We found out last Friday that Mike actually got placed here for next year. Nope, not Hawaii or Wisconsin or California…we’ll be in Ohio! We were a bit relieved to not move with a newborn and a bit disappointed to miss out on an adventure (aka: warm weather). There are a lot of practical reasons why being here is great (family! cost of living! friends! affordable child care! not moving and finding new doctors and banks and everything!), but I think we’re still processing this unexpected news (he had an 8% chance of being here – so…unexpected!). I coerced Mike into agreeing we decided to take a mini little vacation/staycation this weekend to shake things up. We did this last February, too, and it was so fun.
Here’s my magic formula for a last-minute quick trip:
One part Hotwire + a healthy heaping of Yelp + less than $200 = The perfect mini getaway
We left Saturday after Gabe’s nap with no place to stay, but I booked a 3.5 star hotel on our way that had a pool and was $81 with taxes. BAM.
First stop: Great Lakes Science Center. There was free admission for the day (saving us $40! Woo!) because the Cleveland Foundation was celebrating 100 years. It was super fun and I definitely want to take Gabe back when it’s less crowded and maybe a bit warmer so we can check out the giant ship docked outside. There were tons of hands on activities and exhibits – it was great!
(Please excuse my terrible quality photos. The DSLR didn’t make the cut when we threw a few things in our bags in the 15 minutes between when we decided to go on a little trip and when we left.)
My long-legged boys.
We headed over to Crust in Tremont to eat some absolutely phenomenal pizza (they make everything from scratch and it shows) and butternut squash gnocchi which we couldn’t stop gushing over (I mean: fresh sage, caramelized onions, apple cider reduction, pumpkinseed oil!).
Apparently Gabe took a phew photos as we waited for pizza. He’s a blogger in training.
We walked around in Tremont a little then headed over to Sweet Moses, which is an old timey soda fountain shop that we love. We rolled full selves back to the hotel to check in and go swimming. Then we watched a little TV, took showers, and snacked on leftover gnocchi and the chocolate chip cookies they gave us at check in. Mmm, hotel bliss.
After a good night of sleep (using my white noise app on my phone like the delicate little flower that I am), Gabe convinced us to go swimming again. He’s lucky we love him so much.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was free on Sunday for the same reason the Science Center was (saving us another $44!), so we planned to head there shortly after it opened to avoid crazy crowds. We stopped by Erie Island Coffee on east 4th for some breakfast and coffee before scouting out some free parking near the Hall of Fame.
Gabe declared he preferred “Eye of the Tiger” instead…no, not Rocky. He’s talking about Katy Perry.
After a few hours taking in history and rock, we went to our favorite restaurant – Tommy’s in Coventry. The best fries, the best toasted cheese (with peanut butter and sesame sauce), the best milkshakes, the best everything. On the way there, I made Mike stop by Luna Bakery Cafe so I could satisfy my craving for some macrons…and ended up buying a raspberry croissant, too. Oops.
With a few hours to kill while Mike did a research interview at Case Western, Gabe and I decided to go to the always-free-and-awesome art museum. They have an awesome area for kids and tons of interactive exhibits. Plus, it was gloriously empty compared to the other two museums we’d been to:
The weekend was over and it was just what we needed. There are so many benefits to traveling as a family – and it’s awesome that we can get them even from a quick little trip 45 minutes away.
That last photo is so cute I cannot even stand it. I can’t believe Mike was placed right there at home! A missed adventure, perhaps, but I bet when you’ve got a newborn AND a toddler to take care of, on top of the rest of regular life stuff, you’ll feel pretty OK about not also having to shlep to Hawaii. I hope. :) Plus, now maybe I’ll get to see you again sometime when I’m home!
You are wise. It’s about 100% easier to NOT move (especially away from my helpful parents!) at this point. But, sigh. Winter is long in Ohio.
And yes! Please!
Hawaii would have been awesome, but woohoo for getting to stay in Akron!
you guys really did it up cleveland style! have you seen the cleveland bucket list scene magazine put out? you definitely knocked a few off of that list with your mini vacay! i’m trying to do them all this year and i just went to the museum of art for the first time ever because of it and was blown away. it’s stunning!
http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/the-cleveland-bucket-list/Content?oid=3744793
THIS IS AWESOME!! I totally want to do them!
Aww, I sort of wondered what the odds would be that you’d stay in Akron.
Looks like you guys had a blast!
Hope that little trip helped you guys feel better about staying in Akron…and that is the cutest picture of Mike and Gabe I have ever seen!!!
Sounds like a fun last minute trip! Crazy that you ended up staying in Ohio :) But, after just living the last 5 weeks with a newborn- I can’t imagine moving and not having family around at this time so I think it will be a blessing :)
Congratulations Ashley!!!! That must feel so good that Mike is nearing the end of his program. If not Hawaii this summer, who knows about the year after that? There are so many adventures ahead for you guys. I love that you are so good at traveling as a family to places both near and far away. It inspires me and makes me think of all the fun we’ll have going on little road trips when our little one comes. That last photo of Gabe & Mike just gets me right in the heart, it’s so cute.
Exactly! Each year is a new adventure and full of possibility… :)
Traveling is the BEST. I am already making plans to go to Puerto Rico again next winter…the baby will be 8 months old, so totally doable! (We might have started the discussion shortly after learning we’ll have another winter ahead of us! Ha.)
I’m so glad you don’t have to move! Although somewhere nice and warm would have been nice.
This looks like it was a great trip!
You have adorable boys! And that ice cream sundae? Can we invite blogger-smell-vision or something? It just looks decadent and amazing.
I’m glad that you guys don’t have to move although secretly bummed I can’t convince Knight to take a trip to Hawaii for a blogger meet-up :) (or Wisconsin, even!).
I think you should make Knight take a trip to Hawaii anyway. ;)
such a fun getaway! and that last picture is my favorite. so dang cute!
Those spontaneous weekend getaways are the best .So much fun!
Everything about this is AWESOME.
You took advantage of so many of the fun (and free/affordable) activities in CLE. Sweet Moses is in my old ‘hood and I love it so much, glad you got to check it out.
Wonderful recap :)
What a great weekend! And OMG that last picture of Mike and Gabe? Holy beautiful!
Boo for no big new adventure except WAIT! New baby! Totally a new adventure and you will still have your support system -yay!!!
I live in Cleveland I haven’t yet been to the rock & roll hall of fame! I need to find out when the free days are. I had to comment and say that you gave me a Tommy’s milkshake craving, though! They are THE best!
Sounds like a really awesome getaway. We need one of those, but I’m going to have to settle for our week long vacation coming up in the very near future. ;)