100 Things to Do in Cleveland Before You Die 2nd Edition by Deb Thompson and Tonya Prater

A complimentary review copy was provided to me.

I'm not sure why, but we generally are terrible at being tourists where we live. When we head out of town, we do research and plan for the places that we might go and the things that we might do; but when it comes to staycations and finding things on the weekend, we seem be creatures of habit and return to the tried and true, rather than explore the local area. This summer, we decided to finally visit the Mansfield Reformatory, where Shawshank Redpemption and other films were filmed. It was a neat attraction full of information about the history of the facility and information about the films that were made there. It even had 'haunted' stories to share about paranormal experiences that others have had. This gem is right off the main road and only 45 minutes from home, but it took us 16 years after we moved here to finally check it out. It's examples like this that found me jumping at the opportunity check out 100 Things to Do in Cleveland Before you Die; a guide that could help me as a local explore many activities and places that are close to home.

The book is well organized, divided into 5 themed sections: Food and Drink; Music and Entertainment; Sports and Recreation; Culture and History; and Shopping and Fashion. Within each section there are several local places or events to check out, including a brief description or story about each. Also sprinkled in are tips with some other nearby things to check out. This format is easy to thumb through and check out some great options in (and around) Cleveland. Several of the listings actually include more than one place to check out, giving you even more than 100 things to check out. The locations and activities included are both everyday and special occasion activities, like the Summer Solstice Festival and the Woollybear Festival. At the back of the book there are suggested itineraries to explore, including one for date night or a family outing; a guide to the activities by season; and an index which makes it easy to look up something specific.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a mix of some places/events that I have visited and some hidden gems that I have yet to experience. The guide would work well for both locals and out of town visitors, offering a mix of places that local residents may not have tried and places that visitors will want to check out. There are several new places that I look forward to checking out. The book is the perfect size to stash in the car so that we will be ready for the next time we are out and about in Cleveland.

About the Book:
100 Things to Do in Cleveland Before You Die, 2nd Edition by Deb Thompson, Tonya Prater

Located on the shore of Lake Erie, Cleveland is as diverse as the people that call it home and is finally being recognized as the gem that it’s always been. From family fun to romantic getaways there is something for everyone in the city that Rock and Roll built. 100 Things To Do In Cleveland Before You Die is the ultimate guide to finding the best things in the city and, for life-long residents, new ways to explore old favorites. This is THE guide for finding the best food, festivals, museums, outdoor activities, music and more. 100 Things guides you through the city like a local and shares what residents have known for years; Cleveland is the place to live or visit for a memorable experience. A melting pot of people and cultures, Cleveland is a place where you can find great food from a truck or from an award winning chef, home to some of the biggest sports fans in existence, world class museums and venues, an amazing amount of green space, and features public art around every corner. Browse the pages of 100 Things before you set out on your next trip to the city to experience something new.


About the Authors:

Deb Thompson is a freelance travel writer whose work takes her across the country to find the most unique attractions that destinations have to offer. An avid fan of the strange and bizarre, she enjoys nothing more than exploring the hallways of haunted locales, searching for Bigfoot in the great outdoors, finding aliens in Roswell and mixing it up with a great cocktail. You can follow her endeavors at JustShortOfCrazy.com. Tonya Prater is a travel writer with the heart of a nomad. Once a full-time RVer who dreams of reliving the experience, she is on a mission to find the fun, quirky stops scattered across the U.S. that most people drive past. Tonya shares her experiences at TravelInspiredLiving.com, which offers travel inspiration for the budget-minded.

No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. A complimentary review copy was provided to me.

Spring Break and Travel Memories

Spring Break is fast approaching at our house. We don't have any super grand plans, but we do have a couple of ideas on things to do. Unfortunately, I can't take many days off, because I have some training I need to do for work. But, with the time I do have off, we want to make the most of our Spring Break. We are planning to take one afternoon and head to the movies. The kids would like to see the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie. We likely will couple that with a special meal out. Then, on another day, my sister-in-law, nieces and my mom are planning to visit. We will spend part of the day playing with my nieces and then when they head off to a friend's house, we will fill our afternoon with play. Hopefully, it will be nice enough to head to the park for part of the afternoon.

Someday, I would like to consider taking a getaway vacation on spring break. We had talked about using this year's spring break to make the much anticipated first trip to Disney World. Unfortunately, my husband's spring break at college didn't align with my son's spring break - so one of them was going to miss classes. Then, as we talked to others, we decided that it might be rather busy this time of the year (not that it isn't always busy, but figured spring break time could be busier than normal) and decided that it would be a better idea to wait until later in the year to go to Disney World.

When I was a child, I don't know for sure what we did most years on spring break, but I am sure that we enjoyed them since it was a break from routine. We did a couple of getaway vacations that stick out in my mind as more memorable than the other years. I remember that my Sophomore year we went to Disney World (although, as I type that, I find myself wondering, was that on Spring Break or in the summer? - guess I am getting old and not remembering like I once did). One of my memories from that trip was being worried about losing a contact while riding on Space Mountain, so I rode the ride with my eyes closed.

Then, my senior year of high school, we flew out to Arizona for the week of spring break. We drove in a big circle around the state, taking in many sites like the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest and even found a few off-the-beaten-path places to check out. I remember eating some of the best Mexican food on that trip. Of course, back then, there weren't many Mexican restaurants in Ohio. Now, we live in a town where the local Mexican restaurant is owned by some men that moved here from Mexico, so maybe the Mexican in Arizona wouldn't be that much better. (Total tangent, I know!)

A lot has changed travel though from when I was a kid. I feel like air travel has gotten a little more challenging for a family (and car travel a little easier - I couldn't watch shows in the car). Not only are there increased security requirements for air travel and the resulting longer waits to go through security, but things that used to just come with your flight are no longer included - things like checking a bag, blankets and pillows, meals.


On my most recent business trip, for the first time I experienced check luggage fees. I guess I had always managed to have a short enough trip that I could pack everything that I needed in my carry-on bag. I generally packed all those pouch samples that I get from the shampoo/conditioner and body wash companies, so that I don't have to fill my quart size bag with the larger travel size bottles. As a result, I was generally able to pack all of my liquids easily in that one quart size bag that you can carry on. This trip was a week long and because of the agenda for the meetings, I needed more outfits and multiple shoes to make it through the week. I paid one from home, when I printed my boarding pass and the return flight one at the airport when I checked the bag.

Also, on that same trip, my travel days happened to fall such that I flew down in February and back in March. Conveniently enough, the airline decided to stop offering complimentary in-flight snacks effective March 1. So, on the way there, I could have my little cookie (love those things) or the pretzels or the nuts - whatever the option was, but on the return flight they were no longer available, not even to purchase. They had snack packs to purchase, but you couldn't even purchase the cookie or pretzels - they simply weren't an option. Instead if you needed a snack, you had to purchase a snack pack which came with more food than a person needed and at quite a premium. I guess on a positive note, the snack packs could feed a few people, as long as everyone agreed on what part of the snack they wanted.

There are ways to save fortunately. I know that I generally bring a granola bar in my purse when I travel, in case I don't have time to catch a meal. Going forward, I will definitely make sure that I have a couple of munchies available in my carry-on and if I travel with kids, I will make sure that I have a number of kid friendly snacks. This way, I won't have to purchase a snack on the plane.

One way to "save" on checked baggage fees this spring is to participate in the IHG Check if Free promotion. Intercontinental Hotels Group is running a deal through April 30th, where they will give you a $100 Visa Check Card if you book a weekend stay at any of their hotels worldwide. You can read more about it on their press release . You can read the full terms on their website, but note that you need to pay for your room with your Visa card and submit a rebate form, along with your receipt for your checked baggage fee to get your $100 Visa Check Card.



Another way to potentially save is to simply drive. Of course, there are trade-offs of spending hours driving to your destination, but remember life is also about the journey, not just the destination. When I was younger, we did most of our vacationing by car. I think that Disney World during my sophomore year of college might have been my first flight (of course, now I'm wondering if we drove on that trip to Disney World and Arizona was my first flight. I know that I flew to Disney in college for sure).

Every year, the family would pile in the car and drive to Myrtle Beach. I'm not sure exactly how long that drive was, I just know that my parents would do part of it at night to make it easier on them and us. I can remember the thrill as we would enter each new state. I can remember the excitement of going through the tunnels in the mountains - in fact, if we were driving through at night, my parents would wake us up so that we wouldn't miss them. I remember the vacation where my brother got the chicken pox. I rode home between two car seats in our friend's car, so as to limit my exposure to the chicken pox. I still got them, but it was a memorable trip regardless. When I was younger, my family also did trips where we flew to our destination and then drove miles to experience the area - like our trip to Arizona and our trip to Europe.

No compensation was received for this post. Information about the promotion were provided by IHG. All opinions expressed are my own.