August 3rd, 2018
Cleveland, OH

Technically, I suppose, this is Day 2, but August 2nd was simply a quick dash south to Liverpool, so I’m not counting that. Plus, being a longtime UNIX geek and former C programmer, I like to start counting at zero.

After a late (for me) breakfast at a local bagelry, I was on the road to Rochester, my planned lunch stop.  But the first destination was a giant metal goose.  And this, Dear Readers, is the first of my roadsideamerica.com gifts to you.  There will be more.  Many, many more.  You’re welcome.

I’ll admit that, given the description of a “giant” metal goose I was a little disappointed.  I guess it truly is giant in an avian sense, but I was expecting something a little larger.

I did find throughout that day, however, that finding these silly things, while adding considerably to the time it takes to get from one hotel to the next, gets you off the Interstate, driving instead on beautiful backroads, and makes the day go by much more pleasantly.

Nearby the goose was a nice view of a small lock on the Erie Canal.

My next goal had been Martin House, but I was running way behind thanks to following my Garmin Nuvi GPS instead of Google Maps on my phone.  So I had an early lunch at the Pearl Street Grill and Brewery.  It sits in a beautifully restored building that dates from 1870 in what once was the bawdy and lawless Canalside section of Buffalo.  It’s somewhat less bawdy and lawless now, which is probably good for business.  The place was beautiful inside.  They used old factory flooring as a hardwood floor.  The food was good and their Lake Effect Pale Ale was nice.

To occupy myself at lunch, I picked up a free local arts and entertainment rag near the door.  It was, well, it made Bernie Sanders seem downright conservative.  How many publications nationwide do you figure have headlines featuring phrases like “Post-Cyberfeminist?”

I had really wanted to visit Martin House, one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous works.  Sadly, when I got there it was a ninety minute wait for the next tour and you cannot walk about inside unguided, so I guess it will have to wait for another time.  I snapped a couple of shots outside, and moved on.

There were numerous other impressive houses nearby.  It’s definitely not a trashy neighborhood.

And, speaking of buffalo, the next stop was a winery in Portland, NY, sporting not only a buffalo, but a somewhat diminutive pink elephant.  At least diminutive by elephantine standards.

The next stop was supposed to be an impressive statue of Lincoln, but it was simply a nice life-sized statute of Lincoln greeting a boy in a park in Westfield, NY. Something you might expect to run across in any small town in America.   Booooooring.

So it was on to metal lawn dinosaurs in Pennsylvania.

But the best stop of the day by far was the car art near Erie. This guy even had a tiny dirt parking area carved out along the side of the road, no doubt to keep visitors from blocking traffic.

The rest of the day was uneventful and punctuated by calls from the movers delivering more annoying news.  I truly hate movers.

Dinner and brews at the Cornerstone Brewery in Berea where the Patriot Red Ale was quite acceptable, and a stay in a rundown, overpriced Days Inn in Middleburg Heights.  I know how to party in Cleveland, baby!

Tomorrow I will head west toward Chicago, then hook a right, ending up somewhere in Wisconsin.  Suspense, friends.  I’m creating suspense!