Friday, August 29, 2008

Let's Play a Game...


It's called:

Where's Ashley going this weekend?!

If you've been following my tweets, (and if you aren't, why not?!) you know I've been struggling to figure out what to do for my husband's birthday/Labor Day weekend/last weekend before he starts classes and we never see each other during the week.

Last year, he took me camping, to a play, to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch and to an adorable little hippie-ish college town replete with tons of cute little coffee shops.

I? bought him killer brownies, Ben & Jerry's, and some Magic Hat beer and called it a [birth]day.

I was definitely feeling the pressure this year: Camping? Zip line-ing? Going back to Ann Arbor? Chicago?


Everywhere I looked, hotels, bed & breakfasts, and campsites were booked.

Then, it dawned on me, the answer was right under my nose:


Does that help?

How about this:

Not so much?

Okay, I'll give you a hint: it's six miles away.

Yep! I decided we're going to make the most of the bittersweet, last official weekend of summer and explore this city of ours a little more: It's Cleveland, baby!

I reserved a suite at the only place with available rooms:


We'll spend the weekend hanging out in University Circle -Home of the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. (They have a special Tropical Garden right now. Fresh banana smoothies, anyone?)

We'll also hang out in this park:

Visit the Cleveland Museum of Art:


Eat at the delicious trattorias and bakeries in Little Italy:

And check out the Museum of Natural History:
We might even venture a few miles downtown for the Taste of Cleveland and the Air Show! When there's so much explore here, why leave?

We'll save gas, explore our own (new) city, and get to stay in a hotel! (You have no idea how ridiculously excited I get about staying in hotels. The beds! The fresh, clean sheets! Cute little shampoo bottles! Every thing's SO CLEAN! And a cable TV! A telephone in the bathroom. I might not actually need to leave the hotel...)

Have a wonderful holiday weekend and make sure to spend lots of time r e l a x i n g . . .

______________

Dana asked where I've been lately. Guess I should explain: Our Mac Powerbook's hard drive crashed. We lost all of our music, pictures, and documents. Worst of all, I lost the Adobe CreativeSuite that I'd gotten for free.

Actually, worst of all is our loss of ability to get on the Internet at home. That means my blog time has been restricted to work hours. And I don't like to spend too much time doing personal stuff online at work (plus, they keep me pretty darn busy here!). Oddly, I haven't missed the distraction of the laptop while I'm relaxing at home.

But I have missed the blogging world.

Mike got a new hard drive and is hoping to perform a transplant in the near future. Just so ya know. :)

(And? As if all of this wasn't awful enough - I've gone and lost my camera. Boo.)

15 comments:

  1. That sounds fun!! Send me a banana smoothie, ok?

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  2. (channeling drew Carey)

    CLEAVELAND ROCKS.

    We miss you in blogland!! But, we understand!

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  3. Oh noes! I hope you find your camera! And good luck on the compu! We miss you! Anyhow -- Great idea for your boy's birthday! Woo hoo!!! I think you guys are going to have such a blast! Fun fun fun! And hotels are so lovely and exiting! If you can't find your camera you should buy a disposable so you can share photos and memories with us! Have a wonderful weekend! xoxo.

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  4. oh man im jealous ive been dying to go to the museum lately.

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  5. the tropical gardens sound heavenly!!

    looks like you two will have a wonderful weekend!

    sorry to hear about your electronic mishaps:(

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  6. Wow exotic Cleveland sounds awesome, you guys will have so much fun!!!

    Sorry to hear about the Powerbook, i hope you guys get a new one soon!

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  7. Sometimes the best vacation is playing tourist in your own city. Have fun!

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  8. Ahh that sounds like so much fun. I might take some notes from you and actually set up a day date of touring all the sites in Asheville we've yet to see.

    Sorry to hear about the troubles. I can't wait until you're back full force!

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  9. we've missed you too...

    Sounds like you are going to have a GREAT time.. enjoy!

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  10. I didn't know Cleveland could be so cool. Apparently I misjudged Ohio a time or two.

    I'm back from my blogging hiatus! So don't fret. Also: it hit me to-day that I get to see my lovely housemates in just a few short months at Chrissy's wedding! YAY! So get excited. :)

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  11. im glad you finally figured it out!!! im guess right now you are probably at the gardens or museum! yay for cleveland!

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  12. Sounds like it will be a wonderful weekend! And what a great way to get to know your city. It's always good to be a tourist at home.

    Good to hear from you :)

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  13. Hmm, I thought I had commented on this post the other day, but I guess I forgot. Either way, I am back today because I wanted to let you know that I am recommending you today through my blog for Blog Day 2008. Woo!

    I hope you and the hubby are having a great weekend!

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  14. just found your blog through ashley d's-- i like it!

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  15. I hope y'all had the BEST weekend ever!

    We miss you here, so hopefully you'll be back soon. And I hope you find your camera!

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