On Saturday, a group of my friends went to a Renaissance Faire because that is what Meagan wanted to do for her bachelorette party. I confess that I didn't quite know what to expect, and in fact anticipated that I would not enjoy myself. But my favorite parts of the day involved learning archery and getting to throw axes, ninja stars and throwing knives at chunks of wood mounted on the wall.
Today, which was probably the nicest day of the weekend, I did this:
That is a terrible picture, by the way. The sky was blue the entire time we played, and the sun was shining... but I didn't think to take any pics of the actual courts until later in the day, when the afternoon sun made the sky look a hazy shade of grey. There was enough wind to make the games challenging--and to power sailboats across the waters of Lake Erie, as you can see in the background of the photo above.
This volleyball extravaganza, which began for us at 9am and ended at 6:50pm (LONG day!) was held at Whiskey Island--er, now known as Wendy Park. I spend an awful lot of time here each summer (women's 2's on Mondays, and co-ed 4's on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, right now) and I have a soft spot for this little hidden jewel that seems to become better known to the non-boating and -volleyball crowds each year.
I started playing sand volleyball here a few years after I moved to Cleveland, back when it was just a marina, a marina bar with great views and lots of picnic tables, volleyball courts, and a huge chunk of overgrown forest. In fact, the woods were so thick that you didn't have these views of river bridges and city skyscrapers that we enjoy now:
Nor could you see much of the old Coast Guard station, which the city now owns. They are renovating the access road to the old CG station, so people will eventually be able to walk out to it (and enjoy a few observation areas on the way.) Right now, though, it still looks a bit solitary:
To the west, along the lakeshore, you see the "Edgewater" and "Gold Coast" neighborhoods of Cleveland and Lakewood, respectively. The Gold Coast is full of pricey high rises and mansions (of the real, not the Mc variety) and feels like another world compared to the humble houses in my neighborhood. It looks like big time when viewed across the water, too:
The mansions and other large houses on the Gold Coast were built long ago, and it's fun to walk through those areas. You can see wonderful examples of everything from Tudors to Italianate "palaces." I was lucky enough to be invited to a party inside one lakeside manse a few years ago, and it had all of the honest, craftsmanlike splendor you would expect from a huge house built in the early 1900s.But I digress... and I sorely need to shower, and get my tired body to bed, if I plan to get up in time for work in the morning. I really just wanted to share a little bit of my beloved Whiskey Island on my blog... and give a small glimpse of my non-gardening life on a non-gardening weekend.
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