home from Dayton and Cleveland

Steph's mom died.  What a sad day.  Justin, Gemma and I loaded up in the car for a road trip to Franklin, Ohio, just outside of Dayton to see Steph.   Pauline had been living with Steph's brother Tim and his wife Kim for the last several months.  Thankfully it was an manageable drive for us. 

 

I screwed up with GPS and the last ten miles took almost an extra hour -- that was not too much fun.  We met Tim and Steph for dinner. on Thursday evening and then on Friday we all went to the Air Force Museum.  That was an unexpected treat.  It was great to see Stephanie even though the circumstances were less than ideal.  We hadn't seen Stephanie since our reception in 2014!  

We had decided to make lemonade from out lemons so next we drove to Euclid to Lorayne’s.  It had been a while since we'd seen Lorayne too -- right before I retired in 2016 I think.  Friday night mean fish fry so we headed to her dad’s favorite restaurant. She’s enjoying her walks down memory lane. She grew up in Cleveland and now that she is retired, she's settling there at least part time.  Thankfully Zeke and Gemma get along and the cats tolerate her too.  It was a lazy Saturday morning for Lorayne and me while Justin groomed Gemma before we visited the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.  Yes, Cleveland Rocks! 

The restaurant Lorayne had chosen for dinner was closed so we went to plan B. It doesn't matter where we are, we will always have a good time.

We kept with the tradition of Sunday morning mimosas and Eggs Benedict.   Lorayne and I have done that in quite a few different locales.  

On the road back it seemed as if all of Indiana was under construction.  Next stop -- Chicago.  We tried a new hotel -- the Staypineapple.  That was a successful experience.  I'd highly recommend them.  Good location, pet friendly and reasonable -- that's three pluses.  

We made our pilgrimage to Greek town for dinner on Sunday. 

 

Monday, we stopped at a Japanese restaurant for lunch -- what a treat before the Art institute for the Monet exhibit.  As anticipated, it was spectacular.  Justin and I were pleasantly reminded of our trip to Giverny and Monet's Gardens there.  

Even the tulips in Chicago were happy to see us!