Sancomb & Company

Well, it was off to Cleveland, Ohio for a two week stint, and we sure did it justice. Just down the way from the office was the Ohio & Erie Canal which has been restored to a linear park that is several miles long. Lock Number 39, just off the main drag has an interpretive center that is housed in an old canal-side tavern. It is really very well done and part of the exhibit which tell the history of the valley over time, reminded me that this area of Ohio was once part of Connecticut. Known as the Connecticut Western Reserve, it has given its name to everything from a famous university (Case Western Reserve University) , to dozens of local businesses. What an interesting way to spend a few minutes of a lunch break.

Since I was staying the weekend, I decided once again to take full advantage, (Remember, if given a lemon, make lemonade!). So Friday night is was off to Severance Hall to hear the world renowned Cleveland Orchestra. What an experience! Would not normally have chosen Gustav Mahler's 5th for the program to attend, but who could pass up a opportunity to see Severance Hall. And the orchestra was fantastic, the New Your Times has said that Severance is among the most acoustically sound and beautiful concert halls in the world.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland, so Saturday morning found me running the gamut of musical experience. This I. M. Pei designed building is worth the trip, and when you throw in an extraordinarily well presented history of this American art form, well you have a great experience. But talk about information over load. As you might expect, I took more of an interest the Early Influences, than much of the "stuff" that followed. I have never liked "semi-organized noise" whether it was neo-classical music or hard rock. This web site is almost as amazing as the museum itself, check out the Time Line in particular.

One of the must see places in Cleveland is the West Side Market. Having been to several similar places around the country, I have to say that this one is far and away the most prosperous and dynamic I have seen. How fortunate the people of Cleveland are to have the West Side Market, and how fortunate to be able to enjoy the bounty it provides. This is one of those places where you simply want to say, "Ok, I'll take one of each." So failing that, I satisfied my growing hunger with a bratwurst and kraut from a vendor. I also bought a beautiful bouquet of flowers to take to my colleague Connie Maxwell who invited me to her home that evening to celebrate my 64th birthday in style with a delicious home cooked meal. Her husband Bill, and their dearly beloved dog Carson, could not have made me feel more welcome.

But speaking of growing hunger (and thirst), just across a small square from the West Side Market is the Great Lakes Brewing Company, an absolute must-stop for anyone visiting Cleveland. Now do you think I passed it up?

Sunday presented the dilemma of having to choose between the Cleveland Science Museum and the The Cleveland Museum of Art; after much agonizing over it, the Art Museum and its special Barcelona Exhibit won out. The museum is undergoing a massive rebuilding and expansion program estimated to cost $258 million and not to be completed until 2010. On the one hand I was disappointed that the Barcelona Exhibit was the only thing on display while the work is underway. On the other hand the exhibit was so large and comprehensive, it gave more than a good dose of museum-going for a day. The art museum is within sight of Severance Hall, and the area known as University Circle comprises a world class cultural center in which you could spend a lifetime of cultural pursuits.

Speaking of cultural pursuits, did you know that the classic movie, A Christmas Story was filmed in Cleveland, and that The Christmas Story House was not a movie set but an actual down and dirty real live house? Huh, huh, did you know that? Well shoot my eye out with a bee bee gun, and stick my tong to a cold pipe, there it is, right there at 3159 West 11th Street, Cleveland, OH 44109. Recently restored and now open for tours, it is the gem of the neighborhood. Thanks in part to a series of on-going snow storms, and that four letter word, w-o-r-k, I didn't get to take the tour. But I did take a few pictures; Goll-leee, was it cold and wintry. Come to think of it, just like in the movie.

So, between the Christmas Story House Tour, the Cleveland Museum of Science, the Western Reserve History Museum and many other things especially around University Circle, I may just have to make it my business to get back to Cleveland, OH some day.

Copy & paste the secret word, "Bonefish Grill" into an e-mail to the web master and get a special reward. Web master - Sancomb & Co.

In continued pursuit of that green stuff that folds in the middle, it was on to Oshkosh & Sheboygan, Wisconsin for one week in each town. Sorry to say, Oshkosh, hard on the shores of Lake Winnebago, is a sad little place. Or at least it seemed so on a cold, overcast, early Fall day. It is, however, the home of the "Oshkosh Air Museum", or more precisely the EEA Air Ventures Museum which has been on my life list of intended destinations for many years. While my recent travels have kept me "out and about" quite a lot, it has afforded me to see places I am not likely to have visited otherwise.

Sheboygan on the other had, a lake port on Lake Michigan, is quite different. It has an extensive water front with a really interesting display of the bones of the Lottie Cooper a beautiful Great Lakes Schooner that foundered in a gale in 1878. Resurrected during the development of a new marina, she is now on display at its entrance. On the south side of the Sheboygan River a former coal yard and tank farm has been turned into a world class resort and entertainment complex called Blue Harbor. I was sorry I didn't have more time to explore the area.

The middle weekend found me journeying from Oshkosh to Chicago to visit my daughter, Kerri, her husband Jeff, and grandson Leo for his second birthday. The trip was arguably one of the worst of my life through a "slush storm" all the way to Milwaukee. Fortunately the storm deteriorated to simple driving rain for the remainder of the trip. Peg flew out from Connecticut to join the party, and a great time was had by all.

Since the trip to Sheboygan was going to take me within sight of the Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM). I could not pass up the opportunity to pay it a visit. As their web site says: "The Quadracci Pavilion, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed building in the United States, features a 90-foot high glass-walled reception hall enclosed by the Burke Brise Soleil, a sunscreen that can be raised or lowered creating a unique moving sculpture." On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it a 15.

And so it is on to Eau Claire & Hudson, WI. One thought for the traveler; if it is "touristy" things you have in mind, make your way to eastern Wisconsin, or northern Wisconsin, or even Southeastern Wisconsin. If huge fields of corn and soy beans are your quest, go West. But none the less, there is always something interesting to see and enjoy. While visiting a nature center, that at this time of year was just a little underwhelming, there was a photo contest on the wall and one of the pictures was more or less exactly like Dell's Mill above. It sparked my interest, and having learned that it was in Augusta, WI I was on my way. Turns our it was not just a pretty picture, but an interesting place to visit. For a mere $7.00 you could get a one hour guided tour personally conducted by Gus Clark, fourth generation owner of the mill and author of every word of the tour patter. And then, liability insurer hold your breath, (assuming there is one, and I doubt it very much) you got unbridled run of the place. From the very top where the grain begins its five stories downward journey toward its life as flour, to the bowels of the mill with its turbine and water wheel. A great Sancombian Adventure.

The highlight of my most recent tour of duty in St. Louis was a day spent at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, with special attention to their current installation, Grass in the Garden featuring works of art both by nature and world renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly.