Ohio and Pennsylvania, September 24 – 29, 2015.

I came up with the idea of hitting three Midwest cities for three different concerts: Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Cincinnati Symphony.  I have slight familiarity with all of these orchestras, yet I haven’t seen them on their own turf.  This past summer I went to Lincoln Center to listen to Cleveland Orchestra twice, and enjoyed both concerts; the last Music Director of New York Philharmonic, Lorin Maazel, went to University of Pittsburgh and had a stint as PSO’s conductor early in his career (he also led the Cleveland Orchestra for a few years); Louis Langree, who leads the Cincinnati Symphony, is a regular at Mostly Mozart Festival.

The airfare was quite inexpensive at $170 or so per person, roundtrip.  Since we thought we should stay in hotels close to the concert venues if possible, we picked a couple of downtown hotels which were more expensive than we would like.

Thursday 9/24.  Our flight at 8:10 am meant getting up quite early for me.  The flight was smooth.  For some reason, the least expensive rental car from Alamo was an intermediate SUV; the Ford Escape is actually quite large, and quite nice to drive.

We got in town early enough to catch a lunch cruise on Lake Erie.  While I enjoy boat rides, I had to conclude “not much is happening” in town.  The skyline is simple: Key Building, Tower, Science Center; and the stadium (Cleveland Browns) dominates.

We are staying in the Case Western Reserve University area, and managed a short nap after we checked in.  We weren’t in the mood for a fancy dinner, so we stopped by Qdoba before heading out to Severance Hall for the concert.

After the concert we stopped by the student center, looking for something to eat.  The place was open, but all the eateries were closed.  It was before 11 pm, in a college town at that.

Hotel: Glidden House, Cleveland.  (Glidden of Glidden paint, used to be his house.)

 On the Nautica Queen, with Cleveland in the background.  Notice the First Energy Stadium, home of Cleveland Browns.

 Selfie in front of Severance Hall.

Curtain call after the Cleveland Orchestra concert.  Notice how deep the stage is.

Friday 9/25.  We checked out after having breakfast, and left our car in the hotel parking lot to walk to the Museum of Art.  One certainly can’t argue with the price: free.

We actually enjoyed our visit.  While there are not many “masters” (classical, impressionist, modern), there were many done by artists that learned from the masters, and could be mistaken as work done by them.  It occurred to me if one could find the time, staying in Cleveland for a while to go to museums, take some classes, and listen to CO concerts may be a good idea; and it won’t be an expensive proposition.  Anne brought me back to earth by saying we could do similar things around where we live.

 The outside of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

 The inside of the Museum is also well-designed.

This work by American painter Hassam is perhaps inspired by Monet's "Bastille Day."

 This is a real Degas.

 The Frank Gehry-designed Peter B. Lewis Building for Management, Case Western Reserve.

After lunch in the Museum cafeteria, we headed to Pittsburg.

Downtown Pittsburgh is not nearly as attractive as Uptown Cleveland (where University Circle and surrounding areas are called.)  We walked a little after checking in.  Across the Allegheny River is Pirates Stadium, with a huge sculpture of Roberto Clemente in front.

There are quite a few restaurants near the hotel, many ethnic.  We ate at Indian Palace before attending a concert by Pittsburgh Symphony at Heinz Hall.

 Heniz Hall, home of Pittsburg Symphony.

 Inside of Heniz Hall.

 Pittsburgh is at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. Many bridges crisscross these rivers.

Our hotel is the building with a big hole, to the left of the Roberto Clemente Bridge.

Hotel: Renaissance, Pittsburgh.

Saturday 9/26.  The Duquesne Incline was built to transport workers down to the river, about 400 feet below.  It is now a tourist attraction.  While I am sure it is safe, it looks quite rickety.  Cars are kept level by a platform, so one doesn’t feel the incline, as in the case of Hong Kong Peak Tram.

 The Duquesne Incline has been around for quite a while.  It is now a tourist attraction.

 View of Pittsburgh from the top of the Incline.

Panoramic view of the area.

Cincinnati is about 300 miles away, and the trip took longer because of construction around Pittsburgh.  The PA, WV and OH countryside looked okay, and the couple of rest areas we passed by were quite new.

We got to hotel at around 5 pm, left at 5:30 pm.  Stopped by Panera Bread for quick dinner to make the pre-concert at 7 pm.  Parking was cheap ($5, regular day only $2).  Area around concert hall is being gentrified, with many restaurants, but a few more blocks north (on way to hotel) many buildings were boarded up.

The Cincinnati Music Hall is a large venue for classical music, with great acoustics.

We had McDonalds after the concert; it was doing great business with 2 drive-through lines.

Hotel: Kingsgate Marriott at University of Cincinnati. Upgraded to junior suite.

Sunday 9/27.  Anne read about this small eatery called Cheapside, and we had breakfast/brunch there: chorizo/egg sandwich, and pecan French toast.  Afterwards we drove to water front of Cincy, crossed over to KY side (Newport), parked the car, and walked across bridge back to OH.  Both the Bengals and Reds stadiums are located in this area.  Many areas of new development; we joked it is where “those people” live.  Relatively inexpensive (2BR/2B goes for about $1500/month rent), with river view.

Stopped by Audubon Bird Sanctuary, wrong season/time of day to see too many birds.

Drove to Columbus, ate at “Hot Chicken Takeover,” chose “warm” spiciness.  Bought some pulled pork and beans for dinner to eat in hotel room.

  

 Cheapside Cafe in Cincinnati.

 Audubon Bird Sanctuary in Cincinnati.  Not too many birds to see for the casual observer.

 Cincinnati skyline as viewed across the Ohio River from Kentucky.

Hot Chicken Takeover is located in the North Market of Columbus.  We got here just before the place closed for the day.

Hotel: Hampton Inn Columbus/Polaris.

Monday 9/28.  Left hotel at around 10:30 am, drove about 1:30 hrs to The Rail – Akron, highly rated at one of the review websites.  We had sliders, Bon Fire Burger, and Naked Burger; they were quite good.

Drove by Cuyahoga Falls (the City).  Big Falls dammed up, small falls indeed small.  Pleasant town, though.

Spent some time in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  Visitor’s Center.  Brandywine Falls.  Ohio Erie Canal lock.  Beaver Marsh.  A couple of short walks.  It’s been dry, so not much water in falls.

 The Rail in Akron, Ohio serves up some interesting burgers.

 Possibly (what's left of the) Cuyahoga Falls.  We didn't walk along the entire river to see if there is another fall.  (There is one that's dammed up.)

 Brandywine Falls.

A heron on the Ohio & Erie Canalway.

Left a little before 6:30pm.  Quick meal at Bob Evans, Facetime with granddaughter, and then a conference call.

Hotel: La Quinta, Independence.

Tuesday 9/29.  We decided to check out one of the outlying islands in Lake Erie.  The one that’s easiest to get to is Kelley’s Island, a short 20 minute ride from Lakeside Marblehead on the mainland.  We parked our car at the Ferry parking lot and boarded with a couple of other pedestrian passengers and a few cars.  The island has about 300 year-round residents, and today it felt there were fewer.  Not too many places were open for lunch, and we had simple meals at Village Pump.  After returning to the mainland (the return trip saw many more vehicles and passengers), we got to the airport for our return flight to Newark.

The Shirley Irene took us from the mainland to Kelley's Island.