“Who needs a house up on a hill, when you can have one on four wheels and take it anywhere the wind might blow” – Kacey Musgraves

Miles traveled: 392.2

This morning was an early one, and to top it off my cold had progressed in the wrong direction. Dammit. It’s aggravating, and I feel bad that I’m more than likely infecting Lindsay given she is trapped in the Jeep with my sick germs. So so sorry Lindsay!! But we got on the road as planned and headed into Ohio from Michigan by way of an $8.75 toll – ouch. What a beautiful welcome, Ohio – thanks so much.

After a quick stop for ‘breakfast’, we rolled into Canton, OH for the first stop of the day. As we pulled into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, a nice gentleman stood there and the road was blocked off. Thought for sure the guy was going to tell us it was closed! But no, he told us to drive in through the back (I guess they were still taking down tents, stages, etc from the 2015 inductee activities held in the days prior to our visit). We parked the Jeep, and walked what felt like at least 2 miles to the entrance (this is a 50% exaggeration of the truth – this over overdramatization makes my annoyance with the cost to park that much more understandable)….and I had to chalk up $10 for that parking spot.

We walked through the exhibits and checked out the Super Bowl short film. It’s pretty much what you would expect for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and it was neat to see the pictures, jerseys, helmets, cleats, etc that are of or were worn by many of the greatest players of the game. Learned some fun facts while walking through the hall of fame and get excited – because i’ve decided to share them.  One day my ability to retain trivial facts and snippets will come in handy. I just know it.

Fun Facts:

• In 1968, the Houston Oilers became the first team to play in a domed stadium.
• The longest game in history lasted 82 minutes and 40 seconds – in this game the Dolphins beat the Chiefs in 1971.
• The NFL ratified the largest TV contract at the time (in 1990) totaling in at $3.6 billion for 4 years.
• In 1892, a touchdown would have gotten you 4 points, 5 for a field goal, 2 for a safety, and 2 for the point after.
• On that same note – the current scoring has been in place since 1912, with the exception of the 2-point conversion option, which was introduced in 1994.
• Brett Favre’s consecutive game streak ended at 297 games in 2011. Ridiculous #4, just ridiculous.
• My Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars are the quickest to reach the post season since their team debut. Clearly that post-season play was short-lived for both teams! (I continue to have high hopes for my Panthers, don’t anyone panic).
• Super Bowl weekend is the lowest weekend for weddings.

After the Hall of Fame visit we were starving, and quite frankly nothing sounded better than a good burger. Yelp led us to The Rail, after some minor complications with directions – nothing a quick call to the restaurant cant remedy. Hands down one of the best burgers I have had – it was perfectly cooked and delicious! Thank you Yelp!

Next on the agenda was the short haul up to Cleveland. Since the Hall of Fame was the theme of the day, we hit up the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in downtown Cleveland. As I mentioned way back in a previous post, I’m a bit of a music junkie – so I was excited about this stop on the trip. It was really cool – granted I was exhausted and not feeling super swell, but walking through and seeing all of the items on display was awesome. I even saw some familiar faces from my Clarksdale and Memphis visits! All in all a great time, and cool stuff to see.

Sadly, this was my pal Lindsay’s last stop before I dropped her at the airport. She is not funemployed – such a bummer – so she went back to Baltimore this evening. It was so great to have her on the road trip for a few days especially since we both enjoy traveling, photography, and not always having a plan! It’s scary when you both reach for the camera at the exact same moment to take the exact same picture! She even came equipped with an awesome audiobook and a great podcast called Serial – so it was a blast! Lindsay – cheers to you my friend, I shall see you on the next travel adventure!

I closed out my night at the hotel after driving through a downpour (Jeep is still dirty), working on this post. Taking it easy in the morning to get some rest and hopefully will feel a bit better tomorrow.

Until next time…

-traveljunkE