Scenes from 2025: Cleveland, OH

September 26, 2025

I finally arrive in Cleveland. So glad I upgraded my seat for this flight. I get off quickly and move through the airport. I imagined this moment in Charlotte and it kept me calm. After walking up the bridge, I notice that Cleveland's airport was not huge. I find my way to ground transportation and make my only real blunder of the trip, which was grabbing a cab instead of an Uber. $45, the cabbie tells me and I wince a little on the inside. I used Uber a few times on this trip and probably should have just booked it while I was in Charlotte, but oh well. I relax and look around at the surroundings. The ballpark is the first thing I see on my way in, and I smile, as I know I'll be there tomorrow.

The cab pulls up to the Westin Cleveland Downtown almost exactly at four o'clock, and I make my way to the desk. The process takes a longer time than the desk clerk would like, and she hands me a breakfast voucher at the restaurant. I head up to my room up on the 17th floor and once inside, I exhale. The travel part is over. The tourist part has begun.

Scenes from 2025- Charlotte Douglas International Airport

After a pretty uneventful flight from Milwaukee, I emerged from the tunnel in Charlotte with about three hours before my next one would leave. Checking my phone, the American app pinged me three times with three different gates, none of which were all that far away.

The thing about Charlotte is that it's like a smaller version of Atlanta. Hordes of people moving in every direction and every gate seemingly overflowing with travellers. It's not as much of a bother when you have three hours to wait, but it did make me a little weary when I was trying to find somewhere to eat my lunch. 

There's an atrium between terminals, and the atrium was filled with restaurants and convenience markets. I didn't really know what I was hungry for, but I could see Jersey Mike's and Chick Fil A. I could also see the lines at those places backing up for a while, so I eliminated those from consideration. Walking a bit further, I found a place that was a little pricey for sandwiches but also had no line. I ordered a breakfast sandwich, and I found a spot on a bench in an area that wasn't overly crowded.

I did eventually begin to get crowd fatigue. Since I was solo, I didn't have a partner to chat with. I didn't really feel like reading, and all I could focus on was the bustle of humanity flowing through the terminal. So I sat near my gate and people watched for a while, then felt an odd peaceful rush wash over me. In simplest terms, I just had to wait. I had no stress and no hurry, just a boarding pass for a flight to Cleveland. I had nothing pressing there, either, as the show I was attending didn't start for several more hours. I sat down, smiled, and imagined my flight in Cleveland landing and the freedom of being out of the airport scene for the day. 

Scenes of 2025- Mitchell Airport, Milwaukee, WI

I'm up early and an Uber took me to the airport this morning.

For a few years now, I've looked at the schedule on MLB.com and wondered what it would be like to take a baseball trip. Last month, I went through with it and booked my flights and my hotel room. Now, I've cleared security and am sitting at the gate almost two hours early for my flight to Charlotte. 

 This is my first solo trip in almost ten years. I visited my brother in DC in 2016, before I became a dad. But this is a pure solo trip. I've mostly got an itinerary. Since the weather is warm and dry, I'm seeing comedian Sheng Wang tonight, going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tomorrow morning, and seeing the Guardians play the Rangers tomorrow night. 

I'm a little in disbelief that I'm actually here and it's a little bit of a shock to the system. Every day, day after day, I do most things with my family. Kids come home, have dinner, then we spend time together. Weekends, we wake up, get ready, set, go. Today, it's just me, and it's going to be just me for the next 48+ hours. I have some nerves about that. We've travelled a lot as a family, and we rely on each other, but now it's just me. The thought has crept into my head that I could just turn around and go back home, but I know I won't. That's just me being used to being immersed with family and all its responsibilities. 

There's a family of three next to me, and I smile. I can watch the families navigate the airport, and it's not as big of a deal in Milwaukee as it will be in Charlotte, and I'm not responsible for them. It always takes me time to relax, and I know once I get seated on the plane, my nerves will calm. Some people have issues with flying, but I never have. Hey, if someone else is handling the driving or flying, I can kick back and relax...