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Mom, this one is for you...
When Jen wrote this post, challenging her readers to think of 31 reasons (one for each day in the month of May) why we love Cleveland, I jumped right on the WhyCLE bandwagon.
One day, earlier this year, I updated my facebook status with "I LOVE CLEVELAND!" to which my mom replied; "Why?!"
That seems like the obvious question, right? I mean, I'm that girl who moved from Hawaii to Ohio (via New Jersey). Which are two states that are basically polar opposites of each other. I won't lie when I said that it took some time to get used to Cleveland, but I could probably say that about anyplace that I might have moved. At the end of the day, I moved to a state where I new just about nobody...so that had a big effect on the time it took me to "get used" to it here.
Now, I can confidently say that I love it here! Thanks to Jen, I have taken the time to document thirty one reasons why I love Cleveland so much.
So Mom, to answer your question...
May 1st - Perfect summer weather. Did I really write that at the beginning of May? For the record, it rained for the rest of the month (as I'm sure you all know). Well, for those random summery-feeling days in the midst of a two-month rainstorm, CLE I love you.
May 2nd - Sunny days! You appreciate them so much when they are as few as they are here. Hey, I grew up in a state with 270+ days of sunshine every year. Compare that to Cleveland's 70ish days a year! I'll tell ya what though, I've never experienced the sheer joy from appreciating sunshine so much as I have since moving here. For that, CLE I love you.
May 3rd - CLE bloggers. I think I said it all in this post but I have to reiterate, CLE-bloggers, I love you.
May 4th - the local food community. I have never lived in a state with as much farmland as there is in Ohio. I really appreciate the big push there is in this area to support local farmers and businesses by eating and buying locally. There is a farmer's market for every day of the week around here and many growing organizations to build up the community around local business owners, farmers, artists. It's tells me that we're all Clevelanders, and we support each other. I love that!
May 5th - the occasional beautiful sunset. I am sometimes surprised at how beautiful
May 6th - the Cleveland Indians. Okay, I wrote this when they were in first place by about 6 games, now they're only up by 1.5 games. That's okay though, I still love the Indians! In fact, I'm going to be going to the Indians Social Suite in a few weeks. Tribe, I love you.
May 7th - Dopplerock. If it was December, I would have said Christmas Ale...but let's be real, nothing beats a Great Lakes Christmas Ale. I had never tried their Dopplerock before this year and it first came out during my alcohol hiatus so as soon as I started drinking again...Dopplerock. Simply delicious.
May 8th - Thunderstorms that suddenly and unexpectedly interrupt a weekend barbeque. Not sure why this was a surprise, as it rained all April and May. Regardless, it was a fun surprise because we quickly had to swoop up all the food and move it inside....and then the rain promptly stopped.
May 9th - Days that are supposed to be rainy, that turn out to be beautiful. Surprise! You're in CLE!
May 10th - Lilac blooming that smells amazing on a morning run. Notice there are a lot of things about nature on this list. Ohio is an incredibly beautiful state, I wish more people would realize that and get past it's reputation.
May 11th - Hopkins airport is a gajillion times more awesome than O’Hare. This was obviously a travel day for me. Hopkins is smaller, quicker, and on-time WAY more often. CLE Hopkins Airport, I love you.
May 12th - a nice drizzle instead of a monthlong downpour. I guess I need a break from the rain sometimes. It was impossible to put any plants in the ground with it being so wet for 2 months.
May 13th - Knowing that there are people that truly LOVE Cleveland, despite it’s flaws. There are even people who didn’t grow up here that feel that way (ahem, me). CLE-ers, I love you.
May 14th - North Union Farmer’s Market, and more specifically Blaze Gourmet hot sauce. If you haven't tried any yet, you haven't lived!
May 15th - spectators at the marathon! I heard people yelling “you guys make cleveland proud” and saw my favorite sign "Run faster! I just farted!"
May 16th - Gale’s Garden Center in Maple Heights. I didn't know this place existed before I bought the Groupon for it. We ended up with 15 tomato plants and 20 pepper plants for the garden.
May 17th - push-ups every hour at work. I somehow convinced my colleagues to do pushups every hour with me. I'm lucky to have coworkers who are tolerant of my antics!
May 18th - Spring CSA veggies, especially the green garlic. SO good when you grill it!
May 19th - Dogs. Even when they poop in places they’re not supposed to.
May 20th - Raised bed gardens. At the point in time when I wrote this, my raised beds were the only place we could put plants into the ground. The in-ground garden was sopping wet!
May 21st - Dusting off my bike for the first time this summer and getting out for a ride! I was totally unaware that there are so many incredible places to ride around Cleveland.
May 22 - Hessler street fair, and tye-dye. Any street fair that lets me shed my outer layer of yuppie and let my inner hippie shine is great in my book!
May 23rd - Suprise thunderstorm right after hanging laundry outside. Not even the radar saw that coming...it just suddenly showed up as a blip that was ONLY OVER CLEVELAND. Good thing the rest of the day was 90 degrees. Although, sometimes I wonder why I even wash my laundry...if I hang it on the line it will get washed AND dried!
May 24th - Sold out indians games that have too many fans to give out choo jerseys to. Whoops, whose job was it to determine how many jerseys they needed. Fire that guy. Haha, I'm kidding - it's a really good problem to have!
May 25 - Going for a run with the puppies. I don't even have t explain this one.
May 26th - Cleveland musicians...especially the love of my life.
May 27th - A Great Lakes brewski after work. See May 7th. Great Lakes Brewing, I love you.
May 28th - Ohio artists. There are so many talented people in Cleveland and that means a lot of fun art fairs, shows, festivals, etc. I'd go to every one if I could!
May 29th - Clean puppies. I'm going to amend this one: Clean puppies who go out and get muddy right after their showers.
May 30th - Memorial day races around the corner from my house...and races in general, the running community here is large and in charge.
May 31st - Lunchtime yoga in 90 degree weather! Thank goodness there is a semi-private grassy area for me to practice yoga while I'm at work.
P.S. I realize it's already June, but (once again) I'm late to the game on this post.
So there you go, 31 WhyCLE reasons and there are a million more! If you don't believe me, you'll just have to come out here and visit!
peace+love,
May 2nd - Sunny days! You appreciate them so much when they are as few as they are here. Hey, I grew up in a state with 270+ days of sunshine every year. Compare that to Cleveland's 70ish days a year! I'll tell ya what though, I've never experienced the sheer joy from appreciating sunshine so much as I have since moving here. For that, CLE I love you.
May 3rd - CLE bloggers. I think I said it all in this post but I have to reiterate, CLE-bloggers, I love you.
May 4th - the local food community. I have never lived in a state with as much farmland as there is in Ohio. I really appreciate the big push there is in this area to support local farmers and businesses by eating and buying locally. There is a farmer's market for every day of the week around here and many growing organizations to build up the community around local business owners, farmers, artists. It's tells me that we're all Clevelanders, and we support each other. I love that!
May 5th - the occasional beautiful sunset. I am sometimes surprised at how beautiful
May 6th - the Cleveland Indians. Okay, I wrote this when they were in first place by about 6 games, now they're only up by 1.5 games. That's okay though, I still love the Indians! In fact, I'm going to be going to the Indians Social Suite in a few weeks. Tribe, I love you.
May 7th - Dopplerock. If it was December, I would have said Christmas Ale...but let's be real, nothing beats a Great Lakes Christmas Ale. I had never tried their Dopplerock before this year and it first came out during my alcohol hiatus so as soon as I started drinking again...Dopplerock. Simply delicious.
May 8th - Thunderstorms that suddenly and unexpectedly interrupt a weekend barbeque. Not sure why this was a surprise, as it rained all April and May. Regardless, it was a fun surprise because we quickly had to swoop up all the food and move it inside....and then the rain promptly stopped.
May 9th - Days that are supposed to be rainy, that turn out to be beautiful. Surprise! You're in CLE!
May 10th - Lilac blooming that smells amazing on a morning run. Notice there are a lot of things about nature on this list. Ohio is an incredibly beautiful state, I wish more people would realize that and get past it's reputation.
May 11th - Hopkins airport is a gajillion times more awesome than O’Hare. This was obviously a travel day for me. Hopkins is smaller, quicker, and on-time WAY more often. CLE Hopkins Airport, I love you.
May 12th - a nice drizzle instead of a monthlong downpour. I guess I need a break from the rain sometimes. It was impossible to put any plants in the ground with it being so wet for 2 months.
May 13th - Knowing that there are people that truly LOVE Cleveland, despite it’s flaws. There are even people who didn’t grow up here that feel that way (ahem, me). CLE-ers, I love you.
May 14th - North Union Farmer’s Market, and more specifically Blaze Gourmet hot sauce. If you haven't tried any yet, you haven't lived!
May 15th - spectators at the marathon! I heard people yelling “you guys make cleveland proud” and saw my favorite sign "Run faster! I just farted!"
May 16th - Gale’s Garden Center in Maple Heights. I didn't know this place existed before I bought the Groupon for it. We ended up with 15 tomato plants and 20 pepper plants for the garden.
May 17th - push-ups every hour at work. I somehow convinced my colleagues to do pushups every hour with me. I'm lucky to have coworkers who are tolerant of my antics!
May 18th - Spring CSA veggies, especially the green garlic. SO good when you grill it!
May 19th - Dogs. Even when they poop in places they’re not supposed to.
May 20th - Raised bed gardens. At the point in time when I wrote this, my raised beds were the only place we could put plants into the ground. The in-ground garden was sopping wet!
May 21st - Dusting off my bike for the first time this summer and getting out for a ride! I was totally unaware that there are so many incredible places to ride around Cleveland.
May 22 - Hessler street fair, and tye-dye. Any street fair that lets me shed my outer layer of yuppie and let my inner hippie shine is great in my book!
May 23rd - Suprise thunderstorm right after hanging laundry outside. Not even the radar saw that coming...it just suddenly showed up as a blip that was ONLY OVER CLEVELAND. Good thing the rest of the day was 90 degrees. Although, sometimes I wonder why I even wash my laundry...if I hang it on the line it will get washed AND dried!
May 24th - Sold out indians games that have too many fans to give out choo jerseys to. Whoops, whose job was it to determine how many jerseys they needed. Fire that guy. Haha, I'm kidding - it's a really good problem to have!
May 25 - Going for a run with the puppies. I don't even have t explain this one.
May 26th - Cleveland musicians...especially the love of my life.
May 27th - A Great Lakes brewski after work. See May 7th. Great Lakes Brewing, I love you.
May 28th - Ohio artists. There are so many talented people in Cleveland and that means a lot of fun art fairs, shows, festivals, etc. I'd go to every one if I could!
May 29th - Clean puppies. I'm going to amend this one: Clean puppies who go out and get muddy right after their showers.
May 30th - Memorial day races around the corner from my house...and races in general, the running community here is large and in charge.
May 31st - Lunchtime yoga in 90 degree weather! Thank goodness there is a semi-private grassy area for me to practice yoga while I'm at work.
P.S. I realize it's already June, but (once again) I'm late to the game on this post.
So there you go, 31 WhyCLE reasons and there are a million more! If you don't believe me, you'll just have to come out here and visit!
peace+love,
