Vacations Blog

The Sun is Setting on Summer---My Mind is Still at the Beach

My summer is rapidly coming to a close and preparations are being made to ready my little ones for getting back to school.  But those of us fortunate enough to have taken a vacation this summer continue to long for the beach, the park, the open road, the relaxation that is, well—not work.  I have found that August, busy though it may be, is a perfect time to continue in a vacation mindset and nothing helps that better than a carefree Day-cation.

For our family, the perfect day-cation destination tends to be Cleveland, Ohio for many reasons but I’d be lying if I mentioned anything other than football as number one.  The Cleveland Browns opened training camp at their facility in Berea on August first.  Practices are open to the public and free of charge which makes for an ideal family outing.  There is typically plenty of bleacher seating along the edges of the prcatice field where you can watch all of the action just yards in front of you.  It’s fast paced and well organized and the two hour sessions suit almost perfectly the attention span of a small child.

The Cleveland Browns Training Facility Berea, Ohio

At every session we have attended the athletes have taken time after practice to spend time with the fans and sign autographs.  The excited look in your child’s eyes after having scored a signature from one of their favorite real-life action heroes is priceless.

Zander Getting His Football Autographed

Practice times are posted on the Browns website.  Parking is also free and available at Baldwin-Wallace College just a few blocks from the entrance to the practice field.  To get to the facility from I-71 take the Bagley Rd. exit (exit 235) west to Beech St.

After practice you may find yourself in want of a bite to eat.  There are plenty of dining options close to the training facility on Bagley Rd. however, I suggest you pack a lunch and head downtown, like we did, to University Circle.

The area was named for a streetcar turnaround or some such—-uh, do we really care?

What’s fantastic about the area is that it is home to more than twenty cultural and artistic venues:  The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Botanical Gardens, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, The Cleveland Children’s Museum to name but a few.

The Cleveland Botanical Garden along Wade Oval

The Cleveland Museum of Art is currently undergoing a massive reconstruction and many exhibits are currently not on display.  However, do not let this be a reason to not visit.  The Impressionist and Modern Art Galleries, which re-opened in June, are some of the finest in the world with works representative of most all of the great masters.

The museum has a brilliant scavenger hunt program that had my kids downright giddy.  In a nutshell, you are given cards representing lines, shapes, colors, 3d, etc. used in various artworks and your task is to take the one inch square picture you have and match it to the correct masterpiece plotting it’s location on your map of the museum gallery.  We even enlisted the help of another little girl and her father as we literally raced through the museum to locate all of our pictures.

Admission to the Cleveland Museum of Art is free and might I just say that it’s one of the best bargains you will ever get!  Rather than confuse you, I’ll point you to the museum website for parking information.

Another great reason for a day-cation in Cleveland:  dinosaurs!  Just across the street from the Art museum is the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.  From the Museum of Natural History website.. ..

Triceratops at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History

“The Museum offers an extraordinary visitor experience. Permanent exhibits of special interest include the 3 million-year-old human ancestor Australopithecus afarensis, known as “Lucy,” and the 150 million-year-old Haplocanthosaurus delfsi, one of the most complete mounted sauropods on display anywhere in the world.

The Museum also features a planetarium, observatory, discovery center, live animal shows and a wildlife center and woods garden highlighting native Ohio flora and fauna, including bobcats, river otters and birds of prey.“

From my kids.. ..”Wow! This is cool!”

What more validation do you need?  Oh, and if you have your COSI card handy (or similar Childrens’ Museum membership card) The Cleveland Museum of Natural History participates in the ASTC Travel Passport reciprocal fee program.  (Free admission!)

Rex Says, "Day-cation Cleveland!"

So there you have it.  For the price of a tank of gas, $5 in parking fees ($10 max) at University Circle and a sack lunch you have the perfect Day-cation in Cleveland, Ohio replete with art, history, nature, action heroes and dinosaurs.  Fun for everyone in the family.