Progressive Field

Next up... Cleveland. This time I found myself with four days off and I wanted to see four different ball parks during that time. I've traveled alone several times before and found it to be less than the greatest of times. I decided that I would explore each city as much as possible to keep myself busy. In Cleveland that meant the rock and roll hall of fame and the water front of Lake Erie. Luckily the HOF is on the water.

As I walked out of the airport I was excited for my first visit to Cleveland. There is inexpensive train service from the airport to the downtown area which is always a HUGE plus. After a short ride the train deposited me into an area of town that gave me a very uncomfortable feeling. I put my camera in my pocket, pulled my hat low and headed for the hall of fame.

I made a detour to a pier on the lake to take some pictures of the skyline. From there I went into the back door of the museum and saw a few promising exhibits that convinced me I should indeed check this place out. Walked to the front desk to purchase my ticket. $37!?!?!?! To see a sweaty, fat Elvis costume and Bon Jovi's old Reebok's? No thanks! Just next door was the city science museum with a very cool renewable energy exhibit. Beyond that was the football stadium and an area called the flats that I'd heard good things about so I decided to do a little urban hiking. Cleveland was not making a good impression to this point. The city was dirty, run down, unfriendly, down right sketchy at times. Quick bite to eat and I headed for the park.

There's no such thing as a bad ball park unless it's in the Bronx, but this one was not very impressive. The Cavaliers were in town for the playoffs and that arena is across the street from the ballpark so that made for an exciting environment. I made it in plenty of time to watch batting practice which has become my favorite part of any game. Sitting in direct sunlight, several miles of walking, the quiet hush of a mostly empty park had me slightly dozing off until I was nearly killed by a ball hit 15 rows deep in center field where I was sitting. It bounced off the seat in front of me and straight into my hand. My first big league ball ever... no big deal. That coupled with a perfect game thrown through six innings helped Cleveland recover nicely. Not a bad town.