Sandusky/Cleveland, Ohio

From Chicago I went to Sandusky, Ohio, to check out Cedar Point, the largest amusement park in the world (according to Cedar Point). There wasn't a campsite that I could stay at so, I booked a room at the Howard Johnson Express on Milan Rd. So far I have to say you get what you pay for when it comes to hotel rooms.

This particular Howard Johnson was a franchise and the service and environment was one that I didn't care for. There was a young kid at the front desk and he was on his cell phone when I walked in. He seemed reluctant to serve me, and he didn't seem knowledgeable about the hotel he worked at. He lacked much needed customer service skills. In fact, all the cheaper hotels I had been to so far lacked such services.

He put me in a room that had a mildew smell of smoke, and this was supposed to be a non-smoking room. I shared a door with another room and there was little insulation between us, so I could hear my neighbors blasting their television set and breaking ice for their beer so they could sit outside their door and take in the humid night. This was most definitely was not worth the price I paid for.

I asked for my money back and the kid said it was against their policy to refund after a purchase. I asked for proof of the policy, and he paused for a moment. There was an awkward silence. He wasn't sure what to say. I just stared at him until he finally said, "Well, I guess I could ask my manager." He picked up the phone and dialed the manager's number. The conversation was brief. It took no longer than a few seconds. He hung up, apologized, and refunded me my money. I went down the street to the La Quinta. It cost a little more, but the room and service was a little better.

The next day I drove to Cedar Point. There didn't seem to be that many people in the park. I went through the gates and I had a brief moment of nostalgia, but nothing more. The park really didn't connect with me. I saw some of the old rides that I remembered when I was a kid, like the Demon Drop, the Gemini, the Corkscrew, the Ocean Motion, the Wildcat, the Mean Streak, and others, but as I was looking around and watching the other people, it didn't seem that the park brought as much happiness to the guests as I remembered. The atmosphere was more filled with apathetic parents reluctantly baby sitting their kids while they screamed for everything on the food menu. The people at the concession stands seemed unhappy to be there too. Most of them served people with a blank look on their face. I guess all this was because it was in the middle of the week and was considered a slow day.
















I only rode a few rides before it started to drizzle. And when it rains, the park shuts all the major rides down. At that point, I only rode three roller coasters, and I didn't really care to ride any more. Besides, as I was leaving for my car, it began to pour down hard with thunder and lightning rolling in.

I left to Cleveland after Cedar Point, and the storm followed. I wanted to check out the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame but it was only open for another half hour. Other than the museum, I didn't known what there was else to do in the city, and I didn't know anyone who could show me around. So I left to Buffalo, New York.