Lessons Learned in Cleveland

This past weekend marked the 1st anniversary of Matt and me getting married, so to celebrate we went to Cleveland for an extended weekend. Here are the lessons I learned in (and on the way to) Cleveland:

Day 1 - Friday

• It's possible to beat Matt at Spite & Malice. Just horde all the 7s or Kings.
• The Minneapolis Airport plays classical music over all the speakers. It's very calming.
• When you're taking the train between terminals at the Minneapolis Airport, it might look like you're going to run into another train. Don't worry, though. You won't.
• Not all airport food is a total rip-off. I got a standard-sized Quizno's salad for the same price. PLUS they put in more chicken and bacon than normal stores.
• Landing in Minnesota isn't very exciting when it's twice in the same day. Especially when it's because the maintenance crew in Cleveland can't fix whatever needs fixing and you need to turn around mid-flight.

Day 2 - Saturday

• When in Cleveland, stay in a cheaper hotel with a free shuttle service to the airport. You can take the train downtown from there for a few dollars.
  
• Tower City in Cleveland is HUGE. It includes three floors of stores, two hotels, a lot of offices (at least 10 floors of them), a train station, a movie theater, a parking garage underneath, and a walkway to the arena and Jacobs Field.
  
• A marching band with just brass and drums is really loud in an enclosed space like a mall.
  
• It's fun to watch movies about prehistoric Sea Monsters, although it is annoying when the voice-over person states a theory like it is a fact (how could they possibly know what the skin of a fish looked like when all they have is bones?).
• Star Wars madlibs = fun! You can get them at some Science Museums, like the one right next to Lake Eerie.
• Hard Rock Cafe vouchers from Expedia give you priority seating.
  

Day 3 - Sunday

• The east coast gets to go to church and watch football games live.
• It's possible to figure out how to get somewhere in an unfamiliar city without GPS or Internet access. It's called a map.
  
• Museums should put their entrances on the maps they have on their hotel flyers. It's very annoying when you walk several blocks out of your way only to find you need to double back for the entrance. Especially when it's cold outside.
• The Museum of Natural History in Cleveland has really good food at a decent price, especially for a museum.
  
• Bobcats received their name from their short tails (or "bobs").
• Gray foxes are in the dog family and climb trees (not many dogs do that).
  
• Lots of geese = lots of goose poop.
  
• Sunday night isn't the time to plan a shopping trip. Stores close early on Sundays in Ohio, too.
• A lot of people in Cleveland wear Browns clothes.
• Charley's subs = delicious anniversary dinner.
• If you see a LOT of girls, tweens and women in bright sequence and Miley Cyrus shirts, it probably means there is a concert nearby.
  

Day 4 - Monday

• There are Browns fans in Nebraska, too (two of them were staying at our hotel).
  
• ESPN during breakfast = win (at least for Matt).
  
• Matt has a knack for making friends that work at stadiums on his way to a game.
• The water in the women's toilet bowls on the 3rd deck might be orange at the beginning of the Browns game. That doesn't mean the person before you didn't flush...it's called "team spirit."
  
• Cleveland is cold in mid-November...but it's worth it to see the Browns play.

Day 5 - Tuesday

• If borrowing your husband's Kindle while flying, make sure you don't leave it in the seat pocket when exiting the plane...
• ...but if you do forget it, remember while you're still at the airport.