Day 2: 4/8/2012
Akron, OH

After Starbucks, we met Effy back at her apartment and got ready to search out an open place for lunch. After a couple of less successful tries, we found First Watch, a daytime cafe. It turned out to be the perfect thing, just what we all wanted! We all got omelets, which were really delicious. Then it was on to explore around Akron! 

First we drove in Effy's Subaru (which only recently lost its Alaska plates) to Coventry, a little town near Akron and Cleveland. Along the way she pointed out cute house and big mansions from Akron's more prosperous days. We wandered around Coventry a little bit, but most everything was closed for Easter. There was an open Japanese restaurant, which let us use the restrooms, thankfully :p There were also several Japanese/Korean/Thai restaurants in Coventry... Interesting. There were some really neat cast iron sculptures along the sidewalks, each forming a short fence with various scenes. Each was titled to fit the scenes, everything from biking to sitting with a cup of tea. Very nice!

Giving up on that when we reached the car again, we headed for Cleveland! Effy pointed out the various stadiums in Cleveland, along with the cute houses on many streets. We took the bridge across to Ohio City next, which Effy had already told us about. The bridge had two towers at each end with statues that very much resembled the huge statues seen in Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, when the group has left Lothlorien and is on the river. I'm not obsessed with the movie, but there was a serious resemblance! Each statue was holding an old vehicle, each of them different. 

Effy showed us more cute houses in Ohio City, and we stopped for sweet crepes at a little French restaurant named Le Petite Triangle Restaurant. Fittingly, the restaurant was pretty much shaped like a triangle, down to the open kitchen in the front. Very cute, and the crepes were delicious. 

After driving back over the bridge (much better photos with the sunlight on the right side of the statues!) we parked down near Lake Eerie!! My first sight of the Great Lakes!!!! Slightly exciting. Really. We'd probably never actually pay to go inside, but we parked right next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so I asked if I could us the restroom. They let us in, probably since they were about to close anyway and you have to show a ticket to see the actual exhibits. But I did make off with the brochure of who's been inducted to the Hall of Fame, and the exhibit guide, plus we got a photo with flying cars behind us... All free. Muahaha. It was fun!

After that we walked down close to the lake and got some photos before heading back the apartment for some down time. Effy had some of her friends meet us for dinner at a place called Gasoline Alley, a very fun bar and restaurant with some great local beer. Her friends were really fun, and the food was good, too! The waiter was a bit interesting... Effy pegged him as a rugby player the second he had a hard time hearing us (he was about our age, and admittedly wearing a shirt that said rugby), and he said he's not allowed to play for a year. Maybe time to stop playing the game...? He did pretty well, aside from dumping a pizza for our table face down on the floor and getting a bit flustered... Best of luck to him :-) 

After dinner, it was back home for some goodbyes to Effy and then... glorious sleep. Night!