Weekend trip from Chicago to Ohio

This is a classic hotel. We pulled up, the doorman greeted us, and quickly arranged to valet park our car. The second floor lobby was large, grand, with much seating available. Windows provided a view of the street. The desk clerk checked us in quickly, and moment later we were in the room The corridor outside the room had chandeliers and an elegant ambience.

The room itself was roomy with two windows overlooking the lake across a view of a parking lot, buildings, and streets. The bathroom had marble in it and was also elegant. The TV had more channels than usual. The only complaint: one bedside lamp did not work. However, if I had decided to call down, I am sure they would have fixed it quickly. We enjoyed the room so much, we stayed in for room service. Service was efficient and courteous. The food was good too.

The hotel is connected to the tower City Mall, which is built on top of the city's rapid transit network. That means that it is easy to get to the airport from this hotel, and to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and other lakefront sights. The mall is huge, with several restaurants in it, most notably, a Morton's Steak House. The Ritz Carlton also connects to the mall.

Overall, this was an excellent hotel experience for me. However, my Frommer's guidebook cautioned that rooms in this hotel have different layouts and that some are bigger than others. This hotel is likely to have good rates on the weekend. Plan ahead because its prime location will always be in high demand.

You drive your car along a dirt pathway that passes through the differnt animal enclosures. Before you enter, each paying customer receives one large cup full of pellets to feed the animals. The animals know the drill, and as soon as your car approaches, the animals walk up to the car. You are advised by park employeess to completely roll down your windows to avoid hurting animals that stick their noses in your car to get the food. The animals stick their heads in, and starting eating the food from the cup. If you pull the cup away, the animals continue to try to reach it, and do not pull back so that you can proceed. This entire process is awkward. As we drove through the compound, we noticed that there was very little shade provided for the animals and the grass was worn down. Later during our visit, we watched a pig race. Zoo personnel encouraged the pigs to run by gently swatting and prodding them with plastic paddles. Overall, I sensed that the operators of this park did not have the best interests of the animals in mind. I regretted spending money here.

If you do go, be aware that the animals probably will not hurt you or damage your car if you are careful and calm. However, the experience of having a llama, or some some large goat-like animal, stick its head in your car demanding food can be intimidating and suprising. Small kids could be frightend by this experience. Skittish adults who reflexively roll up power windows could also harm the amimals or cause damage to the car. If you like zoos, drive on to the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

This is a shrine to the NFL. As you walk through, you view the early history of professional football. You see old uniforms, and old photographs of Jim Thorpe, Red Grange, etc. This section is ok for real history buffs, but the best comes later.

In the Game day theater, you watch two films that give you an overview of the expereinces that a NFL player has during one season, from training camp, to gameday, to the Superbowl. The film had hightlights from the most recent season which showed the Bucks whipping the Raiders in the Superbowl. As a Bear's fan, I yelled at the lady at the exit that I wanted a refund. You can't show Randy Moss beating us for a TD!! Oops sorry, got excited. I hate Moss.

The most interesting part was thea actual Hall of Fame. Each inductee has a bust, and a brief biography that can be accessed by the computres that are spread throughout the room. I pulled up the info on Bear's greats Dan Hampton, Mike Singletary, Walter Payton, Dick Butkus, and Gale Sayers. Each one had a video clip that showed that player's most memorable moment, and then another video clip that highlighted that player's style of play. I loved it!! Any football fan would.

If you don't really care about football, you probably won't like this place. However . . . if you are ready for some football every day of the year, this is a pilgrimage that you should make.

This should be rated as one of the better zoos in the country. The rainforest exhbit is a one of a kind. It is designed with two levels so that you can observe wildlife and fauna that occurs at the different levels of the rainforest.

The monkey enclosure is two levels high, so that you can observe them from different angles. Like in the wild, the monkeys spend most of their time high up, however, you can see them from the first floor by looking up. Also, their encosure encourages activity. They played and appeared to interact naturally. In another exhibit, a thunderstorm occured inside and briefly rained on the animals. The spectators remain dry. Kids will enjoy the ant exhibit and the challenge of seeing the animals as they blend in with their surroundings.

The rest of the zoo is designed so that the animals have larger than normal enclosures that provide a more natural look. The seals are interesting because visitors can buy two small fish for $1 to feed them. Thus, an opportunity to appropriately interact with the animals.

The walk from one end of the zoo to another can be lengthy, and catching the trams by the entrance can be a source of annoyance. We arrived to se one tram fill up, and were told we would have to wait 15 minutes for the next. So we walked one way and caught the tram back.

The bathrooms in the rainforest exhibit were very clean and the snack shop served pretty good pretzels. I observed other snack areas in remote parts of the zoo that were closed up. So don't assume that you will always have access to food in all parts of the zoo.