these two lanes will take us anywhere. (show a little faith)

in the morning i got up and decided that toledo wasnt for me and found a way that took me to cleveland. along the way i saw a sign for oberlin, two miles north. on a whim i took the turn. i had heard of oberlin before, but i had no idea where it was other than ohio, and i didnt have any expectations for what i would come to. when i got to it, i found it to be just a small college town, i never figured out the hype.

art in oberlin

i walked all around the little town, which was mostly just the college campus, and the college campus and through the college buildings and some little shops on the streets. and i was terrified. i dont know precisely why, but being around college students is one of the absolute scariest things to me. i clam up and get real nervous, try not to make any mistakes and just zip through whatever it is i am doing. maybe it is because i just dont really know anything about college, except what i learned in the movies growing up. i have never spent a prolonged amount of time on a college campus, so i guess my growth is stunted there.

i sat for awhile in the park eating a sandwich and reading a book, that was real nice. and i just walked all over the place. periodically i would stop into the library to use the internet for something, but i spent most of the day outside and that was nice. because, this was the first real day of my trip, i had nothing to do and nowhere to go and in that range, everything is open and everything is possible. it takes a minute to get back into that mindframe.

at night i slept outside some house and thought everything was going well. i was watching some shows and just before the last one ended i saw a cop drive by slow. so i turned off the computer and sat still. then i looked out the window and he was just parked about 50 feet in front of me, just sitting there. i was freaked out, i was just sitting back there waiting for him to shine his big light and rouse me. i figured that he was running my plates, and since the tags are expired, maybe he was calling a tow truck. then i let my mind wander into the idea of how funny it would be to be towed away while i was inside the truck! my reverie lasted awhile, and afterward i just sat there waiting for him to leave.

it had been about twenty minutes of him sitting there, and i decided it wasnt worth my worry, so i just laid down to fall asleep. about ten minutes after that he left and nothing else happened that night.

in the morning, i was still in oberlin. i didnt think that i could stretch another day here, but i wanted to try. thats something that i havent figured out again just yet, i am moving fast. maybe i am just exhilarated to be back on the road. anyway, i walked around for the morning, sat in the library for awhile and then decided that it wasnt for me any longer. i mapped out a path and headed toward cleveland.

the first time in my life (that i remember) that i visited cleveland was in 1998. my girlfriend at the time and i stole away in the night on an impromptu trip to cleveland. i dont remember why, but i do remember waking my dad and stepmom up in the middle of the night to tell them that melissa and i were driving to cleveland right now and that they shouldnt look for me in the morning. i think this was before cell phones. maybe not, anyway, my stepmom was not into the idea of my plan and said that if i left she would kick me out of the house. so be it.

the two of us left around 2 in the morning, in her car, and drove toward cleveland. i dont know why we were going there, but i was happy when we made it. it was very early in the morning and all i wanted to do was go to the rock n roll hall of fame. it had only opened a few years earlier and i was into that kind of stuff big time when it opened. unfortunately we were there too early in the morning and it wasnt open. so we talked over what to do, we didnt have much money. she had a gas card from her dad and i had about $80 on a debit card.

and for whatever reason we decided that we would keep on going. maybe this would be it for our lives, we drove on to buffalo and then to new york city and then to philadelphia, gettysburg, pittsburg, etc. we were gone for maybe two weeks. i called my folks in buffalo and told them i didnt know if or when i was coming home, my stepmom said she was serious and when i got back i wouldnt have a home any longer. we burned through every last dollar we had, to the point that when we were taking the toll road back we had to get little receipts that we were supposed to mail back with our toll. i dont think that ever happened.

le museum de rock n roll

so, anyway, now i am in cleveland again. it is maybe only the second or third time since 1998, i never had much of a reason to be here and so i never stayed to explore. now all i had time for was exploration. i found a place to park and started walking. my feet took me almost directly to the rock n roll hall of fame. now i had a mission, it cost $22 to get into the museum and there was no way i was going to spend that. so i walked around the plaza and watched the people coming out. i noticed that they were all wearing a purple wristband, okay.

i went to the trashcans and found a purple wristband, it had been taken off delicately but was missing its clasp. i found a little piece of wire that i could use to clasp the dumb thing to my arm. this all took about a half hour, and i was doing everything right in front of the glass pyramid, i assumed that someone had seen me. so i tested it out on the outdoor attraction. JC1. JC1 was johnny cash's touring bus, it was donated to the museum after he died and now you could walk through it. i got in line, flashed my band and was in, no sweat. next was the museum itself.

i got into that without a hiccup as well. i was so damn happy with myself. this was my first sneaking mission in about a month and it went off without a hitch. except that the little piece of wire kept digging into my arm, whats a little pain when the result in exchange for freedom?

i spent hours in that museum, it was awesome. i walked all around the lower level watched some videos, spent some time listening to a few of the 500 greatest songs from rock n roll history. looked at the outfits and followed the timelines, and it was great. then i went up a level and found more exhibits. another level and i was at the inductee shrine, they have a video montage of all the people that are in the hall of fame. that lasted a long time and i only watched a bit of it. then there was a wall where everyone inducted signed their names. and with that i was on the most coveted fifth level, the special exhibit.

from asbury park to the promised land, a history of bruce springsteen! this was on levels 5 and 6, and i spent at least an hour watching the videos and perusing the artifacts. when he signed to columbia in 1972 or so, he bought a guitar with his advance. he then used that guitar for the next 35 years or so. now it is in the museum, the last time he used it in concert was at the superbowl a couple years ago. the first show he played without that guitar, he got bad reviews. i asked the curator if i could borrow it, he said no.

i watched some live footage from the very early years, which included bruce kissing big man on the lips during one of the concerts, that was great! and by now, i was exhausted. i hadnt eaten at all this day partly for purpose. see, my funds are running a bit low right now and i have been looking for ways to save money. also, i have been eating too much and eating inappropriate foods, so i decided that i would undertake the master cleanse again. it would be a great way to lose weight, and save money. i was having trouble locating some ingredients, however. namely grade b maple syrup.

i left the museum and walked a bit more down by there, the football stadium is there and a science museum, then i was exhausted and walked back to my truck. i decided to go find a supermarket and eat. i drove for a long time through the density of cleveland and didnt find anything like a supermarket. then i kind of gave up and was going to buy something when the gods shone down upon me! i went right by a food co-op! i turned around and went into it.

i bought some things i could eat tonight and they had the syrup i needed, so i bought that and some lemons and cayenne. i resolved that tomorrow i would start the cleanse again. i then ate outside the coop and took my surroundings into account. across the street was an art school and behind me were some train tracks. the street there was free parking and across the street was a bar with free wifi. so i parked on the street and opted to stay there. i walked across the street and checked the internet. then i got my book and went up by the tracks to read, but trains kept rolling by and i was just watching them instead. i was up there until dark.

when i came back down i was ready to get in bed! i jumped in back and enjoyed a few beers since it would be the last night for awhile should i actually stick to the cleanse. i finished all of the episodes of my show and then went to bed. in the morning i made my cayenne lemonades and went back into the city to explore. i drove in and parked downtown again. i walked over by the basketball arena to say what up to my big man 'bron. then i was just walking around and enjoying the scenery. i came to the public square and remembered having food not bombs there in 2004. that was a nice memory.

from the rooftops of cleveland

right next the square was the visitors center, i went in and talked to the lady there for awhile. i wanted a rooftop. she told me that no building offered rooftop access. next door was a hotel of some height, maybe twenty stories. i entered and found my way around the service corridors and backrooms, all the way to the top floor and the electricians office. generally, these offices have direct access to the roof and this was no different. i felt great, three days into my second leg and i am already on top of the city again! i rambled up there for awhile, but then came back down and read my book some more in the public square.

i was planning to stay in cleveland longer, but felt that it had run its course. i debated parking by the coop again and just resting for the night. instead i made a plan to akron. i have been here for an hour or so, cleared up my unemployment insurance mess and collaborated with emily to have my tags sent to me in pittsburgh. that means i need to stretch a four hour drive into at least four days. but i will be staying in pittsburgh for multiple days, so it really doesnt matter.

i was just sitting at the library here in akron for awhile, but they closed. i shut down my operation and was set to explore some more. i drove and found the university of akron, i had been smelly all day and decided i could use a shower. so, i drove around until i found the sports complex and parked. it was under construction, like a new building, but i opened the door and there were no locks for resistance. i walked in and found myself face to face with the football field and the band practicing. i thought that i better get a picture, so i went back to my truck and got the camera. coming back in two workers stopped me and asked if i was lost, i told them i was with the band and when in again.

the band!

i took some photos and sat to listen for awhile. then i remembered why i was there! so i walked around the stadium until i found the entrance to the locker rooms. the door was down on the field, so i waited for the band to huddle up and i made my move. the doors were ipen and i went in. i was the only one in there, and things were still under construction in there as well. i walked around and found the showers. i smiled and took off my clothes. i was kind of thinking that the band would come in there also, but i think i was the first person to use those showers. there wasnt any hot water and there was a bunch of construction dirt on the tile. i took the cold shower with a reserved joy.

when i finsihed, i fished around inside the building for awhile. i went through all the rooms i could, looking for some kind of score. i didnt find anything that seemed worth taking, or small enough to take, so i worked my way back up to the top. now i had a choice. i could either could out a door that led me outside of the stadium or out a door that led me to a concessions area in the stadium. my dumb luck, i opened the outside door and saw a cop car so i decided to go back into the stadium. that was the wrong choice.

right after i walked into that area i saw the cop that belonged to the car walking toward me. i knew he was stopping me, why else was he here? i just hoped he didnt know i was in there already -- that he wasnt looking for me. he wasnt. but he asked why i was there, i spun a quick story. i was with the band, left something behind and just came to grab it. it turned out to be my wallet, and he wasnt buying my story. he grilled me for awhile, checked my name against the student database (i think we both knew it wouldnt be in there) and then he re fact checked my story to see if i would stumble over my lies. i didnt, he walked me out to my car and said he was keeping all of my information on file.

PHEW! i took a deep breath and thanked myself for keeping cool and not being an idiot, then i got out of there. now i am going to find a place to chill for the evening and hope he doesnt find me.