Like most people living in Cleveland, my weekend started off with the announcement that LeBron James was returning to his home- Northeast Ohio. The news hit the town pretty strong; I was outside grabbing a late lunch shortly after the announcement and there was an undeniable buzz in the air. You could feel the excitement in the streets, as people smiled and high-fived complete strangers. I ended up having to work a little later than usual so I didn’t get to join the gazillion people who seemed to show up downtown for happy hour in LeBron and Cavs gear to celebrate, but the night was still young and I ended up with other plans.
B surprised me with an impromptu date night. Shortly after I got home from work, he told me to get ready, bring a light jacket and we were heading to dinner. We ended up at Flaming Ice Cube, a favorite of mine that we hadn’t been to in a while. I of course got my usual – the Kalebouli Wrap and Black Bean and Corn Salsa.
Kalebouli and bean/corn salad
After dinner, B surprised me and suggested we keep walking – and we ended up making it to the river and caught the tail end of the sunset. It was pretty gorgeous and there were quite a few people out and about in their Cleveland gear and a few boats as well.
Sunset along the river
Then, after the sunset, music began and Sara Bareilles came onto the stage across the river. B had planned an evening watching the concert and hadn’t even told me. It turned out to be a great way to spend the evening, enjoying a free concert in the beautiful weather.
And don’t worry, we still caught some of the LeBron madness on our way home.
LeBron fever
Saturday morning started out bright and early. And by early I mean 5:30 a.m. ick! The bridge near our apartment was being blown up shortly after sunrise and we decided to meet up with B’s sister and roommate Koli to watch it, along with hundreds of other crazy Clevelanders. I mean, who gets up that early on the weekend?
Selfie before watching the bridge – photo stolen from Koli
Explosion!
After the explosion, B, Mary and I went for a run because what else do you do when it’s 6 a.m. on a Saturday and you’re up?
Then we decided to drive around and check out the destruction. Do you see the bridge pieces on the ground?
The bridge is gone!
After that, we headed to the West Side Market, first stopping at the Ohio City Farm Stand to stock up on more produce for the week.
More veggies!
And then it was time to head to the Cleveland Flea! The Flea has gotten bigger and better and was at a new location. We did some shopping, tried a local beer, sampled some homemade pickles (yum!) and B got a burger.
The FLEA!
Beer @ the Flea
People hanging out outside the Flea
After the Flea it was only 12:30 p.m. I guess that’s what happens when you wake up before 6 a.m.? So I snuck in a little baking (blueberry scones!) before it was time for our evening plans, Shoes and Clothes For Kids fundraiser, Luau on the Lake.
blueberry scones!
Here’s a sneak peek at the Luau on the Lake festivities – it was such a great event that I wrote all about it in a separate post!
Luau on the Lake
After Luau on the Lake, we headed to a friend’s house in Ohio City. He has a gorgeous house with a great backyard and it was a perfect night to just hang out on his porch. I’d say Saturday was a success.
Sunday was just as amazing. The day included a pool party at B’s grandma’s house AND my first trip to Blossom, the Cleveland Orchestra’s summer home. For those non-local readers, Blossom is an outdoor venue for the orchestra. There is an outdoor area with lawn seats where people can bring picnics, chairs, blankets, etc. plus indoor seating. It was my first time at Blossom and the venue was gorgeous, plus we had gotten tickets and food for free because we were there for B’s work event.
Pool party! Flying baby?
B and me @ Blossom – I took a photo of a photo
A shot of the lawn – packed with people!
The Jetsons!
How was your weekend?
- NEOhioans – did you celebrate LeBron’s decision? Have you been to Blossom before?
- Did you get to spend some time outside?
- Scones – yay or nay? What kind of scone do you like?
- Do like outdoor music?
I Crashed The Web 
Looks like fun! I personally love waking up early Saturdays esp when a long run is involved 😉 I love the maxi dress you are wearing!!
Thanks! I also don’t mind waking up early as long as a long run is involved. Makes me a much less grumpy person throughout the day. That’s the only thing missing from my weekend!
I had a great weekend and I spent a good deal of time outdoors.
My friend from SUNY Geneseo is here visiting me in Finland. The last time we saw each other was four years ago. We planned to meet in Helsinki on Friday night but her flight was canceled. It wasn’t not a problem for either of us though. My friend got to spend a night in a nice hotel in Stockholm for free and I hung out with my cousin (we made a salad for dinner and watched Wes Anderson’s film The Grand Budapest). My friend took the next available to Finland and arrived in Helsinki on Saturday morning. We had lunch with my cousin and then headed out to explore the city.
Our first stop was Helsinki’s amusement park, Linnanmaki. Coincidentally, my other cousin was also at the amusement park with his family so we found each other there and I got to meet their new baby (they were in the section for children). After the amusement park, my friend and I walked a short distance to a famous historic woodstove-sauna, Kotiharju, in Kallio, the “bohemian” district of Helsinki. It was obvious that we found the right place by the line of men sitting outside on the patio drinking beers wrapped in towels. And they tried to convince us to go into the sauna for men, but we couldn’t be fooled 🙂 After sauna we took the metro to the market square and caught a ferry to an island with a castle, Suomenlinna, where we had a picnic. When we got back from the island, sometime after 9 pm, we just found a cozy little pub and watched the world cup/played some games.
On Sunday , we slept in and then spent the rest of the day hanging out in a large park just outside the city of Helsinki. We had a picnic in the shade by a river, walked along nature trails in the forest and went swimming in an outdoor-pool. The pool was more like a man-made lake with some docks floating in the center of it. The best part was that the water was warm enough for actual swimming! After relaxing in the water, we headed back to my cousin’s place to make dinner and watch the final game of the world cup (my cousin is a hug soccer fan so it was like celebrating a major holiday with him :-)).
Well, that was my weekend in a nutshell. Thanks again for the birthday wishes! I had two birthday parties this year- I had a lot to celebrate 🙂
It definitely sounds like you had an amazing weekend also! Everything sounds great, I love playing tourist when friends visit- sometimes you get to do things that you don’t normally do. Happy belated birthday!
Looks like you guys had a fun, busy weekend! I’m definately excited about Lebron coming back – very cool! It’s also crazy that the bridge will be gone – I can’t count how many times I’ve drove over that thing. Change is good though!