The Adventures of Tia and Tyler

…or so they’d have you believe.

Tia returned home from New York, and Mike and I continued on to the greater Cleveland area. Specifically, Mentor, OH and Willoughby, OH. We’ve had amazing weather for the trip thus far, and Cleveland has been no exception (although we’re expecting Thunderstorms tonight, breaking the streak).

First night in Willoughby, we have no transportation. We are staying at a Comfort Inn & Suites (as typical). Mike and I walked to what was within walking distance (Smokey Bones, which turns out to be a chain) for dinner. We found a Dunkin’ Donuts for Mike’s craving, that would be used in the morning.

First full day in the Cleveland area, we secured a vehicle and prepared our agenda: a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a drive around downtown, and driving to Amherst to see the area where my mother originated.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame cost $22/person for admittance. If you’re in the area, I have one bit of advice for you: Don’t bother. I put the value at about $5-$7.50 per person. There is a Science Museum next door that costs $10. We didn’t go, but it’s on my list for next time. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame consisted mostly of relics. I’m not really a relics kind of guy. There were interesting things: handwritten notebooks of lyrics from various artists, a timeline, various clothing ensembles worn by various inductees, and for our particular visit, a tribute to The Boss.

I have a few recommendations, in case anyone knows someone in charge at this sad venue.

• Give a map to your patrons. We did receive a pamphlet indicating on what floor exhibits could be found and which guitars we should seek out, however, there wasn’t a map indicating which way we should turn.
• Turn to Ikea to learn how to organize your exhibits. There were many cases where we came into a “T” intersection and had to proceed one way for a short period before turning around and walking the other direction. Have a clear path through your museum. If the path isn’t clear enough, consider arrows. Your patrons shouldn’t need the maps you don’t even have. In addition, consider updating your layout to encourage patrons to walk in a particular direction, removing intersections, with the exception of emergency exits, ADA access/elevators, etc.
• Put showtimes on the pamphlets. There are several hours of footage in the museum. It was unnerving to have to show up to each individual venue (scattered throughout the museum) to find out that it just started fifteen minutes prior and we’d have to find something to do for thirty minutes, then figure out how to get back to where we were. The pamphlet explains that there one should expect to spend 6-7 hours at the museum. We spent fewer than three. I couldn’t tell if that was 6-7 hours, assuming the typical patron didn’t know when times were and had to wait one showtime-period at each venue or if it was assuming some optimal efficiency through the museum (i.e. first pass to find show times, then organize a trip, then a second pass viewing exhibits.
• Consider improving your content. While relics are interesting, consider more history, and organizing everything better. I had a far superior time at Graceland [citation needed, Tia?] last October.

After the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Mike and I drove around Cleveland, took pictures, headed out to and back from Amherst. The only thing left to do in Cleveland is to introduce Mike to his girlfriend, which means another meal at Smokey Bones. Oh, and this room is the second (out of three Comfort Inns on this trip) to have an ant problem. :-/

Tyler

P.S. I’m going to leave you with some pictures of the Comfort Inn & Suites here in Mentor, OH. Mike and I went to do laundry, and were told it’s on the fourth floor. This floor happened to be under construction though…