Summer vacation day 14: Cleveland, Canton, & Mansfield OH and Ft Wayne IN

I had really wanted to visit the West Side Market and have some food & drinks there and at some places nearby, but it was closed on Thursdays, so we had to settle for a quick visit in the morning before leaving town on Friday.  It was a really pretty building and fun place to wander around.

of course the big sign for the market was on the other side and I didn't know that until we left in the car!

And we also stopped in at Mitchell's for ice cream nearby.  What a wonderful place!  The staff was so happy and generous with tastings.  And you could watch the whole behind the scenes operation behind the glass from different angles.  The ice cream was spectacular.  We definitely need to come back to Cleveland for the food.  There were so many places I had wanted to try.  Not enough time!!!

A short drive from Cleveland is Akron, and so we stopped just off the highway to see the outside of LeBron's house.  it didn't look all that impressive from the front, and was in the middle of a regular looking neighborhood, but I've seen arial shots that show just how big it is.

And then it was onto Canton!  The day Leighton had been waiting for!  Our day at The NFL Hall of Fame.  Another expensive place to enter for a family of 4, but it was incredibly well done and we all really enjoyed it!

We then had a bit of a long drive to Ft Wayne, IN where we were staying the night.  We stopped part way in Mansfield, OH.  The movie Shawshank Redemption was filmed around here.  We sat on the bench in the park from the movie and also drove to the prison where some filming took place, which you can tour but it was closed by the time we were there.

The sunset was so intense that I couldn't see the 'Welcome to Indiana sign until it was too late to snap our usual photo.  Boo.  I took a screen shot of us crossing the state line on the map on my phone instead though!

It was past dinner by the time we got to Ft Wayne, so the restaurant (Shigs in Pit BBQ, ha ha ha!!!) I wanted to go to was already closed, so we grabbed a pizza from a place nearby.  It was a bit .... shady ... sketchy ... scary (the staff was behind thick glass with only a little slot to pay through - like at a bank!  And a car was waiting in the deserted parking lot that appeared to be waiting for some sort of deal because they approached our car thinking we were who they were waiting for.  Eek.  Character building!  And a good story to tell!) .... but the pizza (and the grinder - a sandwich we've never heard of before - was soooooo good) to take back to the room.