Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with special guest Steve Winwood

On June 22, 2008, Noel and I went to an awesome concert at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, OH. We got to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Steve Winwood. It's hard to believe Steve Winwood is an opening act for anyone! Anyway, we spent the entire weekend in Cleveland as a mini vacation. Friday we went to a restaurant called Fahrenheit. We always do a nice restaurant whenever we go to a big city and this was the best meal we've had in Cleveland so far. I had a beet salad I still dream about. This was even better than Iron Chef Michael Symon's restaurant Lola. Later on that night, we went to a comedy show. The show was OK but not quite as good as the others we've attended. Saturday, we took a ride on the Nautica Queen which is a boat that sails around Cleveland in Lake Erie. This, unfortunately was a huge disappointment. The boat was filthy dirty and that is where we had to eat lunch. Furthermore, some of the other patrons on the boat were either unsavory or very distracting. I will never do this again and recommend others stay away. But the day picked up when we went to the West Side Market and bought breads, cheeses, meats, and produce. We bought way more than we needed but everything looked so good and the products are not the kinds of things you can get just anywhere. We also went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame store and bought Ruby some clothes and bought ourselves a Rock and Roll trivia game. (Believe it or not, Noel is the reining champion. You can imagine the big head he gets from that- he can hardly get it through the doorway.) Later that evening, we went to a restaurant/bar called Fat Fish Blue. There we had a nice dinner and then for $0 got to see a live Blues show from an awesome musician named Sean Carney. He has won some awards, one being the 2007 Albert King Award. Apparently, he is also a friend of Eric Clapton. He played three sets and we were there until about 1:00am. How lucky we are. So Sunday rolls around and we are about to do one of my favorite things on Earth-Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues! This time was even better than the last! The music was rockin' and the food was spectacular. It was fun going when pregnant too because everyone expects you to pig out! After the show we traveled about 30 miles south to Cayahoga Falls and checked into our room. Next thing you know the sky is black and it's evident there is a storm a brewin'. It wasn't just any average storm, there was actually a tornado right in Stow, the town where we stayed. This is a problem because the concert is at an outside venue. Luckily though we had pavilion seats so we did not have to sit in the rain; however, the walk from the car to the seats is not covered so if there was a downpour we'd still be hurting a little. We got the parking lot extra early but the close spaces were already full-no problem we should get out faster after the show. Noel and I took our wares from the Market, had dinner in the truck, and played trivia until the rain subsided and it was close enough to show time to go in. It was a hike to get in the show, but concerts are another one of my favorite things on Earth to do so the walking didn't bother me one bit. This venue even allows you to bring in food and water so I packed sandwiches and water and we didn't have to purchase one thing. Needless to say, the show was awesome. Steve Winwood played some hits from Traffic, Blind Faith, and his own collection. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers played hit after hit after hit. It's a rare show when artists can and will play all hits. It was sad when the trip was just about over, but we were glad to get home too. I just wish we didn't have to work the next day! All in all, our trip was a blast!