Taste of Cleveland

This afternoon my brother and I planned to meet my friend Bob at the Buckeye Beer Engine in Lakewood before heading to the "Taste of Cleveland" in the flats to see Big Head Todd & The Monsters perform. This was my first visit to Buckeye Brewing's new location after their move from Lee Rd. The beer is always great but I wanted to try out their food since they're more of a restaurant/bar now rather than just a bar. Luckily, on Sundays they have "Kegs and Eggs" from 10 to 2 am, so I ordered a delicious breakfast burrito that was also served with toast and potatoes. It definitely hit the spot!

We then headed downtown for the BHTM concert. Upon arriving we were also given a great air show from the Blue Angels and some other fighter jets that were flying at the Cleveland Air Show. Hard to believe we were able to see all of this for only a $5 admission into the Taste of Cleveland!

Here are some photos I took....

Here are some videos of the Blue Angels and the Big Head Todd concert...

Night Trail Run

Sorry, no pictures today. Got in a much needed 6 mile night run though with my friend Derek. We started at the Happy Days parking lot around sunset and ran the trails to Kendall Hills and back. The humidity was low and the temperature was pretty comfortable. It's supposed to be sunny and in the low to mid 80's all the way through Friday. Good stuff...

Sunset

Here are a couple photos I took this evening...

Gone Fishin

My brother and I drove close to the center of Hudson this morning where there are a couple small bodies of water to fish in near this walking path. Last night this guy told us there are plenty of fish to catch here, including some bass, so we decided to see for ourselves. When we arrived, we glanced over this bridge and could actually see the fish swimming close to the surface in a few areas so we knew it couldn't be too hard. Shown above are a couple photos of the fish we caught. It wasn't too big and we only caught one, but we had a lot of fun. Later in the day I headed downtown to meet up with Tami at the conclusion of her 3-day walk against cancer. She did a good job but will definitely have to let her feet rest now. As for me, I've been slacking with my running for the past week but will try to get my training going again this week. I have no other choice since I plan on running a 50K next month and then doing three 50 milers in 3 months.

Breast Cancer Walk - Day 2

This morning I drove over to the Walmart in Mayfield Heights to cheer on my wife Tami (black shirt above) and her teammates as they passed through the first cheering station of the day. So far so good. It sure is a hot weekend to be walking 20 miles for 3 days though! Sunny and mid 80's. Tomorrow they will finish up their 3-Day Susan Komen walk in downtown Cleveland.

The Winery at Wolf Creek

This afternoon Tami and I drove over to hang out at The Winery at Wolf Creek which is located in Norton (about 20 minutes west of Akron). This was my first visit to this winery and Tami's second. They have a great deck that offers a stunning view of Wolf Creek and the initial 10 acres of vineyards that were planted at the base of the hill. I also thought their wine was pretty decent. We had "White Lies", which is a sweet, grapy wine, and their "Sweet Revenge", which is a semi-sweet rose wine. Both seemed to have an interesting flavor. Another nice thing about this winery is you're allowed to bring in your own food, so we stopped by Georgio's Pizza on the way and got a large pepperoni pizza for $5.99. Oh, one more thing... They also have cornhole set up in the grass! Overall, I would have to rate The Winery at Wolf Creek pretty high on my list of local wineries and will definitely be back again. Here are some photos we took on the back of their deck and along the path that leads to Wolf Creek and the vineyards...

The Range

Tonight I went over to The Range in Hudson with my friend Steve to sharpen up my golfing skills. This was the 2nd time I've ever touched a golf club, but I was pleasantly surprised. My first 5-10 swings resulted in drives beyond 200 feet. Just a little more practice and I'll be PGA material for sure...

CVNP Trail Run

A few months ago I got an email from this guy (Nathan) in North Carolina who said that he found my website by searching online for N.E. Ohio running. He saw the info about our trail club and was wondering if there would be any group runs going on during his stay with his family in Sebring, Ohio. I told him I'd be willing to show him some trails but his trip eventually got cancelled, so we decided to meet up another time.

Well... this weekend he had another trip planned to visit his family, so he drove to my place in Streetsboro this morning and we headed over to the Happy Days Visitor Center in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park around 8:30. Our plan was just to get in a long trail run and not worry too much about the specifics. Since he said that he's never run on the trails in this area before I decided that we'd run up to the ledges/overlook and then continue to the Pine Grove trail and the Kendall Lake/Kendall Hills area before heading back to Happy Days.

Once again, today's weather was fantastic. At the start of our run it was sunny and in the upper 60s and then warmed up to around 75 later in the day. The low humidity made it feel even better. It's really strange how much nice weather we've been having this summer in N.E. Ohio. The forecast for next week even shows sunshine and temperatures in the mid 80s. I'll take it!

After getting back to Happy Days with 7 miles complete we decided to drive down the road to the Pine Lane parking lot and run the Buckeye Trail from there to the Boston Store and back for a total of 15 miles.

Here's some photos from today's run, including a few surprising ones at the bottom...

We got really close to this little guy... I've never seen a chipmunk so tame...

Heading back to Pine Lane I noticed that the log crossing finally met it's match. It didn't look like this on our way out, but while we were headed to the Boston Store someone must have snapped the log and wiped out in the process...

Here's the shoe print beneath the log... Is it a runner or hiker?

Night Trail Run

Tonight I headed over to the Happy Days Visitor Center parking lot with Lloyd and we met up with Kathleen, who was joining us for her first ever night trail run. She just finished her first ultra marathon at the BT50K about a month ago and was pretty excited about our run tonight. Our plan tonight was to do Lloyd's 12 mile "Fools FA" loop at a relaxed pace to get in somewhere around 3 hours of time on our feet. Our streak of good weather continued again this evening with temperatures around 70 and even a little cooler later on. It was slightly humid tonight, but no rain and the trail was dry. This was the first night I was able to test out my recently purchased Fenix L2D handheld light. I must say, it works awesome and I'm amazed at how much light it puts out on 2 AA batteries. Overall it was a great night of running and we're already looking forward to the next one that's planned in a couple weeks.

Arlo Guthrie Concert - Lock 3

This evening my dad, brother, and I drove to Akron to check out the Arlo Guthrie concert that was taking place at the Lock 3 Amphitheatre. This was our first time here and it is definitely a nice venue if the weather is right. Click Here for a tour of the amphitheatre.

Once we arrived downtown we went over to the Ohio Brewing Company (they share space with Damon's Grill) which is right next to Lock 3 and had a bite to eat. We ordered their large beer pizza which has mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, and green bell peppers on top of a red sauce with a touch of beer. It was delicious! I also tried their Steel Valley Ale which is comparable to Guiness.

After we were done eating we went over to the amphitheatre and set up our chairs. The gates opened at 6:30 but we arrived a little after 7 when the opening act - singer and pianist Vienna Tang - began performing. She had a great voice and seemed pretty talented on the piano as well. Darker clouds were beginning to move in from the northwest and everyone hoped that they would be able to get the entire show in without any problems.

Shortly after Vienna finished performing, Arlo Guthrie took the stage to a loud applause. If you don't know too much about him, click here to read up on his life. Arlo typically sings songs of protest against social injustice and peformed at Woodstock in 1969. His most famous work is "Alice's Restaurant Massacree", a talking blues song that lasts for 18 minutes. He has a great voice, much like Bob Dylan, and is an amazing storyteller to listen to also. Tonight he was performing with his son Abe and his grandson Krishna.

Here are a couple pictures and some videos I took of the concert...

YUT-C Familarization Run

From left to right - Corey, John, Jim, Chuck, Jamie, Rob, & Bob

This morning we met at the Old Log Cabin in Mill Creek Park for a YUT-C familarization run. There were 4 out-of-towners that showed up to get a better understanding of the course before the official YUT-C 50K & 25K that will take place on Sept. 20th. The weather today was awesome. Mostly sunny with temperatures starting in the 60's and rising near 70. There were 2 distance options available today - an 8 mile loop and a 12 mile loop. When we arrived at the turnaround point for the 8 mile loop everyone wasn't sure if they wanted to go further but eventually we all agreed to do the full 12 mile loop. Afterwards I think everyone was happy that we went the extra distance.

Lake Glacier

Bob and Jim caged up like animals

Sony CD Deck

Today I returned my DLO FM Transmitter that I bought recently due to annoying static sound in the background and had a Sony CD Deck installed in my car. This deck is satellite and HD radio compatible and has an auxilary jack that I can plug my iPod directly into. It also has a detachable face to help prevent theft. The cost for this unit was about the same as the FM Transmitter so I figured this was a no-brainer decision. The only things I had to purchase extra were the wiring cables and the casing that the deck fits into. If you're looking to install any car audio equipment make sure to go to Circuit City since they don't charge you for any product over $100.

Mosquito Lake

Here's a sunset photo I took at Mosquito Lake this evening...

Paul R. Caraway 1915-2008

Well, it's been a very tough couple of days for our family. On Thursday, sometime after 8 in the morning, my grandfather had a heart attack and passed away after 93 great years. He was my mom's dad and I was lucky enough to grow up my entire life living 2 doors down from him. Luckily God took him quick and peacefully while he was sleeping in his rocking chair with his newspaper and dog still on his lap. We will all miss him but he left us with countless memories (including an autobiography, joke, and poem book all written by himself) that we will treasure for the rest of our lives. Please say a prayer for our family, especially for my mom and grandmother. Here is the obituary that was in today's paper...

WARREN - Paul R. Caraway, 93, of Warren, died at 9:40 a.m. Thursday, July 31, 2008, at Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital emergency room.

Paul was born July 2, 1915 in Beard, W.Va., the son of Tempest and Edith Shafer Caraway.
A Warren area resident since 1931, coming from Renick, W.Va., he was a 1933 graduate of Warren G. Harding High School and attended Ohio University. He worked for Republic Steel Corp. for 18 years and for Copperweld Steel for 22 years, retiring in 1975 as general superintendent of operations and maintenance. He belonged to the American Society of Metals for many years, was on the trust fund committees for both hourly and salaried employees and was active with the Copperweld retirees group.

Paul was involved in numerous civic activities having served on the board of St. Joseph Hospital, was a board member and president of the United Way board, and was president of the Trumbull County Council on Alcoholism. He was an active member of Central Christian Church where he was a deacon and elder emeritus. He was a board member and vice president of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, chair of the special gifts committee for the Heart Fund drive, past president of the Northwest Citizens Committee, past president of the Dickey Avenue PTA, and a member of Sigma Pi Fraternity.

Paul served as 6th Ward city councilman, councilmanat-large, and was the first 8th Ward Councilman in the City of Warren. He served on the Task Force on Violent Crime and was chairman of the Warren City Traffic Commission. He served as chairman of the fiscal analysis committee appointed by Mayor Richards. He also was on the Zoning Commission and the transportation committee, as well as serving as chairman of the income tax levy committee. He initiated ordinances establishing school traffic guards and truck routes through the city. Paul served on the fair housing committee under Mayor Schryver and was appointed by Congressman Carney to serve on the Mahoning Valley Labor-Management Committee. He also served on the Civil Rights Commission and fund-raising levy committees for the Mental Health board and Hillside Hospital.

He enjoyed bowling and was the longest continuous member of the Warren Church League - more than 50 years, and bowled in the Senior League at Freeway Lanes.

Paul was a devoted husband, father, and granddad. His grandchildren were his pride and joy and his family meant everything to him.

He is survived by his loving wife of 69 years, Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Staines Caraway, whom he married Nov.8, 1938; son Richard P. Caraway of Warren; daughter Adria J. (Joseph) Musick Jr. of Warren; and three grandchildren, Brian, Jamie and Jeffrey Musick. He also leaves a brother, Wray (Virginia) Caraway of Rome, Ohio; a sister Ruth (Charles) Morris of Huntington, W.Va., and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by a daughter-in-law, Doris Caraway.

Funeral services will be 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 4, 2008, at Roberts-Clark Chapel where friends will be received from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday. The Rev. Caroline Bloomfield and the Rev. James Baer will officiate. Interment will be in Oakwood Cemetery.

To view this obituary online or send condolences go to http://www.robertsclarkchapel.com/