What to Watch For in Cleveland: Rock Hall and LeBron. That's the List

It's his town.

Cleveland, OH

June 2016

NBA Finals Game 3 - Warriors at Cavs

When I first got to my hotel in downtown Cleveland around 1am, the fire department was inspecting the lobby.  #SoCleveland

As you'll have noticed by now, I'm a fan of random art. Here's a stamp labeled "free." Free from solid dining options maybe...

Skyline from Lake Erie.

That's the Browns stadium to the right. Bet you didn't think Cleveland rocked like this, eh???

Speaking of rock, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! What are the odds? #AmazingSegue

This is one of Bruce Springsteen's guitars. This antiquated site will not allow me to adjust the photo, so you may have to crank your neck. It's quite a gorgeous guitar that was donated to Bruce.

George Clinton's Atomic Dog slippers! Dude wore these on stage.

Michael Jackson's uniform when he served in our armed forces. #NotTrue

MJ's glove yo! It's no Franklin batting glove, that looks mad uncomfortable.

Run DMC's Adidas and glasses. Those frames would make me feel like an elderly Seinfeld character.

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr bubbles baths. I already used my good joke on Instagram. Sigh.

So John Lennon created this mock newspaper when he was in grammar school! The artistry is incredibly impressive. This was done in the 50s. What's far less impressive, is that he casually dropped an N-bomb in it. Hmmmm. Sure he was young and British colloquialisms were different in the 50s, but still... Not cool, John.

The cover to his satirical illustrated newspaper, the Daily Howl.

More Daily Howl. Don't know why Winston Churchill doesn't get arms in his drawing. Is that a metaphor... or would you say... that's a reach?? #ImHereAllDay 

When Prince changed his name to the symbol, he sent this floppy disk to media outlets so they could download an use it properly. It's called a floppy disk, kids! But I never agreed with calling these things "floppy," unlike their actual floppy predecessors. Those things were great. You had to handle those things like plutonium they were so fragile.

The actual wall from a Pink Floyd "The Wall" concert. 

I'm feeling this dude. But this TV is way too new to be The Wall era. This set must've been from a later performance. Or the whole thing is a sham. I just noticed it says 1995 on the wall. Were TVs that thin in 1995? Something is awry.

Downtown before it's bombarded by fans.

This mural is so sick. The city was going to take it down, but after they won the chip, forget that.

The Q, where the Cavs play, is on the far left. In proportion to everything, that mural is massive. No wonder the dude's ego is so big, but you can you really blame him. The city worships him.

Pre-game 3 fan fest outside the arena. The Indians, that's baseball for some of y'all, play across the street.

Shirts on shirts on shirts.

Quicken loans/Cavs owner Dan Gilbert also owns Fathead. They gave these out to the seats behind the hoop, hoping to distract players shooting free throws.

Press row.

Blowout.

Suits and sneaks part 2.

Art in ATL

Atlanta Jazz Festival

Atlanta

May 2016

All photos unfiltered. Except the one above... which is heavily filtered.

Georgia Aquarium with Mindy, her niece, and mom. #CuriousChons.

Debatable as to who was more fascinated by the aquarium - niece...

Or Mindy.

I don't know the pizza scene in Atlanta, but any list is garbage if it Antico isn't on it. Delicious and highly recommended for a visit. Almost as good as the Hawaiian BBQ chicken at Papa John's! #ButReallyIsAnythingThatGood?

Atlanta's Beltline, a 22-mile-long trail that weaves through the city and connects 45 different communities via converted railroad tracks. It's modeled after NYC's High Line. There's incredible art showcased along the entire trail, like this mesmerizing tribute to Urkel. #NotUrkel It's actually called The Art of Reconciliation and probably has a very serious meaning. #LikeLeaveLauraWinslowAlone

King Kong climbing the Eiffel Tower.

What the heck is this monkey from? I feel like I know this image, but I can't remember for the life of me. Is it a video game? A cartoon? Is that Curious George???

Gigantic Asian mural alert!

Would you believe I could read 50% of the characters on this wall? If so, you would be wrong.

This can isn't just brilliant marketing, but it's actually a legitimately great beer. Wild Heaven Craft Beers. Go take care of your emergency.

Ladybird Grove and Mess Hall along the Belt. Great vibe. This is like if Austin, TX, uprooted and settled in Atlanta. Chill outdoor patio area. Very popular spot. You will unintentionally eavesdrop on at least 5 college football conversations and see at least 10 floppy-haired dudes wearing Polos.

This building doesn't look like anything special, but inside is some of the best food I've ever had! It's called Staplehouse and was featured in GQ's Best New Restaurants of 2016. Different, pricey, but legit. It's in the Edgewood neighborhood.

Fascinated by this mural in Edgewood. Exploration, baby!

Morning view of the skyline from Piedmont Park.

My Wyoming roommates having an impromptu ATL reunion. #BeechStreetGang

Free Fallin: Dominican Part Deux

September 2015

#JustGo

Waterfall. Jumps. This is the one thing that I absolutely had to do in my visit to the Dominican Republic. No matter where I was in the country, I had to jump off some falls. I saw an article about a tour company, Iguana Mama (www.iguanamama.com), that allowed you to jump off 27 waterfalls in the Dominican. When I heard this I yelled "Get out" and violently pushed the closest person next to me like Elaine from "Seinfeld." I contacted the tour's owner, and he told me because of a severe drought, you could only jump off 12 waterfalls at the moment, and the best tour for us would be the Rappeller's Delight because it was located in an area where the water was still deep enough to safely jump. 

In.

The cost of the tour is $129 US, and includes breakfast and lunch (breakfast being a small sandwich but a delicious authentic, homemade-style meal for lunch) and goes from about 8-3p. After a 45-minute or so drive from Cabarete to Duarte, we began a hefty hike through the jungle that was no joke. We were fortunate that the tour was just 4 people. I can imagine it becoming much more exhausting with a huge group. I was pouring sweat on the hike down, as you're wearing a wet suit. On the plus side, there weren't a ton of mosquitos or biting insects and I probably lost 90 pounds of water weight. Be sure to properly hydrate on this tour. 

I don't remember how many rappels we did, maybe around 6? They were all easy and the footing was fine.

I need to start flexing in these pics.

After the rappels, it was time to explore the water. Normally a lot of this area would be covered in water.

The water was probably in the 70s. I'm totally guessing. I had a wetsuit on, people! Whatever it was warm enough.

This was after the first jump, around 40-feet. Same spot as the opening pic of this blog. 

Contemplative.

Getting instructions on where to jump because apparently if I jump too far to the left, there are rocks. #ThatSucks

This is in mid-air. Look to the left of my shoe and you can see my shadow. This jump was also around 40-feet.

Ciguapa Falls is stunning. A perfect aqua.

Angela contemplating her final jump. 

The hike back up was far more grueling than the hike down. After a 30-minute trek that felt like we were extras in "Everest," we got to an area and rented some burros! Just $10 and so worth it. The hike up was so intense that one of the dudes kept puking. For real, but that was also because he was smoking a lot on the trip - which isn't supposed to be allowed - so maybe it's just karma!

Selfie time with this jackass! #AndTheDonkey #SeeWhatIDidThere?!

SANTO DOMINGO

We had the Iguana Mama tour drop us off directly at the Sosua bus station and immediately hopped on a bus all the way back to Santo Domingo.

The Occidental El Embajador. Still no Michael Corleone. #SeePreviousBlogPost

A popular Dominican rum, Ron Barcelo. I've got no beef with it.

I read a Rough Guides article that told me Malecon is 10-km long boardwalk area in Santo Domingo that was full of bustling nightlife. I tried to convince some film festival goers to join me on an evening jaunt to check it out, but all the locals warned them it was too dangerous. I was still curious so I paid a cab driver $20 US to chauffeur me around the city… which was rad! The chauffeur part that is. Malecon left something to be desired. The area is apparently shady enough that the cab driver insisted he walk across the street with me when I told him I just wanted to take a picture. Dude was like the guy who drove Al Pacino around in "Scent of a Woman." Rough Guides has a questionable definition of "bustling."

I mean there was this statue of two big naked butts, so Malecon did have that going for it.

Where is everybody?!

This was a slightly more populated area of Malecon, considering the time of the night. And by that I mean there were a lot of ladies of the night walking around. Prostitutes, folks! #ThatsNotWhyImSmiling

Totally dug the graffiti art though.

Impressive.

And plentiful.

I bid DR adieu with this. A very questionable magnet design.