On Wednesday, our friend Ellen came to visit from her home in Michigan. She was slated to stay for a few days, and my being on vacation meant that the three of us could hang out and do things together.
But not on Wednesday. Ellen got here in the late afternoon, and had made plans to catch up with her former professor and close friend Don Hubele (or “Hube” for short). We knew about the planned supper before Ellen got here, so she was not blowing us off. We got to visit for about an hour before she had to head off. I like to do some active things when I am on vacation, so I asked Mer if she would want to go for a walk. She agreed, so we headed over to the nearby Ledges park.
The Ledges is really cool in that it has lots of exposed rock, and has a grand view over the Valley (at least when the leaves are down). Mer and I had been to the Ledges many times before, but I picked up a map and noticed there was a trail I had never been on before that led down into the Valley, toward another park area called the Octagon (named after the shelter located there). Since we both like new trails, we decided to go that way. We did have to take one detour to get to the trail; our first attempt was blocked by a deer that was lying down and did not seem to want to move. We did not want to freak it out, so we took another way.
I’m really glad we did. The trail curved under the exposed rock face on which the Ledges sit. It was really pretty and, in places, awe-inspiring. I like exposed rock. We made it down to the Octagon, and I wanted to check out a little half-mile trail on which we had never been before. It was a pleasant little trail though the woods. After that trail, we headed back to the Ledges, completing a very pretty loop.
After our walk, I felt as if we had earned some slack, so after supper Mer and I went to get ice cream from Handel’s with the Churchills, after which we went home and chatted. We were still visiting when Ellen got back from visiting Hube and his family. Zach and Londa had met Ellen before, so we all just kept on visiting. Finally, the Churchills felt they had to get home, so they left and I went to bed.
On Thursday, I called up our friend Dubbs, and she agreed to meet us at the Blue Door restaurant for a late breakfast. The Blue Door is a gourmet diner, if that makes any sense. They use really fresh ingredients, and the chef makes authentic European-style pastries that are really wonderful. I thought Ellen should try it, so we went there. Breakfast was great, and we got to catch up with Dubbs for the first time in over two months. We picked up some pastries to go, and dropped Dubbs off at her place, and then headed over to Dale and Carlene’s.
Dale and Carlene had met Ellen several times before through Hube (Dale and Hube have known each other for over twenty years), and they were delighted to see her. We chatted and ate pastries (except for Ellen, who can’t stay eating at a Riordan pace), and stayed for about thirty minutes before we had to head out for the excitement of the day – the Cleveland Museum of Art.
I had never been inside the museum before, so I was looking forward to it. We got to the museum about 1:30, just in time for a guided tour that lasted about an hour, orchestrated by a charming Hungarian woman. The museum and the tour were both free (the museum general exhibits are always free). After the tour, which focused on a few pieces of Renaissance art and the ancient Egyptian collection, we tried to wander systematically through the museum. As such, I think we saw it all (or at least most of it). I liked the Tiffany glass collection and the sculpture room, and there were two Maine landscapes that jumped out at me, even before I knew they were about Maine. We were able to browse the museum in about three hours, which is a very good size for me.
By the time we were done with the museum, we were starting to get a bit hungry. So, we drove east, over to Legacy Village, where the nearest Cheesecake Factory is located. Before we ate, we swung by the art gallery in Legacy Village, to show Ellen several sculpture pieces we like very much. By the time we wrapped that up, we were all quite hungry.
We were still on the early side of supper (about 5:00), so we got seated right away. We sat outside because it was very nice out, although I kept one eye on a bank of clouds that was coming our way. We had an excellent meal, and Ellen and I had finished our individual desserts and were waiting on Mer to finish hers, when it began to sprinkle. We went inside, where Mer finished her cheesecake, and within a minute or two the heavens just opened up and poured for about five minutes. I was pleased we had made it inside.
The rain had all but stopped by the time we were ready to go, so we walked back to the car and headed home. Ellen had mentioned she had some gripes with Renaissance fairs being unhistorical, so we decided we had to show her a Big Bang Theory episode in which one of the characters (Sheldon) has the same complaints. Ellen was much amused, so we watched a second one. Then, since Ellen has recently become a huge Doctor Who fan, we watched one of the few episodes of that series that she had not seen, as well as some DVD special features that were new to her. A busy day, but a good one.