Week Seven – Part One: Natural Armor, Shiny Armor, and No Armor at All - Parental Guidance Suggested
So I left you with a cliff hanger. I had just left NYC for Cleveland and received a very unwelcoming welcome to Ohio.
Day 42 continued…
I drive across the entire state of Pennsylvania on this day, which is all highway, trees, and elk, it goes on forever. I left NYC at 8:30am and it is now 6:00pm, I cannot wait to get to my hotel in Beechwood, a suburb of Cleveland, close to a National Park I want to visit.
I’m about 30 minutes from my hotel when Waze tells me police are up ahead. I don’t see any, so I click “not there” figuring they have moved on. Well apparently they were well hidden and had not moved on because all of a sudden out of nowhere I see not one, but two police cars with flashing blue lights in my rearview mirror and hear their double sirens blaring. I think this is a bit excessive, two police cars and so close to my butt, must be something really important they are trying to get to, so I pull over to the right lane to let them pass. They move behind me on my butt again and I’m like “aw f***,” maybe that want ME. What could they possibly want? My inspection sticker is up to date, I renewed my registration right before I left. Hmmm. Let’s see.
So I pull over to the side of the road to see if they follow me, and of course they do. One officer comes up to my car and asks for my license and insurance. I give her my license and registration. She asks if I have proof of insurance not registration, OMG I do, thank goodness it was on the packing list I pulled from online. I had no idea why I would need it, but here we are. Apparently, it is required in Ohio, maybe other states too? Everyone, note this, have your insurance company print proof of insurance and throw it in your glove compartment.
So back to this big deal traffic stop. The officer tells me I was driving 72 in a 55. I wait for more information to find out why she pulled me over because who doesn’t drive 72 in a 55? She proceeds to tell me I was pulled over for speeding and asks why I was going so fast and where I am heading, all the way from Massachusetts. I let her know I’m heading to Cleveland, on a cross-country trip, and I’m actually not in a rush so I apologize, I did not realize I was speeding, just got off the ridiculously long but beautiful highway across the entire state of Pennsylvania and been driving all day, etc. etc. She takes my paperwork, goes back to her vehicle for a hot second, comes back and hands me a ticket, highlights the phone number for me to call to take care of it, unless I want to show up in court in two weeks to fight it. She says “be careful” and walks away. I’m impressed with this lady, all business, this whole incident happened in 5 minutes or less, she kindly wasted nobody’s time. In my head I am thinking I just found another example of efficient living, the Ohio way. I bet they do this all day long.
I drive away and am realizing this is karma, this is not about the 72 in a 55 at all, it is about the 91 that I was doing earlier on PA Highway 80 when I was in all those trees and no one was around. I don’t like to drive over 75, I hadn’t noticed I was speeding, I slowed down immediately when I realized I had been in that zone where you don’t know how you got from point A to point B. In my defense, the car is a smooth ride and with no one else on the road, I couldn't gauge my number so I guess I ended up a little off target. (whoops)
So now that karma got me back and I’m feeling properly guilty for breaking the law, I’m watching my speed and feeling paranoid. I look in my rear iew mirror and get the sense that I’m being followed, potentially by one of those police cars. And I’m like, Kim, don’t be ridiculous, this isn’t Smoky and the Bandit, you’re not that important, move on. Remember that movie? I loved that movie. I wonder if it holds up.
I eventually shake the mysterious vehicle, looks like it wasn't Trooper Justice, I check into my hotel, and look at the ticket to see how much I’m going to owe the state. Turns out it doesn’t say, I have to call a phone number to find out. I stuff it away to deal with it another time, then hit the Lifetime next door to my hotel - another reason I picked this town - I’m still paying for my gym membership, gotta use it to get arms like Jennifer Anniston and be ultra fit and healthy.
Day 43
Yes, there is a National Park in Ohio. Who knew? Only NP freaks like me. I spent the day driving (slowly) and walking around Cuyahoga National Park. Really beautiful and worth that ticket to get this time in nature and see the spring wildflowers blooming along the roadside. Later that night I met up with a couple of friends that live in Cleveland, a former client and his wife, who I believe I committed to hiking with in Portugal in 2027. I am a really big talker right now. I have no idea how I'll fit all this in. We'll see!
My friends kindly treated me to dinner at a lovely restaurant in a suburb near their home. I think they felt bad for me with my unwelcome welcome to Ohio and the cost of entry. Things were looking up. (Thank you B & M for the dinner and great company!)
Day 44
Went to the Cleveland Museum of Art and it was really something. I love unexpected awesomeness.
Highlights:
They had an Albert Bierstadt so they get immediate cred points. This is my favorite artist. I fell upon his work a long time ago when doing some National Park research for a program I was running at my kids elementary school. He painted the most amazing landscapes of the American West back in the 1800’s, places like Yosemite Valley and the Rocky Mountains. Now that I’m thinking about it, I’ve always wanted to drive cross-country since I was a kid, but Bierstadt's work has been the real influence for all my time spent out west in recent years and this road trip.
Came across this Fifth Avenue painting and thought of the Louis Vuitton Suitcase and the Dumb Tourist from last week– then and now- what a change. Fifth Avenue | Cleveland Museum of Art
There was an incredibly beautiful Manet & Morisot exhibit that highlighted the work of the two impressionist artist friends and how they influenced each other. Their story and works were placed side by side for comparison. I love exhibits like this that explain what I’m looking at since I really never studied art and don’t know too much about it. Learning as I go.
They had a Knight in Shining Armor room, I’m a sucker for these. The best I’ve seen is in NYC at the Met and this compares. I love when I turn a corner and come into a room this abrupt and imposing, like that nature room at the Corning Museum of Glass. I'll attach a pic.
They had a kick a** display of Tiffany Glass – windows, lamps, etc. You know I love glass art. Did you know Louis Comfort Tiffany who designed all this glass art way back in the boom was the son of the big jeweler? I guess I always figured it was the jeweler or someone that worked for him.
Connie in the Cleveland Museum of Art bookstore labeled me her Person of Joy today. She said she’s heard of other people driving cross-country, but not like this. She said she chooses a Person of Joy every day and puts it on her Facebook page and today it’s me (aww thanks Connie!). I’m developing a web presence, how exciting and youthful. Speaking of my web presence – I don't have much of one, but go to Google, type in Daisy Fuentes MTV and see if you can find me.
Day 45
I decide to go to Toledo for a few days (said no one else you know, ever). I wanted to hit the Zoo, which is supposed to be one of the best, and another glass museum.
I find out when I’m there that Toledo is called The Glass City. Apparently, they were huge in the industry in the 1800’s due to the local natural resources used to make glass and their location for shipping routes. I saw Tiffany lamps everywhere I went, in diners and restaurants, that was fun to see.
I hit the Zoo first. It was indeed a very good zoo if you are a zoo person. Honestly, I found it sad to see the animals enclosed in pens, some of the large ones just pacing back and forth forever to get energy out, how they must have wanted to run. I don't think I'll go to zoo's anymore, but here are some interesting things I saw:
A rhino – I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a rhino before – when I looked at him all I could think of was the armor at the museum. Very similar!
A flamingo pooping, this was unexpected, a squat and a squirt at the same time (gross) and a flock fighting – they all kept pushing each other (weird) - I’m not sure what that means.
It’s spring so everyone had babies – the elephant, the giraffe, the birds – saw a vulture sitting on his nest, then feeding his newly born baby. I don’t even think anyone else noticed until I got my phone out to video it – they just kept walking by – “it’s just a bird Johnnie, what kind dad?, an Ibis.” It was not an Ibis, but to be fair the sign did say it was the Ibis pen. If they stopped for just a sec they would have seen the mom get up from the nest and the surprise underneath.
After the zoo I went to The Original Tony Packo’s for a hot dog because A.I. told me it was a must, and my friends reinforced it – they said celebrities go in and sign the hot dog buns and the show was referenced in M*A*S*H a few times so it's all the rage. A.I. and my friends were right – it was a must. Absolutely delicious, but the fun part is the back story. Turns out the hot dogs are not hot dogs, they are Hungarian sausages sliced in half and guess who the celebrity was to sign the first hot dog bun they hung on the wall that started the entire tradition in the 70’s? BURT REYNOLDS! Can you believe it? In later years he went back and signed a nude playboy centerfold and it's hanging on the wall, but you can't really see his sausage. Pic attached if you are interested. It’s just a peek.
Day 46
Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavillion day. I head to the museum around 10:45am, the security guard looks at me from inside, points to the hours typed up on the window, I realize I'm early and they don't open until 11:00, so I give him the thumbs up and walk around the grounds for a bit, then go in through a different door at 11:00. Turns out it was not a large collection, a bit underwhelming. Corning and Cleveland have more impressive collections which annoys me since Toledo is the City of Glass, I want more for them.
On my way out someone behind me says “Oh you made it in!" I turn and see he is talking to me. It's the security guard from earlier. He continues, "I’m so glad you visited today, and I want to thank you so much for being so nice about it earlier, I hate turning people away, you were great, you really made my day!” Well what’s a girl to do when someone is this sweet and kind for no special reason at all. So I go “awww, come here, give me a hug” and give him the biggest and best hug. I have no idea why I did that, but you guys are not surprised at all and are surely shaking your heads right now. Typical. He is so happy, says he's a hugger, how did I know, he hands me a piece of candy and since there are no white vans around to worry about getting thrown into, I take it.
I’m feeling way better leaving Ohio than I did going in. I’m off to Michigan.
Cheers,
Kim
Pics attached for you:
PA Highway 80 - spans 311 miles from NJ border to OH and pretty much looks like this the whole way. Please take note that I am traveling in the slow lane.
Cuyahoga National Park
Old Ohio Friends and New Ohio Friend Michael from Glass Museum - love good people
Cleveland Museum: Bierstadt's Yosemite Valley 1866 and the Armor Room
Vermillion OH - Along the scenic Lake Erie Coastal drive from Cleveland to Toledo I stopped to dip my feet in Lake Erie at a beach in this adorable small town that my friends had told me about. Some of the houses in the town center have driveways for their boats. So cool.
Zoo: Rhino in Natural Armor, Pacing Polar Bear, Vulture Mama and Baby
Tony Packo's (careful- no armor if you zoom in)
