Thursday, August 31, 2006

Lolly The Trolley, Cleveland

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A wonderful ride through downtown Cleveland on a beautiful day with Lolly the Trolley by Trolley Tours of Cleveland. This local company provides informative and educational tours through Cleveland for anyone interested in learning about this great city.

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I am generally not a city girl, but I love visiting the city. The lights, sounds, tall buildings and even better, exquisite architecture always inspire feelings of awe and wonder. We were able to ride in beautiful trolley cars while our guide explained the history of Cleveland, and how the city planners were responsible for its wide, open streets and sunny sidewalks. Most large cities crowd the streets with tall buildings. Cleveland's founders wanted to keep the sunshine available and it shows as you tour its streets.
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Buildings I hear about on the news were pointed out as we spent quite a bit of time circling Public Square, noting the artwork, the sculptures, monuments and more. I learned more about Cleveland on this one hour tour than I have ever learned before. My daughter was thrilled to see her first official skyscraper, the Key Bank building. (This is not it.)

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As a bonus, the Blue Angels were rehearsing overhead for the upcoming Air Show while we were on our tour, so whenever it got a bit noisy, we would all look to the sky and say "Do you see them?" "Where are they?"
Our particular trolley was being hosted/guided by the company's founder, who was very kind and allowed us all to leave the trolley for a minute at Burke Lakefront Airport in order to watch a group of Blue Angels take off. Inside the airport, we were able to see one of their airplanes up close.

We had a wonderful time, and I plan to go again. I'd like to take a tour of the different ethnic neighborhoods and the West Side Market, which is a tour they offer. Considering the large group that attended, I'll expect to have quite a bit of company with me again, which is wonderful.
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Trolley Tours of Cleveland has a wonderful program for your group of any age and size. They are very accomodating. You'll need to pay a deposit when you reserve the trolley, and you can contact them for more info at phone# 1-800-848-0173.
*Baby tip: There are no seat belts if you were wondering, and therefore, no way to attach a car seat. This may affect whether or not you want to bring your little one, since you will actually be driving on regular roads at the usual speeds. I don't believe they've had any accidents, though, so you may just go and have a good time as we did.
All photos taken and provided by one of our youngest trolley riders, Emily S. Great job, Emily!