Cleveland Ohio/NY
Back in April we took a trip to check a few things off of Jessica’s must see travel list. We had taken a two year travel hiatus because we didn’t feel comfortable leaving our senior dog Akua with a sitter for any length of time.
Once he had passed we started to think about where we would like to go, and because I had chosen Iceland as our last trip, I told Jessica I wanted her to choose.
As you may or may not know, Jessica absolutely loves all things Lucille Ball, so a trip to Jamestown New York was a must.
When we travel, my goal is to see multiple states if possible, so we also added a stop in Cleveland Ohio to see one of her favorite movie houses……. the Christmas Story house. This was a fun trip to plan.:)
We flew from Providence to Cleveland and stayed in the heart of downtown in an Air BNB. Other than a small glitch getting into the apartment, the location was perfect so if you would like more information please feel free to send us a message.
Downtown Cleveland definitely has more of a vibe than I thought it would, and having the Cavaliers in the NBA playoffs didn’t hurt the party atmosphere.
For the Cleveland portion of this trip I scheduled a tour of the Christmas Story House, time at the Cleveland Zoo, a tour of the Ohio State Reformatory and was really excited to score two tickets to a Cleveland Guardians game while they were in town.
I have to admit that the Christmas Story would NOT be in my Top 1000 movies to see (lol) but watching Jessica’s face as we pulled up to the house was worth it. She was smiling from ear to ear. My apologies for the picture dump.
The 1 hour tour, with our knowledgeable tour guides, included exploring the house’s interior, Ralphie’s room, the famous living room, and the bathroom with the Lifebuoy soap. After the tour concluded we had ample time to take pictures on the grounds as well as shop in the museum across the street. Information on tours, overnight stays and tickets can be found here: /housefromachristmasstory.com/hours-and-admission/
Although this trip was more geared to what Jessica liked, I took advantage of the fact that the Cleveland Guardians were at home so I grabbed 2 tickets to the game.
We do most of our traveling in the Spring and Summer so I try to coordinate our travel locations with a major league ballpark. It was just my luck that our Airbnb was a two minute walk to the Cleveland guardians stadium. Okay, I MAY have planned it that way. 🙂
I’m not a Cleveland guardians fan, but I am a baseball fan and it’s a goal of mine to visit as many major league baseball parks as possible, and game tickets were dirt cheap for great seats so I couldn’t pass that up.
The stadium isn’t big by any means but it’s nice and the best part of all is that they played the Yankees and won!!! #REDSOXFAN Stadium count now at 8 🙂
Our next stop would probably not be on everyone’s bucket list but Jessica is a huge movie buff, and I must admit that I have an odd interest in Prison life…. it was off to the Ohio State Reformatory. Read on to see the movie connection.
Two Girls Fun Fact: The Ohio State Reformatory was operational from 1896 to 1990 and designed to hold about 1,500 inmates, but at times housed over 3,000 , leading to harsh living conditions. Yep, I’m the geek that actually pays attention during tours. 🙂 The prison also had a notorious reputation known for violence, disease, and poor conditions in its later years. It was eventually closed due to inhumane and overcrowded conditions.
We chose to get tickets to the Beyond The Bars Tour ( 1.5 hours @ $40 per ticket) as it seemed to be the most interesting…. and it was excellent! We took a deep dive into the inner working of the prison and its inmates’ and had access to areas that were closed to the general public. Information on tickets can be found here: https://www.mrps.org/tours/
Now here’s where it ties into Jessica’s love for movies. Did you know that some scenes from the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption were filmed at the Reformatory? If you haven’t seen it, you should. It’s a great movie.
Two Girls Fun Fact: The Reformatory is renowned as one of the most haunted sites in the United States. Today, it stands as a historic site and a hotspot for paranormal enthusiasts.
I would absolutely stay overnight but I don’t think I could convince Jessica to stay with me. Party Pooper!!! 🙁
Our time in Ohio was coming to a close and were were ready to make the 2 1/2 hour ride to Jamestown New York. Now you may be asking what in the world does Jamestown NY have? Lucille Ball! Jessica’s absolute favorite celebrity!
On the way to our hotel, our first stop in Jamestown took us to the Cemetery where Lucy’s remains are currently buried along with members of her family. We weren’t sure how we were going to find her in such a large Cemetery but we googled it to learn that red hearts are stenciled on the roads around the site making her gravesite easy to find.
Two Girls Facts: After her death on April 26, 1989, in Los Angeles, Ball was cremated and her ashes were initially interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, near her mother Wikipedia+15Wikipedia+15Clio+15.
In 2002/2003, at the request of her children—Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr.—her remains (along with her mother’s) were disinterred from the Hollywood burial site and reinterred in the Hunt–Ball family plot at Lake View Cemetery, Jamestown, NY
We woke up the next morning with Jessica bright eyed and bushy tailed to head over to the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum. https://lucydesi.com/
Located at 2 West 3rd street ,The Lucy Desi Museum features exact re-creations of studio sets from the beloved TV sitcom I Love Lucy, including Lucy and Ricky Ricardo’s New York City apartment and Hollywood hotel suite. Also on display are screen-used costumes and props, Emmy Awards, and scripts. So in other words… JESSICA’S HEAVEN ON EARTH!
I may not be a die hard fan of Lucy like Jessica but I can appreciate her talent and the important strides she made for woman in both comedy and television.
After shopping at the museum store we were starving but it was pouring and we didn’t want to walk to far from the hotel so we hopped in to The Cherry Lounge to grab a bite. https://www.facebook.com/CherryLoungeJTNY/
As our readers know, Jessica and I enjoy our, what we call, “fancy dinners” from time to time but we also love hitting an unassuming local hotspot for some food; especially when we’re on vacation.
Our trip was ending but before our hour drive to the Buffalo Airport we stopped at Lucy’s childhood home at 59 Luce Lane in nearby Celeron. The home is privately owned, so pictures at the door are all that you can get, but Jessica was more than happy to take her share. When you’re driving down the street it’s hard to miss the house because the garage is painted in polka dots like to resemble one of Lucy’s famous dresses.
This may have been what I coined as “Jessica’s trip” but I enjoyed it as well. You don’t have to be a Lucille Ball fan or a movie buff to appreciate the history during this trip. Life is short so if you have the chance to travel, take it. YOLO and Happy Spooning!
Sara and Jess