PA/Ohio trip with Lana and Shelby: June 20 - July 5, 2018

After much debate, we have tentatively settled on "Lana" as the name for the trailer.  It is still open to change if something better comes up, though.

Since most people care more about Shelby than our travels, I'll start with her:

Alan ordered this hammock-like thing that turns the entire back seat area into a place she can be.  Of course, she is very mobile, so she had to be in her harness, with the leash connected to a seat belt in the middle of the back seat.  That way, she could move around in the back seat, lie down, or watch what was happening by sitting up like you can see in the picture.  Until we got the length of the harness correct, we had a lot of excitement:  She jumped up on the headrests, jumped into the front seat, and accidentally opened a window by jumping onto the window-opening button.  Luckily, Alan's truck has a child lock system, so that didn't happen again!  Alan got some kitty-calming drugs at the vet, which did help the crying and yowling to a certain extent, but she still wasn't really happy with traveling. Plus, getting the drops into her is a two-person job!  But, we will eventually get this to work. Just like last time, it was only the traveling that was a problem.  She was fine in the trailer when we were in a campground, even when we were gone for long periods of time.

Pittsburgh: June 21 - 26:

My sister and husband live in Pittsburgh near my niece Jeanne and her family. We were invited to a graduation party for grandnieces Katelyn and Lea, who were graduating from college and high school. Nephew Pete and family came from Chicago, so we couldn't pass up the opportunity to celebrate and spend time with everyone.  The party was great, and I got to spend a lot of quality time with Rosemary, which was wonderful.

Lea and Katelyn cut the cake at the party

Rosemary and I

Pete,  Ralph, and Jeanne

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, near Cleveland:  June 26 - July 5:

Brandywine Falls

Alan and I at Brandywine Falls

Cuyahoga River after a big rain.  It is renown as the river that caught on fire.
It is now cleaned up enough that beavers and other wildlife have come back.

The Ohio and Erie Canal was built next to the river.  It was used from 1825 - 1913
and helped open up the "West" for commerce until the advent of the railroad.
Above is one of the many locks on the canal that you can still see.
info on Ohio & Erie Canal

Next to the canal was the towpath, where the mules hauled the boats 
through the canal.  It is now a wonderful hiking/biking path that goes for 87 miles.  
Alan had a great time riding his mountain bike on it.  
I strolled and enjoyed the scenery.
towpath info

Cleveland:

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is about 25 miles south of Cleveland, so we spent several days exploring the sights of the city.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, finding it a most friendly and easy city to navigate.

We spent a wonderful day at the Cleveland Museum of Art,
mostly in the modern art wing.

This sculpture of the Cleveland skyline was made with all construction materials.

Great atrium between old and new wings of the museum

 Of course, we had to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Below, looking at Cleveland skyline from R&RHF

Alan was particularly happy to see the awning from CBGB's in New York.
He played there several times in his rock and roll days.

I won't even try to describe all the things in the museum. 
It had incredible displays of costumes, instruments, posters...on and on.
My favorite was all the videos of the musicians.
Alan liked all the instruments, memorabilia, & the hand-written original lyric sheets.
He was disappointed that there wasn't much about the publishing/record business.

If you want to find out more about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 

see this link: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Cleveland Symphony at the Blossom Music Center:

Since I wanted to hear the world-famous Cleveland Symphony, we got tickets to their 4th of July celebration at the Blossom Music Center.  It was a wonderful evening of fantastic music on the lawn in front of their outdoor pavilion, followed by fireworks.  We were there with thousands of other people, but we enjoyed it immensely.

We had front and center seats on the lawn, but we were a long ways away. 
The sound was fantastic, however.
I think that Alan went, mostly because I wanted to. When the music started,
he turned to me in surprise and said, "They are REALLY GOOD!"