Bowled over and right (not left) around a roundabout

Today’s blog is something of a photo fest, but hopefully will help to illustrate the accompanying words.

Last night, met up with all of my friends who work at Positively Cleveland: Mark, Freddy, Sam, Jeff, Bob, Lexi and Corinne. The food at our meeting place was superb with both the ham and the cheese hot.

We then moved on to the oldest bar in Cleveland. As we arrived in the area known as The Flats, a mural depicts the area when it was once full of drinking establishments. The graphic was in the form of the well known board game, and entitled Flatsopoly with a map of the area showing where each public house could be found.

The Harbor Inn opened in 1895 and the bar was one of the longest I have seen. I am sure that all the drinking houses in Cleveland are in competition with each other to see which one can stock the most number of beers.

It is a place to enjoy yourself, as not only are there pinball tables and plenty of video games, but one of the more popular pastimes in these parts. Bar bowling has been around for a few decades and the machine at The Harbor dates back to around the 1960s.

Mark, pictured, is looking in very competitive mood. After he, Bob and I had something of a warm-up game, it then got serious. It was suggested that $20 each, to make it interesting, was put down. I declined, as I don’t gamble. Anyway, I didn’t want to take their money.

I may have been the visitor and fresh to their game, but with a score well in excess of 200, they were humbled. Only now shall I reveal to them that I used to play in a skittles league many years ago where the pins are at the end of a long alley, not a few arm lengths away.

Many a time after a night out, the customary burger or kebab has been consumed after a good evening testing liquid refreshment, but the guys suggested a local delicacy before calling it a night.

We stopped off at a 24-hour hot dog emporium where the list of dogs alone was equal to the list of beers previously seen. I opted for the Slaw Dog. Remember that phrase I mentioned a couple of days ago? ‘If it ain’t on your face, you ain’t eatin’ it right.’ That certainly came to mind as I tried to contain everything within the bun.

Today, I went to Crocker Park – a retail park on the west side of Cleveland. The short drive ended with a successful negotiation into the multi-story car park, then out on to what can best be described as a mini town.



All low level, it is beautifully laid out. The seats to relax with a coffee are so comfortable, but as I looked across, I noticed something I had only ever noticed once before in my previous travels to The States, and that was in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

A roundabout!

I just had to go around it before leaving the park. Just to break the monotony of driving in straight lines.

With that in mind, tomorrow I head back to New York. It will be the final, yet longest leg of my journey of 470 miles before I get the flight on Saturday night that will take me back to Blighty.