Cannons in Akron

We headed up to Norton, OH just outside of Akron to visit with some friends of ours, Anne and Ant Cannon, for a few days.  Anne is another one of those BeautiControl girls that Kat developed a relationship with over the years.

We parked at the Lake Campground which had a very nice day camp area complete with a swimming lake.  Bear loved watching his kinfolk – goats.  No sewer connection and since we boondocked during the last two stops we had to use the dump station on the way into our spot.  The station was a bit far from the gravel roadway so we had to pull onto the grass and guess what?  We got stuck!  Used a few boards under the tires to get us free.

We had some free time so we drove up to Cleveland to visit the Renegade office and meet the new CEO.  We had a very nice visit and it was great to get caught up with Kat’s former co-workers.  Renegade and Sweat X are really taking off!

We met up with Anne and Ant at Momocho, a modern Mexican restaurant on the West Side of Cleveland.  Outstanding food and an interesting place:

After dinner we headed into the downtown area to have a drink at the Sky Bar in the Hilton.

That’s the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the daylight and Lake Erie at dusk.

When we descended down to street level we went over to “The Vault” for a nightcap.  The Vault is a re-furbed bank that has been turn into a speakeasy.  Very cool – check out some pics:

There were rooms actually inside each vault!  The host gave us a guided tour and told us about the various vaults and the “secret” room that was under the sidewalk above.  I guess that some people were still able to drink during prohibition.

The next day we headed over to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – a wonderful experience.  We got to hear music, vote for next years’ recipients, and see outfits that the performers wore.

Pinball machines that were created for Rockers were on display – a whole room full of them!  I was able to have a nice, although a bit one-sided, conversation with Jane Scott, who was one of the earliest rock critics and instrumental in bringing the Rock & Roll HOF to Cleveland.  Why Cleveland, you may ask?  Alan Freed was a local DJ that termed the phase “Rock and Roll”.  Also, because Cleveland Rocks! – A little Drew Carey there.

Continuing her guided tour, Anne then took us to the Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens which are absolutely breathtaking!

This mansion, which is one of the largest in the United States, was built by F.A. Seiberling, co-founder of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.  I guess that there was lots of money in rubber back in 1911.  For my architectural followers – it is Tudor Revival style.  Just beautiful!

Next Anne took us to a little restaurant called Comida in Hudson, OH where our server loved Bear:

After lunch we headed to the local Farmer’s Market and walked around enjoying all the little booths set up.  It was a very nice area that had a bike path:

It was a bit hard to maneuver this replica!  Later that night we went to Lock 3 to enjoy listening to a Rolling Stones tribute band on the river bank:

Anne and Ant came out to see the Busse Bus and had a little surprise for me:

Yep, it was my birthday and they gave me a Rock & Roll flask and a cake!  Yummy!  Thank you Anne and Ant – I’m sure I’ll be able to use the flask on these adventures!

The next day we meet up with one of Keenan’s high school buddies, Matt and his girlfriend, Megan at Michael Angelo’s Winery.

It was nice catching up with Matt and meeting Megan.  I have to tell you that we enjoyed this Ohio winery very much.  I’m glad we tried more wine from Ohio.  Matt and Keenan had a joint High School graduation party not that long ago…

For dinner Kat and I met up with Lauran and Eric Weber at their house and then we went out for dinner at the Gasoline Alley.

Lauran was our neighbor when we lived in the Fields of Ambria in Mundelein.  It was great catching up with Lauran and meeting Eric.

We pulled out of the Lake Campground without getting stuck and we were off on our next adventure.