Day 2: September 9, 2020
Rockin' in Cleveland

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In 2001, we stopped for breakfast on the town square in Medina as we headed south. The place we ate is no longer there but I decided to get as close as I could on my way north. In 2001, a place called The Diner and an Ohio Edison office shared a building on the north side of the square. The last business in the side that held The Diner was Eli's Kitchen which closed about a year and a half ago. Marie's Cafe now operates in the other side and that's where I had one of the best breakfasts ever. The omelet was stuffed with mushrooms and cheese and the potatoes were perfectly done. Even the toast and coffee impressed.

I parked across the street where I'd parked in 2001, and snapped a couple of pictures before entering the restaurant. A motorcycle arrived a short time later an its rider also entered Marie's. That's him by the window beyond the omelet. There had been a motorcycle parked beside me in 2001 and, even though there was an open space between the two today, I took some pictures that included them both when I left. I'd only gone a couple of blocks when I convinced myself that this was too good an opportunity to pass up, and circled around to park next to the bike for a better photo. By the time I got back, the owner was approaching the big Honda ready to leave but I told him my story and he graciously agreed to wait for me to take a picture. The vehicles are off by one space and there are other, more obvious, differences from 2001, but it's kinda similar.


I headed north on US-42 and drove through a lot of fog and a lot of construction. Eventually OH-3 joined me to enter Cleveland.

It was exactly one week ago that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame celebrated the 25th anniversary of its opening. I'd read about their COVID-19 related precautions and they all sounded good: Mandatory masks, temperature checks, timed entry, distancing marks one the floor, and one-way visitor flow. Things started off quite well, but I started to get a bit uncomfortable as time went on. Strict 100% one-way flow isn't really possible, and as the number of visitors increased clusters developed despite the best intentions. I found myself avoiding some areas and vacating others more quickly than I normally would.

In spite of that, I made a new discovery in the "Music of the Midwest" display. A a drumhead and shirt are fairly close together in the lower right. The drumhead is from Randy Zehringer of The McCoys and the shirt is from Billy Hinds of Pure Prairie League. These are probably the only two people I know personally with stuff in the Hall.


There really is an official hall of fame section to the place with inscribed names and date and such and I have spent time there having wonderful memories triggered by nothing more than a name. But it's the museum aspect of the place that is the big draw. People like seeing stuff. Cool stuff like Jerry Lee's piano, Clarence's sax, and Ravi's sitar. This really is an important and magical place. I passed through every section of the Hall but, as this was my fourth visit, I didn't feel the need to visit every corner and study every placard. That's a good thing since some of those corners were a bit too crowded for me to visit without being nervous.

The intersection of Detroit Avenue and 25th Street is the accepted terminus of the 3C Highway. I turned left to follow US-42, OH-3, and the ghost of 3C out of the city.

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