Rocky River Park

Today we were met with something that almost never happens:  no plans.  That, coupled with more sun and temperatures in the 70s meant that the entire day (with the exception of baby naps and meals) was spent outside.  We slept in and decided to drive to Rocky River Park, a small park right on the lake that we just discovered by accident about a year ago. 

One day last May, right after I'd stopped working and just a couple weeks shy of Charlotte's arrival, Chad and I went out to a coffee place nearby called Erie Island Coffee.  We'd never heard of it before and found it randomly on Urbanspoon.  It had been rated Cleveland's Best Coffee by Cleveland Magazine so we figured it must be good.  It turns out that Erie Island has incredible coffee, desserts, and food and quickly became one of our favorite places.  One entire side of their building has windows that roll up, like a garage door, when it's nice outside and makes it feel like you're sitting on a patio even if you're still indoors.  After we discovered this place, we went for a drive and found Rocky River Park tucked away in a residential area.  I can't believe we'd never heard about it: it has a beach, a pavilion, and a big playground.  You can also climb about 750 stairs (exaggerating, but not by much) and there's another grassy area up high where you can look out at the lake and see Cleveland to the east and the neighboring suburbs and coastline to the west.  It must be a pretty well kept secret since the park is rarely crowded.

We decided to head over there this morning and take Charlotte to both places for the first time.  We stopped at Erie Island first and got coffees and a piece of apple cake to share.  I love flavored coffee so I got mine with a shot of toasted marshmallow.  YUM.  It was like drinking a piping hot s'more.  The apple cake was like coffee cake, except that one piece weighed about as much as a brick.  The cake part was about 2 inches tall, with another inch of crumbly, brown-sugary deliciousness on top.  I wish I would have taken a picture of it, but it was gone before I thought of that.

We drove up the park, set Charlotte up in the carrier, and walked around lazily for the next half hour.  It was still early-ish, so there were only a few other people there (including a man who was doing intense exercise drills by running up and down those stairs as fast as he could.  This was happening as we were snarfing down apple cake).  The views at this park are beautiful, and today the water was so calm it looked like glass.

I can't wait to come back here.  I hope you're enjoying your Saturday, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

~Stacy