RNC Rewind: How I spent My Summer Staycation

If there ever was a year for a Cleveland Staycation, 2016 is it.

First there was the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA championship and the 1.5 million man parade.

Then came the Republican National Convention, an event that proved if you can’t see the world, the world just might come to you.

What a treat it was to see the brand new Cleveland Public Square lit up for the first time. Delegates from around the country, like Texans in their Lone Star Shirts and South Carolinians in straw hats and searsucker suits, were walking our streets and actually GAWKING at skyscrapers we have taken for granted for years. How great the Terminal Tower looked bathed in patriotic red, white and blue lights.

On E. 4th St., there was a convergence of humanity beyond imagination. Milling around the MSNBC inflatable TV studio, street preachers, men dressed like nuns, Trump backers, Hillary haters all contributed to a cavalcade of chaos politely patrolled by police from all over the country.  Shoulder patches on state troopers from California, West Virginia, Indiana and all over the country were noted.

Bumping into Cleveland RNC Committee Chair and event master of ceremonies David Gilbert within the 4th St. bazaar, he smiled and posed for a quick photo. Later, he said Cleveland should be proud of the way we handled the RNC here on the shores of Lake Erie. It was an event that we should not regard as a destination, but a runway for launching future attractions of national caliber.

Or even a great way to take off on a summer staycation in Cleveland, 2016.

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