Being obsessed with NBC's Parenthood, I knew that actress Monica Potter (Kristina Braverman), opened up a store in her childhood home in Garrettsville, Ohio, about an hour outside of Cleveland. Since it was on the way, I had to stop! Garrettsville was a really small but nice town with a little downtown area. We got to the shop and I picked up some things for Arch. When I was checking out, I told the cashier that my dad and I were driving cross country. She asked if we wanted to have our picture taken for the store's website and we said why not! Another woman came into the shop who turned out to be Potter's sister. Dad started talking to her and she gave us some suggestions of restaurants in Cleveland. She was really interested in our trip. Dad and I left to go outside to take pictures and the lady comes out and says "Monica's (aka Kristina Braverman) is on the phone and wants to talk to you!" So I got to talk to an actresses whose work I really admire! She told me that it was great that I'm traveling with my dad and told me she's trying to get her daughter and husband to do things like this together. She asked about where we were traveling to. I told her that her store was our first stop! I was surprisingly calm while this was happening but freaked out after. Then she asked to talk to dad, and he had no idea who she was! If anyone reading this is a fan of Parenthood, this an exciting story. If not, I'm sorry!
From Garrettsville to Cleveland we drove in a downpour. We had dinner at the restaurant Potter's sister suggested called Melt Bar and Grilled. Everything on the menu was grilled cheese based and delicious. I ate a really yummy breakfast sandwich for dinner and had a Dog Fish. It was SO good. We bonded with the bar tenders over road trips and Graceland. They were all so friendly.
While my random stop was Garrettsville, dad really wanted to see the polka hall of fame in Euclid, Ohio. We took some pictures there and on the way home we stopped at a Byzantine catholic cathedral, which was beautiful. Ohio was definitely more exciting than I expected it to be! Tomorrow we drive to Chicago! I added a pic of our departure this morning!
