RADIO HANNIBAL

Gorgeous Irish bars

So, it seems there's a battle over who can make the best Irish bar on the west side of Cleveland.  The brothers that own the long established Treehouse in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland have started a sort of one upsmanship. 
Opening a couple of months ago was PJ McIntyre's at the southeast corner of Rocky River Dr. and Lorain Ave.  The fixtures and design is gorgeous.  And though I've never been to Ireland, to my mind, it has a very authentic feel.  It has a huge oval bar and even more impressive stone fireplace at the back of the large room.  Bands take the stage in front of fireplace. 
Other cool things include free wi-fi and Irish breakfast served all day long.
Not to be outdone is Stone Mad at the corner W.65th and Herman Ave.  We headed there on St. Patrick's Day after being misinformed that it had opened.  It is still under construction but we did get the nickel tour.  It's a beautiful space with considerable dollars being spent.  The front area is the pub room with dark woods and a very clubby feel.  The middle area is a wine bar room which will be more quiet and  romantic.  In the back of the building there is the dining area  complete with a sunken, regulation bocce ball court. The bathrooms in the basement have intricate mosaic tiled walls.   Outdoors is a unique stone patio with outdoor fireplace.  An old house at the back of the patio is to be incorporated and the front porch used as a stage for bands.  I'm not sure what they'll do about noise problems since it's in a neighborhood. 
Here's a story from the current Cleveland Magazine.
The bottom line is that while we here in Cleveland hear news story after news story about how this area is dying with the population decreasing at a steady rate and the economy tanking, some still believe in our town and are willing to take a risk.  Here's to their success.

NPR Covers The Buzzard

So, last weekend NPR ran a story on The Buzzard by John Gorman on their All Things Considered program.  It's a book I've touted here recently. 
The story, put together by Vivian Goodman at member station WKSU, is the most concise and best portrayal of what WMMS was in its' day.  Perfect for someone who was not there to get a grasp of what we had back in the seventies.
"Buzzard" Sings Glory Of Radio Station' Glory Days

Heading to the North Shore

So, I've really turned into a big fan of surfing over the last few years. I watch every movie I can find. I'm happy to be a fan from afar.

Needless to say, I was very excited to head to the north shore yesterday where the waves are intense in the winter. 

First stop was Sunset Beach. Again, my good camera is broken so I wasn't able to get any worthwhile shots of surfers as they are pretty far off shore. There's "no swimming" signs posted on all north shore beaches but that doesn't stop the surfers or others from frolicking on the shore.
Sunset is great for surfer watching but the bottom near the shore is alot of rock/coral. Here's me tempting fate.

                                                                     Next, we headed south to Waimea Bay.  Here's me in our rented Wrangler overlooking the bay.
Parking is a bitch up north so we ended up parking on the road. From above the waves didn't look to promising but I soon found the best boogie boarding of my life.
My girlfriend had a hard time catching me in action with the camera. In one shot you'll see just the very top of my head as the wave came crashing down. I had one bad ride in which I rode too far out front and slammed hard on the shore, jarring my shoulder and neck.
                                       

An experience I'll remember for a lifetime

So yesterday morning was one of those experiences you'll remember for a lifetime. We went whale/dolphin watching/snorkeling. We chose SeaHawaii because they didn't tout their on board buffet. Many of these outfits are on large boats with "tourists". Might as well just go to an aquarium for as close up you'll be.

SeaHawaii is run by two native brothers, Walter and Tommy. Great guys. Walter picked us up at 6:30am for the hour drive to the west coast.

We boarded the small zodiac boat and headed out to sea. We had nothing but good luck.

About 10 minutes out we spotted a whale. Over the course of the two hour trip we saw that whale and another surface a few times, spout water, and breech 5 times!

Soon after the whale spotting we came across a school of Spinner dolphins. They were in fairly deep water of about 40 feet. It's on the verge of too risky due to shark territory. They just weren't coming in any closer so the decision was made to jump anyway.

We all jumped in and followed the school for awhile. We frightened them so they swam at the bottom . Still, because of the amazing clarity of the water that day we were able to see them easily. Yet another piece of luck. Oh, and the Pacific was very calm.

We boarded the boat when we lost track of the school. About 10 minutes later we found them again and dove back in. As before they headed to the bottom. We again followed them above. Suddenly they all began surfacing about 50 feet in front of us. It was heart stopping.

Back on board the boat we headed closer to shore to snorkel over the coral reefs. We swam amazingly close (5-10 feet) with giant turtles and saw a great array of colorful fish.

If you aver head here SeaHawaii is who to hook up with.  I tried taking some pix of the dolphins and whale but no luck.

I'll post a couple pix of the boat.

Radio Hannibal Takes A Holiday...in Hawaii

While my family and friends endure a winter storm that shut down the city and now must dig out of 2 feet of snow, I bask in the sun of Hawaii.  Here's some pix from our first day at Waikiki.