Cleveland (Hewitt) - We're on campus at Case Western just an hour from kickoff.

Last night we enjoyed a great dinner with the NCAC's Keri Alexander at a really nice Italian restaurant in Cleveland's Little Italy neighborhood. Thanks Keri!

We're gearing up for our usual game coverage. Take note in the photos today of the unique setting that is Spartan Field. One side features the bleachers backed by a large parking garage while much of the remainder is surrounded by a seven-unit dormitory complex built just two years ago.

We'll have game details, quotes and photos up following the game.

Cleveland, Ohio - (Hewitt) - Brent Harris sometimes forgets as Director of New Media (whatever that title means) I have access to ALL the blogs. So - my turn!

After arriving in Cleveland, Brent settled in to watch football on television - or my idea of dentistry without the novocain. Now you understand why he keeps the road trip blogs away from me. 

I have never been to Cleveland, so I took a very chilly - no cold - walk within a four-block area of our downtown hotel.

I took some photos. Hopefully, I can identify them now that I'm thawing out. Click here to see the album.

The photo in this blog entry is the atrium or arcade of the Hyatt Regency. It was built in 1890 and is today referred to as America's first indoor mall.

The other striking thing about the city is its architecture. The downtown is filled with beautiful and different buildings of all ages. It's a striking skyline and even more striking walking around downtown.

I guess I better understand some of the critics when they harp on the newest downtown Indy big brown box building!

It was too cold to wander far, but I managed to make it to the lakefront. Check out the pics through the link above.

Medina, Ohio – Let’s try again.

Sometimes technology works great. Other times it is fun to try and figure out what happened. I posted a blog entry somewhere near Ashland, Ohio, but it disappeared somewhere in the vast wasteland of the internet.

What you missed was a chance for us to explain to our new Westerville, Ohio friends that we’re not really stalkers.

What?!

Well, it seems every trip through Columbus this year Howard and I have stopped at a soon-to-be open wine franchise called Vino100 (100 wines under $25). The first time we stopped it was clear the store was in the early stages of remodeling. A second stop in early October showed progress. When we hit the road for Wooster in late October we thought that trip would be our last chance to see if the store was open. It wasn’t. That didn’t stop Howard from hopping out of the car to peek into the store through the paper covering the windows. It was close to opening, but still not quite there yet.

There was no question Monday morning when we talked about this trip to Cleveland we were stopping one last time. With the holidays they just had to be open.

Sure enough, we pulled on the door and it opened! Our new friends Liz and Jim, the owners, showed us around the store. Now before you look for one in Indiana, stop. It doesn’t exist anywhere in the state (yet!). If you find one in your neighborhood or during your travels I would highly recommend them. If you’re a wine geek like Howard you’ll find something you like. If you’re like me and like wine, but often only know what you like and not the specifics of why the wine tastes the way it does, this store is for you. I picked out a cabernet sauvignon from Argentina that I’m looking forward to serving for the holidays.

Thanks, Liz and Jim. And I promise to not let Howard peek through the windows anymore!

Now that our commercial is done, on with the trip. We’ve arrived in Cleveland with plenty of time to spare. That gives us some time to explore and (perhaps) sneak in a quick nap before an NCAA meeting at Case tonight before we go to dinner with Keri Luchowski from the North Coast Athletic Conference office.

Sometimes it’s good to be the SID!

Clayton, Ohio - It's become something of a tradition, although mostly by accident. Howard and I are both music fans. We have similar tastes in some areas, but are open to a lot of different styles. 

Every time we cross the Indiana-Ohio state line, however, it always seems we have something in the cd player involving Indiana musicians.

Today's treat - Matchbox Twenty. About three songs in we started trading "your connection to Kyle Cook" stories. Not sure what I mean by that? Then you don't know that Mr. Cook came out of Frankfort, Indiana.

Anyway, we're just into Dayton and have avoided the urge to go back to the Wendy's in Clayton to see if you really can leave the town without doubling back (see the trip to Allegheny earlier this year). We're making good time and the weather is good (as is the traffic around Dayton). Apparently the good new about traveling on interstates on "Black Friday" is all the cars are fighting for spots in mall parking lots instead of fighting through construction on I-70.

Last side note - did you know dogs can drive cars? About five miles into Ohio we passed a car. No big deal, except when we turned to do the casual "who are we passing" look every one does, Howard and I were forced to do a double take. The face looking back at us was a German shepherd! Upon further review, the dog was sitting in the passenger seat and had just leaned over to take a look at us. 

For a moment we thought we had not only crossed the state line, but the Twilight Zone line, as well!

Smartsburg, Ind. - It's the day after Thanksgiving, so what better way to spend it than traveling to Cleveland, Ohio. 

OK, while it sounds a bit sarcastic, I'm actually happy to be spending my Friday on the road. That's because it means the Wabash football team is still playing. Would I be happier playing at Hollett Little Giant Stadium Saturday? Absolutely!

The good news for you, the faithful blog reader, is two-fold. One, it means I'm finally going to find some time to get my blog updated! The second is you will get to once again enjoy the adventures of Howard Hewitt and myself during our trip through Indiana and Ohio. 

So buckle up, finish those leftovers from yesterday, and enjoy the ride!