Cleveland Calling

Well, today was the second day in Cleveland. Nice city here. It’s not as big as Miami, but the architecture is an incredible mix of old and new. We got into Cleveland yesterday, checked into our hotel, and this morning got up and about. My appointment at CIA was at 10AM, with a meeting with the Dean of faculty at noon. I ended up doing one better for me and meeting with the chair of the Industrial Design department at the school. Let me tell you, that’s pure awesome. We got a campus tour along with that. It’s a small school, and it’s like DASH but up a few levels. 500 or so students, so it’s a very personal setting. (one of the best qualities for a school to possess.) we had lunch in little Italy as per advice from our student tour guide, in a small Italian bakery. I had the Meat Stromboli. Good stuff. The other thing strange about being so far north is the hours of daylight. It gets dark at around 9:15. 9. AT NIGHT. 9. WHAT GIVES? My biological clock is screwing up each time I see the sun at night. I’m told it’s only going to get worse the further north we get. Ah, well. At least I can look forward to tearing through the heartland of America to Columbus, Ohio. We’re going to go there for a night, then head over to Buffalo, and Niagara falls. Also; I need to get the damn camera out more. That shutter button is getting depressed.

Haulin' on down to Cleveland

Today we hauled the Sebring from Detroit to Cleveland. With the top down. On the interstate. Blasting Satellite radio. Quite fun, except for the sunburn. Ironic, no? I live in Florida and spend all day in the sun and yet, one trip up north with the top down and I’m pink. What gives? Oh, OH. We were delayed in coming to Cleveland. Why? I-75 Southbound was shut down. All of it. And my iPhone kept telling us to get on it, leading us nowhere. Fun times led to fun driving, and before we knew it we were headed to Cleveland. As soon as we pulled into the city we were greeted by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Quite nice architecture, might I add. It was already 3, so it was pointless to pay $22 for two hours of the museum. And they wanted to take my baby from me! They had a mandatory camera check-in. no way in hell am I ever going to do that.

Long story short, we raided the gift shop. I’m not sure whether it’s a good habit or not, but we’re making it one to cruise the downtown area with the top down at night. No muggings yet. And the breeze and temperature is quite nice on cities on the great lakes. Or just up north in general.

Further stories and reporting tomorrow!

next stop? Columbus for a day, then a 6 hour drive to Niagara Falls (the Canadian side, of course)

We swear! It’s bigger in person!

Today was a good day. We left our awesome Victorian hotel on Ferry Street behind. (pictured to the left) we promptly drove to Dearborn, Michigan to tour the Rouge Factory at Ford and visit the Ford Museum. The Rouge factory would have been nice, seeing as they made it out to be the factory of the future. It would have been awesome if they were actually making something at this “factory of the future”. Alas, all the workers had been laid off since early june because the trucks they were making at the Rouge plant were just not selling. In fact, nothing with four wheels is selling. Right now, this super green gem of the future isn’t even doing anything. It’s just sitting there, taking up space, wasting electricity with the lighting, not even making any gas-guzzling trucks. I’d post a picture of this depressing sight, but cameras are forbidden on the factory floor, as they might capture workers in “compromising positions” as one employee put it. “Especially the female employees, you know, bending over to screw something in… we don’t want them to be photoshopped and up on youtube, you know?”

YEAH, like I’m gonna do that. Who wants to see brawny babes sprawled over an F-150 Chassis with a riveter? You know, on second thought, keep that to yourself.

Next stop was the ford museum. Not just cars, oh, no. planes, trains, cars, furniture. Anything henry himself could get his hands on and put into a museum. Kennedy’s limo? Got it. Original Mustang Mach 1 concept? Got it. The Allegheny? Yup. That’s stuffed into the warehouse too. Quite, quite large in fact. Those of you who know me in person know that I’m no shortie. I’m 6’4.5” and this engine was MASSIVE. The little sister of the Union Pacific “Big Boys”, the Allegheny was still quite massive. Used to haul coal in huge 150+ car trains from the Allegheny mountains to the factories that used them. Huge things. Massive. No other words.

When we left there, we headed over to our hotel (not nearly as nice as the Inn on Ferry Street), there! Over on the left! A mass of old Detroit metal! I must! MUST! Stop to take a few pictures!

Yep, a local car club was meeting. We stopped in with our Sebring and my camera. The cars? Awesome. The pictures? Great. The people? Nice. There was one car that caught my eye –a 1955 Ford Fairlane convertible. In pink. With black trim. Owned by a nice little old lady. In pink. With pink trim.

I got a couple of really nice shots from the trip, and uploaded some to Flickr. here's the link:

[Flickr Photos]

enjoy!

Detroit, MI

And so, our flight on Northwest from Miami with service to Detroit was quite the pleasurable one. See, my seat was supposed to be in the middle seat of a row of three. Luckily for me, and very unluckily for whomever’s seat that was, the window seat next to me was empty. Mid flight I decided that nobody was going to take the said seat, seeing as we were a captive audience with no way in or out of the plane. My camera got the middle seat.

Every flight across the continental U.S. has to have the obligatory crying infant/baby. Our flight was no exception, but in this case, the mother acted swiftly to shut the thing up before any permanent hearing damage was done to any fellow passengers.

We then headed over to avis, to rent a car. Little did we know they only had one or two cars available for long distance drop offs, and none of them was what we ordered. No, in fact, the closest thing they had to our econobox Pontiac was a Chrysler Sebring convertible. Boy, were we lucky. The top was promptly folded and is only up when the car is parked. At all other times it’s blasting satellite radio with the top down.

Now, Detroit is not nearly as bad as you hatemonging naysayers may say. It’s actually quite nice. The people are actually personable (unlike, say, a southern city on the eastern seaboard filled with chic scum)

The only thing I find strange is the language. Soda is “pop”. I ask what kind of sodas they’ve got? They give me the most clueless look. “oh, you mean pop!” and they burst out laughing. Yeah? Pop? Well at least I don’t live in a state shaped like a mitten.

I also visited CCS today for a campus tour and a little portfolio review. From the feedback Sabrina gave me, I’ve got to work on my ellipses, values, and get my technical skill up there with my concepts. Apparently, my ideas actually have substance! Creative essence! They’re not just bullshit drawings that look good! Now… to make my ideas look good –on par with those drawings that lack any creativity whatsoever but look stunning. I’ll be trying my best!

We also decided on a whim to visit the Chrysler Museum. Kind of a long drive from Detroit to the Headquarters, but very enjoyable in our convertible. The museum was nice, typical museum complete with some informational videos with the production value of dry toast. (see, Mallory? I can speak film too!) the museum also showcased some very nice concept cars by Chrysler. The 1995 Atlantic was stunning in person. Also; rumble seats. Where have they gone? I want them back!

Next stop? Visiting more museums (on the Ford side of the fence), and then Cleveland.

When I get back to MIA or obtain a suitable upload speed on a network, I’ll upload more pictures.