Cleveland June 2026

Since we had a long weekend due to the Juneteenth holiday, we decided to take Avalanche on a little driving trip!

This was the first time ever he sat in my lap!
(he wasn't happy at first, but finally relented LOL)

We drove to Ohio on Friday, stopping north of Pittsburgh to have lunch with my dad before continuing on to our hotel. We stayed at Staybridge Suites in Stow and as usual, Avalanche was a perfect hotel guest for our two-night stay.

he really gets confused in an elevator

looking to C for an explanation
of what was happening

he is right at home anywhere that isn't the elevator

checking out the room

a very happy traveler

door magnet to let housekeeping
know that there's a
"Furry Friend Inside"

we;d been to Culver's once many years ago,
just for ice cream, so this was our first real dining
experience there...pretty good for a fast food place
and pleasantly surprised that they offer veggie burgers

On Saturday morning, we went to a local coffee place and then spent some time at Cuyahoga National Park, which is beautiful! Our visit to Cuyahoga brings our current total to 37 out of the 63 National Parks!

we loved the name of this place

the coffee was great!

I am obsessed with Togo, the sled dog who was the true hero of the 1925 serum run in Alaska and there is a Togo statue at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, so of course I had to go! C and Avalanche dropped me off and I went into the zoo on a mission to find the statue, but I did stop to admire a few animals along the way. The zoo was prepping for its upcoming annual Asian Lantern Festival, so it was fun to see some of that decor as well!

After our quick stop at the zoo, we went to Edgewater Park, which is home to one of the Cleveland Script Signs. It was a beautiful day and we spent some time wandering through the park and admiring the view of Lake Erie and the downtown area. Afterwards, we drove past the Glenn Research Center just to take some pictures before going to a local Mexican restaurant for dinner, which was delicious! Our final stop of the night was back at Culver's...Saturday would have been my mom's 77th birthday, so we toasted to her with a turtle sundae, which were her favorite. This has become a yearly tradition every June 20th!

I love him so much!

On Sunday morning, we headed home, arriving mid-afternoon because it was only a six-hour drive. We had such a great weekend...all of our international trips are absolutely amazing, but there's nothing like a fun little road trip!

Happy Tails to you!