Chagrin Falls is one of those quaint little american towns with the iconic colorful local shops,…read morefamily run restaurants, kid-friendly parks, and even a gazebo in the town center! It's the picture perfect representation of Americana. Expect I personally think it's all fake. I have a like/hate relationship with the Falls. It feels too commercialized to be real, like the town it capitalizing on the small american lifestyle without actually being "small America". Maybe I've seen Pleasantville one too many times but this place just seems off. The stores aren't actually local, the restaurants aren't really run by families, the Starbucks is the most frequented stop, and unless you're making a hefty yearly salary, you just feel unwelcome. Or at least that's how I feel when I'm here. One time I had my NPR bumper sticker stolen off my car here. Now I don't know about you, but I don't think they wanted it for themselves. It was more like they didn't want that kind of riffraff in their town. Also, (this is the last thing I swear) no public transportation runs through Chagrin Falls. I have written to town hall about this because I think 1: it's discriminatory and 2: it's terrible marketing. Take it as you will, I'm just not a fan.

Quaint, cozy, cute, commercial, containing a nice helping of natural beauty and historic charm,…read morecomplete with shops, restaurants, scenic views and parks for enjoying. Thus completes my alliterative one sentence review of @Chagrinfalls so there you go @Ohio_Tourism @OhioTourism

The Key Tower stands at 948 feet tall in downtown Cleveland. The Terminal Tower is 771 feet…read more People perch by the river valley in Tremont for pictures with the Cleveland skyline in the background. I encourage the reader to venture 10 miles south to Parma, OH and climb 500 feet in elevation to the highlands. There is a beautiful collection of television and radio towers there. Most are taller than the Key Tower and in my estimation it is a far more unique and interesting photo op. Wikipedia says that this grouping of towers is second only to Mount Wilson in LA. I stood at the foot of one of these hulking beasts today and almost lost my balance when I kept moving my neck to see the top. Maybe equilibrium was lost because of the tower transmissions burrowing a hole into my brain. I harken back to one of the greatest films of all time They Live by John Carpenter starring Roddy Piper. The mission of the protagonist was to stop radio towers from programming our population thereby destroying humanity. I am conflicted with the plot because I love these towers so much and would never want any harm done to them. Come check out the towers when you have a chance. Don't worry about RF radiation exposure. You will not be sorry. http://www.fybush.com/sites/2004/site-040212.html

Apparently, pilots flying over this piece of land that a few antennas rest on, call it the Antenna…read moreFarm. Not much more to say about this, to the dull mind anyways. Have you ever been to a place so magical, you felt like you may float away at any time..? If your answer is no, then you have never been to the Cleveland Antenna Farm. It is a breathtaking few acres of land containing giant magical steel structures that send out signals that travel to far far away places for little children and grown folk as well to watch tv, play on their phones/tablets/beepers(maybe)?/computers/etc.. Nearby houses love this place so much, they attach mini Antenna to the roofs of their homes in attempts to bring some of the magic even closer to home. I bet by next year the word spreads and theres an entrance fee to this place. I imagine it to be something similar to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Very mind blowing! All this is complete bs btw, or is it..? Check it out for yourself.

Beautiful waterfall in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio. Can also do a short hike around.read more

Fun part of Cuyahoga Valley, apparently it's one of the main draws for this national park…read more There are a few trails, including a loop around the falls that's under two miles, with a little bit of an incline but still not overly challenging. There's also a bike trail leading out from the trailhead to other parts of the valley. The falls were there. I suppose for this region they're a sight to behold, but if you've been to other waterfalls in pretty much any other part of the country/world, these won't be too impressive. Pleasant enough area for a shorter hike and cool geology.

So you are trying to get all the National Parks and National Historic Site Passport Stamps for your…read moreNational Parks Passport book. There are 404 to get as of this writing in May of 2014, and one of them is the David Berger National Memorial found on the grounds of Mandel Jewish Community Center in Beachwood, Ohio. Frankly, it was on a fluke that we even stopped here. We were exploring other National Parks and National Historic Sites in NE Ohio, and our Fodor's America's National Parks listed this as one of the 369 National Park sites as of the 1996/1997 printing. We investigated it online, and sure enough, this somewhat lonely statue south of the main entrance of the Mandel JCC is one of our nation's few National Memorials. Designed by David E. Davis, an internationally renowned Cleveland sculptor, the work has had several homes since it was authorized by Congress as the David Berger National Memorial on March 5, 1980 (Public Law 96-199). Since the fall of 2006 it has been at it's current location after being restored at McKay Lodge Fine Arts Conservation Laboratory, in Oberlin, Ohio, in the year or so before its instillation at its current locale. It is a simple, but somehow very moving sculpture honoring all of the athletes and coaches that were murdered by Palestinian Terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics. I had no memory that one of those athletes was an America citizen, and Jewish Olympic athlete, David Berger. This sculpture is his National Memorial. The half circles represent 5 broken Olympic circles, the base consists of a support for those Olympic Circles representing each of the slain athlete's, with David Berger's support being slightly different from all the others to represent him individually as the sole lost American citizen in this tragedy. Not much really, but worth a picnic lunch while we learned about the details of a tragedy long forgotten by most, and a man that could easily be totally forgotten if it had not been for this National Memorial to him. Glad we stopped to relearn this part of our American heritage, and would recommend it to you too. Just don't make it THE reason for your trip here, combine it on your way from some of the other great whole day National Parks in this part of Ohio (Cuyahoga, First Ladies NHS in Canton, or Garfield NHS, to name three, two of which we saw on our spring break trip in April of 2014). Interestingly, it is not listed in the current Fodor's America's National Parks edition that I looked through. But it is listed on the National Park Service website. There is a stamp available for your Passport book, but it needs to be obtained at the Mandel JCC front desk, which has specific hours during which it can be obtained from what we found to be a very cheerful and helpful front desk staff at Mandel JCC. Maybe not worth a separate trip to the SE Cleveland metro area to see, but if you are passing through, or close, and you collect Passport stamps as we do, it is a worthwhile National Memorial to visit, and what you learn about David Berger and the Munich Olympic horror is probably a darn good lesson for us all to not forget.

Symbolic memorial to David Berger, a Cleveland native who was one of the athletes killed in the…read more1972 Munich Olympics terrorist attack. Whether or not you're going to get the NPS stamp, it's a piece of Cleveland history and worth checking out if you're in the area.

Beaver Marsh is the southernmost part of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, a casual flat trail for an…read moreeasy hike or brisk walk. Part of the trail is a boardwalk over marshland, with viewing spots for wildlife - mostly birds, but allegedly the big draw is beavers (hence the name) and otters. The recommendation is to go at dusk or dawn, the best times to maximize your odds of a beaver sighting. Be warned though, it's also the best time for mosquitoes: it's a marsh, after all. Not a ton of parking at the trailhead, which can be annoying given how remote this part of the park is.

While I am usually looking for a challenge every so often I just want to have a nice easy walk and…read moreenjoy the scenery; the Beaver Marsh in Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a great place for this type of day. Located about half way through the park, across from Howe Meadow there are parking lots at either end of the marsh. Parking at the South lot it is a short walk to the Towpath Trail which allows you to traverse the marsh on the boardwalk. The boardwalk has several projections with informative signs and benches. The marsh is fascinating, created when the park took over a large auto junkyard, cleaned it up and reintroduce beavers to the area. The marsh is wide and long with plenty to see and hear. During the non-winter seasons there are plenty of birds around. You can usually find Blue Herons, ducks, red winged blackbirds and others. In the water you can see fish, turtles and frogs and if you are lucky possibly see a beaver or otter. Recently I did spot a nice snake on a log next to the boardwalk. At the North end of the boardwalk you can see where the beaver dam is blocking the flow in the abandoned canal which actually creates the marsh. Just south of the marsh on the trail is an abandoned lock that gives you an idea of how the lock system and canal worked. Overall the Beaver Marsh is a great place to hang out observe nature at some of its most scenic. If you want a more ambitious walk the Towpath Trail offers endless possibilities and the Beaver Marsh is a great place to start or just stop in a longer walk or ride.

Love the depth of books available at this branch. The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful.read more

I am really not sure why this library has so many negative reviews -- honestly, it is the perfect…read moresize library for what it is able to offer. As a law student, I am ALWAYS working on something -- may it be a project, a paper, or just general studying, and being my school is about 40 minutes away from NR, the fact that I can get a study room and use it FOR FREE makes it so nice. They have plenty of places to study, and even though the library is on the smaller side, there are still plenty of spaces to work at. There is an area right up front with a vending machine for snacks, coffee, and soda. Plenty of comfy chairs to use. Can't find something in the library? They are able to order anything from other libraries across Ohio! Free library card access as well. Just need a drivers license to sign up! Perfect place to study, bring your kids for activities, or even just get a book and read!

Ohio State Route 82 is pretty rutty and curves in slaloms galore. On Route 82 you can get through…read morethe Cuyahoga National Park South of Cleveland and over to Macedonia and pretty Northfield, OH. The Cuyahoga River moves North - South and has multiple parks, waterfalls, picnic areas, car lots, bike paths, walkways and historical signs to read! This area of Cleveland is very serene, quiet and a nature preserve filled with outdoor stillness. The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is vast and green and connects lots of towns East - West South is Cleveland. Unfortunately some of these backwoods roads are near-undriveable and almost not street legal in their derelict state. Signs are missing. There are a few old train stops, but who knows where they will take you and if they even still are in service. Review: 4 star Nature Park, bad signs, bad roads

i stopped in on a Monday morning to return a book and browse some nonfiction. I found a great…read moreselection of crafting and crochet books and some beautiful home decor books on the shelves. The Friends' 'Free to a good home' cart was well-stocked. The only downside at this time is that the preschooler program is quite loud. Also not sure the one-way traffic flow is needed for the parking lot here, and it's easy to miss the signage.