Last Saturday was Jo’s real birthday, as well as the evening concert of Great Big Sea that got the whole outing going. We puttered about at the house while everyone got ready, and we left around 10:00 for our first exciting Greater Akron destination of the day – the Towpath Trail in the valley.

The Towpath is a trail built near and around the old canal that went through the valley. As a towpath, it is very level, and so I run on it from time to time. I admired what I saw, so I thought it would be a good destination for our guests. I went to the parking area just off Bolanz Road, near a very good farmers’ market (Szalay’s market). We parked and headed south on foot along the trail. It was a beautiful morning, and we saw some wildlife (turtles and herons) along the way. My ultimate destination was the beavers’ marsh – an area that is flooded several feet because of some ambitious mammals. It is about a mile walk, mostly in shade, and passed quite pleasantly.

Once at the beavers’ marsh, we hung out and looked at the thousands of lily pads, and there was a friendly park ranger hanging out explaining about beavers (including having a pelt and a model skull). Meredith then summoned us over to one edge of the foot bridge that spans the marsh to look at one mean-looking, moss-covered snapping turtle. There were a bunch of small fish (about 4 inches) swimming around and looking at us, so I assume they normally get handouts of food.

We ambled back to the parking area, but I wanted to show everyone Szalay’s market. This was not met with any protests (other than a plea for a bathroom stop), and so we found ourselves in a kick-butt farmers’ market. I am not the world’s healthiest eater, and I will eat fruit a few times a year, and vegetables a fewer times a year. But boy, did the food look good at the farm! They had fruits and vegetables of all kinds (especially corn, which is grown in the adjoining fields), but they had cookies, jams, cheeses, and more. I picked up two cookies and a jar of raspberry spread. Shannon scored two corn plates and two quarts of blueberries. James snagged some mixed nuts, and Jo tried fresh corn-on-a-stick after buying black licorice. We all tried out seats outside that were made from old tractor seats and rims, which were surprisingly comfortable. After Jo had eaten her corn, we headed back to the car and then the house to stash our foodstuffs.

We then headed out for more foodstuffs. Mer and I took everyone (in Shannon and Jo’s rented van) to the Cuyahoga Falls Sheridan, to the restaurant Piatto Novo, where they serve a jaw-dropping and waist-expanding brunch. We had fun with a sarcastic grill man (who told Mer she could only have a waffle OR French toast, which was not true), while he made us (in various courses) French toast, Belgian waffles, and eggs to order. The brunch also had a large fruit bar and trays of breakfast meats and breakfast potatoes. I was so stuffed from the regular food that I passed on the dessert table (I was also aware of the cake still at home). Piatto Novo also has a wonderful view of the falls, since it is built right on the river and the river-side walls are all glass. We had much fun watching one duck swimming back and forth across the rapids.

After brunch, we walked along the river walk for about four blocks north. The river was very pretty, and the weather continued to be very fine. We cut in to the shopping area of Cuyahoga Falls, and walked back toward the car though the pedestrian zone. I was pretty surprised – in three blocks, we probably only saw about 5 or 6 people. It was a perfect day in summer, on a Saturday, around 1:00! That does not bode too well for the Falls pedestrian shopping area, which is too bad – it is nice not to mess with a car.

We went north, and I decided to show everyone the Ledges park, which is only a couple miles from our house. It is an area of exposed rock and winding trails that overlook the valley in a couple of places. We were not there too long – about 40 minutes, and we probably only walked about a mile, but it was a good time. On the way back, we stopped at an outdoor-sports supplier to look around. James ended up buying some kind of footwear, but I never saw what. I’m sure it was snowshoes.

We headed back home, where we all settled down to watch a DVD that Jo had brought of an older Doctor Who episode – The Five Doctors. I was a Doctor Who junkie when I was in high school, so it was good to see one of the older shows again. The experience was enhanced with a little cake-eating on my part.

After our movie break, we piled back into the car and headed Akron-ward again. We were headed to the same area we had been on Friday – the concert was at Lock 3, only two blocks from the baseball stadium, Canal Park. Great Big Sea is a pretty popular band, and NE Ohio is (oddly) a folk music hot spot, so we were worried that the place might be mobbed. We wanted to get there when the gates opened (6:30), so we were surprised to see the gates open when we did arrive at 6:15. There was a fair-sized crowd, but not overwhelming, so we were able to plant our blankets in the shade to the far right of the stage, only about 30 feet from it. They were decent seats.

We all whiled away the 45 minutes or so until the concert started with an opening act by wandering around. Mer went to look at the lock. James wandered all over the park to see what was around. Shannon and Jo stood in a line for Jo to get a t-shirt, and then again for Shannon to buy me a CD he owed me from a bet. I went to the food places to get some water for Mer, and then later to get some fries and something to drink. The time passed quite nicely.

The opening act started a few minutes late, about 7:20 or so. It was a singer that I had never heard of, Jeremy Fisher. He turned out to be quite good. It was just him and his guitar, but his music was solid, and his storytelling was excellent. He told a story of getting a free lunch at a university in Michigan, staying to court a girl whom he later married, and thus absorbed her school debt. His moral: there is no such thing as a free lunch. Jeremy played until about 8:45 or so, and Great Big Sea came on about 9:00.

Great Big Sea is a fantastic band. They have tons of energy, and they play traditional tunes but with lots of drive and attitude. The crowd was really into the concert, and I think the band fed off of that. At one point someone threw a cowboy hat on stage, which led to the band members taking turns wearing it and playing country songs. This was all ad libbed, and the crowd loved it (and the lead singer, who was not singing, kept cracking up). At one point the lead singer’s guitar was having issues, so the other guitarist played and sang “Lean On Me.” After an announcement that the band want to do an a cappella number, one of the band members joked about doing “Bohemian Rhapsody” a cappella. This led the lead singer to lead the crowd in singing the song, for over a minute. Everyone was having a blast. The band members kept giving each other a hard time, and the crowd was pumped and into the music. It was one of the best concerts I have ever been to. They finally had to end the music at 10:45 because the park closes at 11:00 (“Who knew?” asked the lead singer). What a great time.

After the concert, we went to the Ohio Brewing Company/Damon’s restaurant to get some light food, and so James could try some more local brews. I think we hit a gold mine there, because James was able to order the beer sampler, which featured six different kinds of beer in small-ish glasses. Mer and I split an order of mozzarella sticks and a piece of chocolate cake. Shannon ate some fries, and Jo had some food as well as James’s stout (James does not like stout).

Damon’s has about 1 huge TV for every two tables, and the Olympics was on most of them. We sat down in time to see the swimming relay where Michael Phelps was going for his eighth gold medal. We were watching with some interest, and as the last relay man hit the wall with 50 meters to go, a loud cheer went up from the bar area of the restaurant. I figured the bar folks were having a good time on their own, so I did not think too much about it until the last swimmer hit the last 10 meters, still ahead. The crowd near the bar let out another cheer that grew louder as he approached the wall and exploded into applause as he touched the wall in first and Phelps had won his eighth gold medal. It was a touching and neat moment to be a part of in a public space.

After the light meal, we headed home and went to bed. Shannon, Jo , and James headed out around 9:00 on Sunday morning to head to Columbus to pick up Jo’s ferrets. As they pulled out, I sighed to Meredith, “And there goes our summer, pulling out.” It turns out that Jo had forgotten her food from the farmers’ market, so I jumped in the car and ran over to the local coffee place, Rico Latte, where I managed to return the things to Jo.

There are more wonders to see in our neck of the woods, but I’ll have to save them for another time.