Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland

 

The wall of fame of inductees.

The beginnings of the British invasion.

They finally made it in 2013.

The tribute to Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'.

Niagara Falls at night...

and in the morning.

The set of STOMP.

Friday, March 22nd. 

After breakfast we drove three hours to get to Cleveland and arrived at noon. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is located in a large glass pyramid. There are 6 floors total, the most interesting one being the lower level. There were displays of different sizes for all of the early pioneers of rock who were mostly American. I liked the section on the British invasion the best, with two large displays for the Beatles and the Stones. That was kind of emotional and nostalgic considering John, George, Brian and Charlie have all passed. On the upper levels there was a section that had plaques for everyone who has been inducted and the year they were. I was not surprised that most of my favourites have not made it yet: XTC, Gentle Giant, Steve Wilson, Porcupine Tree, Eels and Wonderstuff; but I was surprised at some notables who are missing: King Crimson, Emerson Lake and Palmer and Jethro Tull. And of course there were people I didn't think deserved to be there as well, like Joan Jett and many of he Motown artists I don't consider rock. But therein lies the problem, what is rock and by who's definition. I noticed that the Hall had an over emphasis on American artists, but I guess that's predictable. I was pleased to see that Kate Bush had made it last year and to see to the Rush exhibit after their long awaited recognition. We spent about 4 hours there exploring and watching some videos and a 13 minute movie called the power of rock which showed clips from some of the performances at the induction ceremonies. Leaving Cleveland heading east was easy and we left at 4 and headed towards Buffalo and Canada. The Peace Bridge was not at all busy and we crossed without any issues. I had decided that I wanted to stay at Niagara for the last night, because it would be a nice way to end the trip but also because it was already 8pm, dark and it was snowing in Toronto. So we stayed in the Embassy Suites Hotel with a fabulous view of the lights on the Falls. We arrived home the next afternoon and in the evening I took Shayna for one last surprise to the Princess of Wales Theatre to see the amazing show Stomp! Great road trip home.

Mammouth Caves and on towards Cleveland

 

Incredible formations.

A resident.

Frozen Niagara.

On the ceiling.

As the water leaks into the cave through the limestone it forms stalactites.

Amazingly beautiful place.

Thursday, March 21st.

We were up early and off after breakfast by about 9. We drove for about two hours when I saw a sign for Mammouth Caves and talked Shayna into investigating. The national park was only ten minutes off the highway and admission was free. When we got to the visitor centre we checked out a few tours and elected to take the Drips and Formations tour. The caves have been known since the days of the natives but were privately owned and explored up until 1941 when the National Parks Service took them over. We dressed for the cooler weather expected below. We boarded a green school bus that took us to the entrance and with a guide and about 60 people we descended into the cave. The tour was about 2 hours and included over 700 stairs but only covered about a 1/2 mile (of the over 600 miles and counting) of mapped caves. We saw formations that showed underground river flow and massive blocks of limestone. At the end section we saw some great stalactites and stalagmites including a large formation called frozen Niagara. The female guide was very informative and quite funny. Thankfully the climb out was much easier than the long hundred step descent at the beginning.  After rinsing our shoes in a disinfectant to kill the white nose fungus spores that have killed off over 90% of the bat inhabitants we got back in the car and headed out again. We drove from about 4 to 9. We got stuck in a long traffic jam around Louisville Kentucky that cleared as suddenly and without obvious cause as it began. It was dark by the time we found a Hampton Inn somewhere north of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Nashville

Broadway with all the honky tonks.

One of the famous ones.

The scale model of The Parthenon.

The largest statue in the western world: the 42ft tall Athena.

How Shayna measures up to the angel in Athena's hand.

On the tour of the Grand Ole Opry.

The circle cut from the original Opry stage before this one was built.

Live country, Eh Ha!

The acapella group called Home Free.

Nashville skyline.

Wednesday, March 20th. 

We spent the day in and around Nashville today. We were up early and had a good supplied breakfast before heading off to the Grand Ole Opry for a backstage tour. It was about a 20 minute drive. The tour was interesting and allowed us to see the dressing rooms, to get on stage, have our picture taken standing on the circle-center stage, and the studio where Hew Haw and Nashville were shot. Then we drove to a very unexpected site: an scale model of the Parthenon of Greece. This was originally built for the Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition. When it was to be dismantled, the local people were upset and the state decided to reconstruct it in 1931 made of permanent materials. It also serves as a home for the Nashville Art Gallery. Inside the Parthenon stands the largest indoor statue in the Western world: the 42ft tall Athena, with a 6'4" statue in the palm of her hand. The whole place was amazing and beautiful. Then we drove back to the hotel and parked the car. We walked back to the Broadway area of Nashville to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. The building and displays were beautiful and well laid out. There was way too much to read and digest. There was a lot of information about the early artists and then some stuff about Elvis and the early rockers that changed country music and then how country crept into rock with the Byrds and Buffalo Springfield. Then we had lunch and a beer in the Johnny Cash Bar while enjoying an excellent band. After that we walked up and down Broadway for a bit enjoying the warm sun and all the bands that were playing in the windows of the numerous Honky Tonks, including a lively stand up bass player. Later we went back to the Grand Ole Opry to watch the evening show. It was a variety show consisting of 8 or 9 acts. We had second row seats. I enjoyed the granddaughter of Loretta Lynn, of Coalminer's Daughter fame; a 64 year old female comedienne named Chonda Pierce who was very funny; and a four man acapella group called Home Free with their incredible voices and harmonies. Shayna loved the whole evening. It was interesting watching the two cut away cameramen going about their jobs... they were very busy and dressed like cat burglars, all the while listening to the country fans singing along. A very full, fun day in the land of country music.

To Whitwell (the Children's Holocaust Memorial) and on to Nashville

 

Inside the library Holcaust resource room memorial.

The volumes of correspondence from around the globe about the children's project.

Shayna at the vintage railcar memorial.

The suitcase from Germany with student's letters of apology to Anne Frank, and some of the millions of paperclips the children received.

The documentary made about the project.

Tuesday, March 19th. 

We were up early and had the included breakfast before heading out. We left at 8 and drove all day. It was a beautiful cool sunny day and we didn't see a cloud all day. We drove out of Georgia and into Tennessee. Our destination was Nashville. But I had decided to surprise Shayna with a visit to the Holocaust Memoria at Whitwell, but she got annoyed when I turned off the highway an hour short of our destination and wouldn't tell her where I was taking her. She was tired of being in the car. She was amazed when we pulled into the school. This is the memorial created by teachers and students and made famous by the PaperClips documentary. Unfortunately the memorial was closed because of the ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East and the recent anti-Semitism. So I went in and introduced myself and told them I had just brought my Jewish girlfriend to see it and asked if we could go in. The principal agreed but asked us to wait a half hour until the kids were dismissed. So we did. Then he let us into an incredible room in the library that housed all of the resources they had collected about the Holocaust and their project including all of the mail they had received. There were lots of artifacts, books, pictures and artwork students had created. I had been to this site twice before, both times when the school was closed, so I had never had the privilege to see this room. Then we went outside to the railcar which the principal had unlocked for us. We listened to the recording of the former principal Linda Hooper explaining the history of the project. Shayna was very emotional and grateful for the visit. We spent over two hours at the school. Then we drove the last 2 hours to the hotel I had booked in Nashville. We changed into some warmer clothes and asked for directions to Broadway where all the honkey tonk bars are and walked the 15 minutes to the area. We had gained an hour and it was about 8 when we walked around exploring. We finally settled on a restaurant bar with a live band on the second floor. We shared a sandwich and salad over wine and beer while listening to country music played by a male and female singer and guitarist and a male drummer. Shayna loved it, I didn't hate it. We stayed until 10 when they finished their set and then walked back over the footbridge across the river back to our hotel.

Crystal River to Savannah

 

Beautiful cool shady streets.

Congregation Mickve Israel synagogue.

The beautiful Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist.

The Georgia Queen paddlewheeler on the river.

Monday, March 18th. 

This morning I decided to drive to Savannah, as Nashville was 9 hours away and the weather was to be very cold the next morning. So we drove 5 hours to Savannah and arrived about 1. We booked a hop on hop off bus tour. The driver, Big E, was an over-the-top large black man with a good sense of humour and a thick southern accent. We got some of what he said but missed lots. There were several actors dressed in period costume who got on at some of the stops to add colour, stories and history to the tour which made it fun. Later we walked to the large beautiful basilica we saw from the tour. Unfortunately we missed opening hours and were only allowed to peek inside. It was beautiful and ornate inside too. Then we walked through a couple of the beautiful squares with their large Spanish moss covered trees to Mickvel Israel the first Reformed synagogue of Georgia. It really is a lovely old city. Then we walked down to the Savannah River. We walked along the bank exploring until we picked a nice restaurant called the Broken Keel on the second floor overlooking the river. We had a couple of drinks and a great meal.