First COVID Road Trip: Ohio, West Virginia and North Carolina

 As of March 11, Marilyn and I were fully vaccinated.  It took a while for us to venture out in a pre-COVID way.  On March 16 we drove to Buffalo to visit the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens.  The Gardens are in the Cazenovia-South Park System designed by Frederick Law Olmstead between 1894 and 1896.  This system is in South Buffalo with a portion in Lackawanna.  It is one of the four parks/park systems designed by Olmstead in Buffalo. 

  

Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens

It was a lovely taste of spring but only on the inside.  It only whetted our appetite to travel south to experience spring gardens.  However, we did eat in a restaurant for the first time.  We stopped at J. P. Fitzgerald's in Hamburg and had some tasty Greek food on the day before St. Patrick's Day.   By March 21 we were getting more daring and were hosted by Derek and Erin at Pane Vino on the Avenue.  They had reserved one of the outdoor pods and we enjoyed our food and company in our own cozy little tent.

Having survived those early trips, we were ready for a real road trip.  So on Easter Sunday after a brunch at our favorite restaurant, Mendon 64, we began a week-long journey.  First stop was Cleveland Where we visited the soon-to-be departing Picketts:  Brendan, Eileen, Brock and Brady.  Brendan has begun an exciting position with Ryan Homes in Myrtle Beach SC, a new market for Ryan.  Braden is in school at Marshall University which was our next stop.

We hardly recognized the boys since we haven't seen them in a year and a half.  Brady was a big boy then but he is now a big young man.  He either has or soon will tower over me.

He is only a freshman at Bay High School but is starting catcher on the Junior Varsity baseball team.  He reminds me a lot of his father during his high school baseball days.  Of course, he has excellent gear and accessories including white shoes which is a bit contraindicated for a catcher who spends most of his time in the dirt.  We got to see two games and can attest to his hard-working ethic behind the plate.  Some might say he is a bit too big for the position but then they wouldn't say that about Salvy Perez,  the All-Star catcher of the Royals.  No surprise, that he is Brady's favorite player on his favorite team.  Click here to see some more photos and videos of Brady's play.

Brady considers us his good luck charms since the two games we saw were the team's first two wins of the season.  Brady was great behind the plate and contributed two RBI's.

Brendan, Bill, Marilyn, BRock, Brady, and Eileen.  Claire is behind the camera.

After the game, we met them at a local Mexican Restaurant, Don Ramon.  We were joined by Brock's girlfriend, Claire, who graciously agreed to take our photo.  COVID has made it unwise to ask waitpersons to handle your phone or camera to take group shots.   She is a lovely girl whom we both instantly liked.  Turns out that her father is from Rochester and went to McQuaid Jesuit and then to John Carroll in Cleveland where he settled for a career in public education.  He is currently a superintendent in a district near Columbus.

Grandma and Brock

The next day, Marilyn and I took Brock to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  I have been in Cleveland many times but never had gone to the Rock Hall.   I am glad I finally made it; it wildly exceeded my expectations.  It is located on the Lake Erie Waterfront, next to the stadium where the Browns play.   I. M. Pei was the architect of this dramatic structure. 

Brock and Brady are both into vinyl; they each have their own turntable.  We were able to bring all of Marilyn's old records for them.  They seemed to be really interested in them.  Brock has rather eclectic tastes, much like his grandfather.  Brady seems to be a little old school.  His favorite artist is Frank Sinatra, yes, that Frank Sinatra.  

It took us about two hours to go through the exhibits plus a leisurely lunch.  For me, the highlights were the presentation on the roots of rock and roll and the concert presentation.  The roots of rock and roll exhibit presents the origins of rock & roll, as told through pioneers in gospel, blues, R&B, country, folk and bluegrass.  Hearing those precursors to rock and roll took me back to the summer before I went to high school.  I remember that a local radio station aired a show from California about some new music:  rhythm and blues.  I also realized that by the time I heard Bill Haley and Rock Around the Clock, these various strains had combined to create a new kind of music, rock and roll.  Many of the first rock and roll songs were originally recorded by black artists before they were covered by white artists and then entered the mainstream.  Click here to read more about the roots of rock and roll.

After we went through all the floors and exhibits, we end with a fascinating simulated concert, complete with speaker banks and strobe lights.  The Power of Rock Experience is a musical experience that takes you to the front row of  Induction Ceremonies, rocking with some of the greatest Inductees.  This adrenaline-fueled show captures the excitement of a Rock Hall induction night. Directed by Jonathan Demme, this show reaches into the vaults of the Rock Hall to highlight the most unforgettable moments. The powerful sub-woofers, flashing strobes and overwhelming sound created an experience of Rock and Roll that I will never forget.

That night we watched another baseball game.  The Bay High J. V. won this game as well.  Brady played another great game behind the plate.  It was a challenging day at the plate.  Admittedly I  am a biased grandfather but Brady was the victim of an umpire whose strike zone was so low that pitches there were basically unhittable.  But don't take my word for it.  This is a photo of a called third strike!

The next morning we headed out to Huntington

WV where Braden is a junior at Marshall University.  We had a nice visit including dinner at an Olive Garden.  Before that, however, we met her at Ritter Park where we were introduced to Kelsey, the newest member of the family.  She is a very sweet dog and she and Braden seem to have bonded perfectly.  She is a rescue dog that Braden found abandoned after her previous owner had put her out of his car and drove off.  Braden found out his name and was able to get Kelsey's health papers.  She was current on all her shots and had been spayed.  She is now about 11 months old and in great shape.

As we were leaving Olive Garden after dinner, we encountered a group of about five people entering the restaurant and being shown to their table.  The first person in the group was in a wheelchair pushed by a man who might have been her son.  As my eyes moved from the woman to the man, I realized that he was--as they say--strapped with a 9mm pistol under his right arm and two ammo clips under his left.  West Virginia is an open carry state so there was nothing illegal about it but it was unnerving to me.  I was thankful that we saw this on the way out rather than on the way in.  I think I would have preferred to just leave rather than stay in that circumstance.  Frankly there may well have been other patrons similarly armed.

We then moved on to Charlotte the next day to begin our three-day stay with Liam and Marcie and the two kids still at home, Marin and Eibhlin.  Liam Jacob is finishing up his third year at the Merchant Marine Academy at King's Point NY and Aidan is completing his second year at UNC-Wilmington.  Marin will join him there next year after her high school graduation in June.  Eibhlin will be in eighth grade next year.  They had just returned from a spring break trip to the Dominican Republic the day before we arrived.

Liam and Marcie both had to work the day after we got there so we took off to visit a public garden in Fort Mill SC about 20 minutes from their house.  Actually South Carolina is only a three-minute walk from their house, almost liteerally in their backyard.   The garden is Glencairn Garden which is part of the City of Fort Mill Parks.  It started as the backyard garden of David & Hazel Bigger in 1928 and is now an 11 acre paradise located in the heart of Rock Hill.  The Garden boasts a variety of blooms year-round, although the peak blooming season is during late March/early April.  We had no idea there was such a garden but a Google search to find something close to Liam's house served it up.  We were lucky to discover it and even luckier to catch the wisteria and azaleas at their peak.

We also met Steve on our visit.  He was enjoying lunch surrounded by all the beauty.  We learned that he had grown up with two blocks and remembers visiting the garden with his parents.  He told us about the annual festival--Come-See-Me Festival--that would be much smaller this year due to COVID.

We spent a couple of hours strolling through the 11 acres.  It was a warm day with just enough people to create pleasant views but not so many as to seem crowded.  This photo gives you a taste of what we saw:  hillsides filled with multi-colored azalea bushes and gorgeous wisteria vines. 

You can click here to see the Google album with photos and videos.

You can also watch a short video of the highlights of our visit to Glencairn Garden.

The next day we left for Rochester and arrived two days later.  While we missed the warmth and blooms, we were glad to get home and prepare for our next trip.  After Bill does a week of jury duty, we will be on the road again.  This time to Virginia to visit Bill's brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Sarah.  Then we will spend five days in and around Wilmington DE visiting the public gardens in that area.

More later.