Cleveland -- Warblers and Rock & Roll

We arrived in Cleveland on our second day on the road and set up camp at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. Nothing fancy, but convenient to downtown Cleveland. It was still early, so we drove to the Lakefront Nature Preserve to do some birding. We had heard that this area is on the migratory path for warblers. 

The Preserve is on the Lake Erie waterfront, with about three miles of loop trails. This red-wing blackbird is showing us the way.

We weren't disappointed. We saw several different kinds of birds, including ones I had never seen before. My four "firsts" are:

 Yellow warbler (there were lots of these)

   American Redstart (so high up in the tree I almost couldn't see him)

                    

Indigo bunting (this one is just starting to change to its breeding color of solid bright blue)

Blackpoll warbler (he just took a bath and was busy fluffing up his feathers)

Along the trail was an overlook with a view of the Cleveland skyline across Lake Erie.

The next morning, we headed to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This was the main reason we had decided to stop in Cleveland. Because of Covid, we had timed entry tickets. Ours were for 11:00, the first of the day. There was so much to see and read about that we spent three hours just on the first level before taking a break for lunch in the cafe. We then continued up the remaining levels before returning to the first level to finish watching a special video about the Beatles. At 5:00 closing time we finally left after completely immersing ourselves in R&R history. It was a wonderful experience. That's me standing in the sign!

It was a fun start to our adventure. Our next stop is Indiana Dunes National Park.