You Know It's All About Getting One For The Land

Cleve-land, that is.

That's a HUGE billboard of LeBron James on the building in the background.

LeBron James said that about getting a championship win for the Cav's - the Cleveland Caveliers NBA basketball team.


But we weren't in Cleveland this past weekend for the Cav's game. We were there for the Cleveland Indians vs. the New York Mets baseball game.


Why go to Cleveland, Ohio for a Mets game and not New York City when we live in Upstate NY?


$$$ vs. $$$$$$......It is actually less expensive for the tickets, the gas, the lodging and almost everything else you spend money on for a trip. And it's closer.


It was a three game series for the Mets and the Indians and we had tickets to see two of them, Saturday and Sunday. This could have easily been a guy's only weekend for my husband and son but I like a live baseball game too! And I found out that the once a month flea market in Cleveland was to be on Saturday! We had all day to roam the city before the 4 p.m. game so we stopped there first.

Located in a parking lot behind some buildings in the city, it was full of all kinds of stuff, including my favorite....vintage. The railroad tracks were right there, with trains going by above the whole lot.



Not a lot was affordable enough for me to buy and resell but I did buy a few things. I paid too much but they were unique.


This was the best upcycle of vintage suitcases that I have seen yet! The music was very loud coming out of them!

With a few hours to go before the game, we decided to check out the Westside Market on 125th St. It is an indoor market with vegetables and fruit, meat and bakeries.


It literally blasted all your senses as you walked in the doors.

 Ewwww.....

 Italian goodies....

I am AnnMarie (no e) and my husband is Frank. How cool to see this cute dairy first.....

and then just to the left.....

It was so tempting to load up on all the food that surrounded us.....and how about those apple fritters?! But we were good and had juiced veggie drinks and some fresh fruit as a snack.

On our way back to the car we ran into Guitar Man, Super Hero for Hire. His slogan is "Saving Cleveland 1 Song At A Time".

We weren't quite sure how to take him but he was super fun to talk to.

Time to get to the game. The weather was gorgeous, not a cloud in the sky. Frank got us great seats, right on first base. It was a really nice field, called Progressive Field.

The Mets came out to stretch a little.

This struck me so funny. How many guys does it take to hold a hose?

Apparently 15.


Even though it was warmer back in NY, we all got sunburned from sitting out in the glorious sun for 4 hours. Not complaining!


Mets lost 7-5.


But we had some pretty good food. The best veggie pizza I have had to date!

The next morning our plan was to go to breakfast and then off to the second game. There was a Bob Evan's restaurant across the street from the hotel that the guys wanted to go to but I didn't want to go there. I wanted to find a cute diner to eat at. I googled a few places and we set off.

It would all turn into a comedy of errors.....three times!

Yours Truly was our first stop. When the GPS said "your destination is on the left" this is what we saw....

A building torn down to the studs.

I googled again. Another one that sounded cute....can't remember the cute name. This is what we found when we arrived....

Shut down for who knows how long.

Across the street was a grocery market with a huge Café sign on the building. We went inside to find out it too was closed down.

Guess where we ended up going to breakfast?

Yup, you guessed it, Bob Evans!

The game on Sunday was an early afternoon game at 1 p.m. The Cav's were playing at 3 p.m. The baseball field and the basketball arena just happened to be right next to each other. We got caught in the middle of two major sporting events going on and it was lively! Thank goodness for being able to make reservations for a parking spot online a month ago!

The weather was perfect again but we were on the third base side this time, in the shade most of the game. I was dressed in 3 layers with a scarf around my neck and a jacket over my legs. It was a great game though. Mets won 6-0.

On our way out, another colorful character was hanging out by the parking garage.

It's always a fun time in a big city! You never know what you'll see or who you'll meet. It was a memorable trip and I got to tag along with the guys!


What are you doing this weekend?


AnnMarie xoxo


I am linking up with these fun blog parties:


Thoughts of Home
Share Your Cup
Best of the Weekend
Anything Goes Pink Saturday

This Boy Can Run!

He's number 2 on the right with the goggles.
I apologize up front for the blurry pictures....not an easy subject to photograph with a point and shoot camera!

Man cannot predict what God has in mind.

A true statement when it comes to my son Michael.

Sixteen years ago the doctors at the hospital told us that our 1 pound 10 oz son, born a very, very preemie (their term back then) would never run. He was born at 28 weeks with mild Cerebral Palsy in his legs and tone in his arms. My husband asked about whether his new son could ever play baseball, his favorite sport. The answer was no because of the complications of his disability.

Little did we know that he would grow up to live and breathe basketball.

And not only know all the stats of all the teams in the NBA plus the stats of all the players, but that he would get on the court himself and continue to work on his game 3-4 times a week.

Going for a basket. 

He has proven the doctors wrong many times over the years. And after last Monday nights' game, I'd say he has found the way around his disability. He got a lot of minutes play time in each quarter of the game, scored a basket and nailed the two foul shots he took. He ran back and forth on that court more times than I could count and he ran it fast.

He doesn't have to wear the ankle to knee braces anymore that he did as a little boy. He is not in any Occupational or Physical Therapy anymore either. They told us that his disability would never improve and never get worse. That he would have to find a way to adapt to it and work around it.

He did. And you would never know that this smart, lovable 16 year old has any physical limitations on his life watching him play basketball. He has the Lord on his side who has a plan for his life that no man can interfere with.

He puts all he's got into playing too. Always ready to defend, hands up to catch a pass, eyes peeled for his next move.

His size 11 LeBron James sneakers may have a little something to do with it all (wink,wink)!

AnnMarie aka Proud MoM xoxo

I am linking up with these great blog parties:

Wake Up Wednesday Linky Party
Share Your Cup Thursday
Freedom Friday with All My Bloggy Friends