Shakespeare

Stuart was so busy on backpacking adventure travels during the summer of 2026, and Julie had so many musical and other commitments, that time ran out for writing about the big trip that we took to Great Britain in the spring. We are writing this in September 2026 to first share a bit about Stuart's two summer backpacking trips, and then talk about our Great Britain adventure:

• Summer 2026 Backpacking Adventures:
  - June 15-25, 2026 - Susquehannock Trail System (STS) Circuit Hike
  
  
  
  - July 17 - August 16, 2026 - Appalachian Trail Month In NH/VT
  

• Great Britain!
  

• Two Days On Our Own In London

• Saturday May 23, 2026 - More of London and Day 1: Tour Group

• Day 2, Sunday May 24, 2026 - LONDON–STONEHENGE–ILMINSTER–PLYMOUTH

• Day 3, Monday May 25, 2026 - PLYMOUTH. EXCURSION TO CORNWALL

• Day 4, Tuesday May 26, 2026 - PLYMOUTH–GLASTONBURY–BATH–CARDIFF, WALES

• Day 5, Wednesday May 27, 2026 - CARDIFF–BUILTH WELLS–LLANGOLLEN–LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND

• Day 6, Thursday May 28, 2026 - LIVERPOOL–GRASMERE–GRETNA GREEN, SCOTLAND–GLASGOW

• Day 7, Friday May 29, 2026 - GLASGOW–FORT WILLIAM–INVERNESS

• Day 8, Saturday May 30, 2026 - INVERNESS–CULLODEN–PITLOCHRY–ST. ANDREWS–EDINBURGH

• Day 9, Sunday May 31, 2026 - EDINBURGH

• Day 10, Monday June 1, 2026 - EDINBURGH–ALNWICK, ENGLAND–YORK

• Day 11, Tuesday June 2, 2026 - YORK–STRATFORD-UPON-AVON–LONDON

• Day 12, Wednesday June 3, 2026 - LONDON

This is our fifteenth "Travel" blog post! We hope you enjoy reading about these very special trips!

Over the years, I have attended Cleveland Shakespeare Festival shows at many venues around northeast Ohio, and I have even participated in their "Open Mic Shakespeare" nights at Negative Space Gallery and Mac's Backs Books. While I have enjoyed Cleveland Shakespeare Festival actors' performances at all the outdoor venues where I have seen them perform, it was at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site on July 1, 2017, that I learned of the Garfield connection with Shakespeare. I learned that the Garfield family often entertained themselves reading Shakespeare's plays!

This connection that President Garfield and his family had with William Shakespeare made Saturday, July 2, 2022, even more interesting to me as I enjoyed seeing:

• Moreland Hills Historical Society James A. Garfield Birth Site Park

• James A. Garfield National Historic Site

• Cleveland Shakespeare Festival production of Hamlet

I had a truly serendipitous moment that led me to a very enjoyable time talking to a Moreland Hills Historical Society volunteer, Debbie, at the James A. Garfield Birth Site! I had not planned on visiting the birthplace, but happened to drive by it and decided to stop.

On the James A. Garfield National Historic Site house tour, I took a lot of photos to try to capture the feeling of the house, but you really need to take the tour yourself to experience it.

...The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.

Congratulations to Cleveland Shakespeare Festival on your 25th season! I am glad to be able to celebrate this accomplishment by attending your production of Hamlet at a fitting location -- the James A. Garfield National Historic Site.

I want to thank the James A. Garfield Birth Site, James A. Garfield National Historic Site, and Cleveland Shakespeare Festival for the interesting and entertaining day. I highly encourage you to participate in the activities of these three organizations.

I hope this blog post encourages you to explore theatrical productions of Shakespeare’s work, and to learn about the 20th U.S. President's life in Ohio.

We had four days of fun and four sunsets on Lake Erie!

Our extended Fourth of July weekend, July 1-4, 2017, was filled with many activities, each day ending with a beautiful Lake Erie sunset!

• July 1st Sunset - Lake Metroparks' Lakefront Lodge after Cleveland Shakespeare Festival at James A. Garfield National Historic Site

• July 2nd Sunset - Edgewater Park of the Cleveland Metroparks Lakefront Reservation

• July 3rd Sunset - Lake Metroparks' Lake Erie Bluffs Coastal Observation Tower after exploring both the Lake Link Trail & The Holden Arboretum

• July 4th Sunset - Sunset and Fireworks at North Coast Harbor after Neighborhood Parade

Thank you to all the great organizations that made these four days of fun possible. We look forward to visiting many more Northeast Ohio venues to enjoy Lake Erie sunsets.

I think that I am like most Clevelanders who have heard of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens  -- we think it is a great idea, a real treasure for Cleveland, but never take the time to explore them. That is why I was so excited to hear that the One World Festival would take place in Rockefeller Park's Cultural Gardens.

The One World Festival was a huge event that pulled in a diverse cross section of our community with great entertainment, food, and a naturalization ceremony.

One of the highlights for me was Cleveland Shakespeare Festival's presentation of an Abridged Midsummer Night's Dream. Every summer, I enjoy the free Shakespeare plays that they perform in area parks, and was glad that the One World Festival gave me another chance to see one of their shows.

Here are this week's Cleveland tech, entrepreneur, and social media meetings as we enter the eighth month of the year 2013! Plus I also list some free summer outdoor arts events. Be sure not to miss all that is happening on Cleveland! 

Here are this week's Cleveland tech, entrepreneur, and social media meetings! Plus some free outdoor arts events are listed and the "save the date" for Cleveland GiveCamp 2014. 

Here are this week's Cleveland tech, entrepreneur, and social media meetings that I track and promote via Twitter. Plus more...

Over the summer I like to promote a few of the free outdoor arts events in which I am interested.  This week, in addition to WOW Concerts and Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, I have learned that the Cleveland Museum of Art is having free concerts and films at their new space for contemporary art in Cleveland -- Transformer Station.

Cleveland GiveCamp - ClevelandGiveCamp.org - This is a special week in Cleveland in which over 200 tech volunteers meet once a year to assist local nonprofits with their technical needs.

Wow, what a week! 

If you thought things were slowing down in Cleveland since it was after Labor Day, well you must have not looked at all that is happening this week! In addition to my Cleveland tech, entrepreneur, and social media meetings that I announce each week, I want to bring to your attention many special events this week. Meeting topics this week include: Bloggers, Python, JavaScript, MySQL, Security, Startups, Game Development, and much, much more. 

During summers in Cleveland, I add to my weekly sos_jr tech tweets some special Cleveland cultural events (free concerts, free Shakespeare). As we leave July and enter August, it seems that these have outnumbered the Cleveland tech, entrepreneur, and social media meetings that I announce each week. This week, I have also added some upcoming events of interest, and a discount code for a training opportunity.

Fun, free, outdoor cultural events! Yes, it is summer in Cleveland and I am adding to my weekly promotional sos_jr tweets special Cleveland cultural events (free concerts, free Shakespeare). This is in addition to the Cleveland tech, entrepreneur, and social media meetings that I announce each week. Enjoy!