A Very YOLO Trip: Ohio

We left Detroit early the next day to make our way towards Cleveland for the final game of our baseball trip. We did pass through Taylor, Michigan on our way, which is the hometown of former Atlanta Braves great Steve Avery. :) I'm sad to say there was NO statue of him by the city limit sign. Oh well. 

We had one scheduled stop along our way in Fremont, Ohio to see the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museum (because- history!) To be honest, before we made the stop, I knew absolutely nothing about President Hayes. But, that's one reason I love stopping at places like this- I learn something new. And there was SO MUCH to learn at this one.

The house where President Hayes lived was next door to the library and museum, so we took a tour of that first. We had an amazing tour guide who knew so much about President Hayes and his wife, Lucy. You could tell this guide had a passion for the history of the president, and it wasn't just a script he had memorized. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the house, but we learned that over 90 percent of the furniture and artifacts inside the house belonged to the Hayes family. 

First Lady Lucy Hayes seemed like an amazing woman, I'm still determined to read up on her. She was the first First Lady to receive a college diploma. She was an advocate for African-Americans before and after the Civil War and she invited the first professional African-American musician to perform in the White House. She is known as Lemonade Lucy because the Hayes family didn't serve alcohol while they lived in the White House.

Lucy's college diploma

We were there on a Tuesday in early May, so it wasn't super crowded. Although I'm not sure how crowded it gets on a weekend or during summer months. If you ever find yourself near Fremont, OH, I recommend stopping. Even if history isn't your thing, I think you will find it interesting.

We continued on to Cleveland, where we got to Progressive Field two hours before the game started and just as the gates were opening. Oh, but wait. At Progressive Field, you are only allowed to stay in the outfield and Indians Hall of Fame plaque area until an hour before the game starts. This means you can't walk around the concourse or try and get photos of batting practice. Kinda dumb. 

Finally when they allowed us to walk around we went to the Indians side because Lisa wanted to try and get some autographs and I was hoping to see my high school friend Matt Belisle (who was a pitcher for the Indians at that time). She got a few autographs (but not the one she really wanted), and I saw Matt from a distance, but sadly not close enough to say hi. As we were heading up towards the team store, a Cleveland fan let us know that the Indians players would sometimes sign autographs at the gate by their parking area. We decided we would check that out after the game.

We had great seats behind the Rangers dugout. It was season ticket holder club level seating (and we got the seats for a great deal on StubHub). It was so fancy that the ushers checked your ticket multiple times to make sure you were supposed to be sitting there. We had access to the season ticket holder club inside but with a view like this, why would we want to leave our seats?

At one point during the game, Elvis Andrus noticed my Rangers gear and told the usher to give me a ball. Halfway through the game my phone starting blowing up because the Rangers telecast put us on TV and everyone had to tell me. Lol. Of course they didn't catch us smiling, but oh well.

The Rangers had a four-run lead going into the bottom of the 9th. SOMEONE (not me) decided to say that our closer was going to blow the game by giving up a grand slam. And guess what, that is what happened. Thanks a lot Kela. So, we got free baseball. Two innings worth of free baseball. BUT THANKFULLY, the Rangers were able to get a win for us in the 11th. 

After the game we decided to stalk, I mean, wait to see if any Indians players would sign as they were leaving, so we camped out by the Indians parking lot. There were a lot of other fans there, so evidently it's a well-known fact that they sometimes sign. While we were waiting, I noticed a Rangers pitcher (Jake Diekman, who is actually no longer on the team) walking out of the Indians parking lot. A few other people approached him, so I walked up in my Rangers gear, congratulated him on their win, and asked for a photo. As you've noticed, I go for a photo op over an autograph, it just means more to me. He was super nice (and his super nice wife took the photo for us). I told her she was a champ and she laughed and said she was used to it and she really didn't mind doing it. 

We were just about to give up and leave when the player Lisa had wanted an autograph from came out. SUCCESS!! At first we thought he wasn't going to sign because he got in his car, but he then backed it up closer to the gate and signed for several minutes. We were close to calling it a night when my friend Matt walked out (FINALLY). We hadn't seen each other since high school (we were on newspaper staff together), but we were able to catch up for about 15 minutes. It was good to see he was still the same nice guy that he was in high school- the majors hadn't changed him. He thanked me for waiting around so we could catch up. We had tried to meet up a few times before (once in Texas and once when I was in Minneapolis for a game when he played for the Twins), but it never worked out. 

Our flight home to Texas wasn't until late in the afternoon that next day, so we decided to squeeze in one last sightseeing option- the James A. Garfield National Historic Site. Fun fact- we were originally going to see the William McKinley presidential library, but our tour guide at the Hayes Library said if we only had time to go to one, to pick the Garfield National Historic Site. He said it was better than the McKinley library. Don't get me wrong, I will still make it to the McKinley library one of these days. Lol. The Garfield historic site was actually closer to the Cleveland airport, so it worked out better that we decided to go there. 

The only thing I knew about President Garfield was that he was assassinated, so it was interesting to learn a little more about his life and his short presidency. He was shot in July of 1881, just four months after taking office, but he didn't die right away (he eventually died in September 1881). It was stated that he most likely died from the treatment he received. If they had taken better care of him, he might have lived. We also learned that after his death, his wife added the Memorial Library wing to the house, which set precedent for presidential libraries. She felt the public needed to be able to see his papers and writings. So, we basically have Lucretia Garfield to thank for our presidential libraries.

The top hat in the top left corner is the one Garfield was wearing when he was shot. The chair on the far top right is one that Garfield would sit in while reading.

The tour of the house was interesting- again, the crowd was light. In fact, Lisa and I were the only ones on the tour of the house at that time. The tour guide at the Garfield house was also very good. There were sections of the house built after the president had died, so she also made sure we knew if we were in a part of the house that Garfield had lived in or not. I also recommend visiting this historic site if you are in the area.

This wreath was placed on Garfield's casket during the funeral. It was a gift from the Royal Family in England.

Obligatory photo on the front steps of a president's house

We got to the Cleveland airport a little early, but that gave us time to grab something to eat and just relax before boarding our flight. We finally got back to Texas on a Wednesday evening, almost a week after we had left. It was an exhausting, but fun trip. Lisa and I decided at that point that we traveled well together and made plans to take another trip in 2019 (which we have already done and I will eventually recap). Lol.

Again, if you have made it this far, I thank you for reading. Two more 2018 trips to go and then on to 2019. Maybe I'll get back into this blog thing after all! :)

40 Through 40 Update:
3. Visit three presidential libraries on my Presidential Library to Visit list (2) (3)

XOXO!