Heading to Cleveland? Take a break at these spots

Don't assume anything. Not about Cleveland, the second-largest city in Ohio and site of the Republican National Convention Monday through Thursday, July 18-21. Nor about its hometown-boy-gone-game-show-host Drew Carey.

"If you're a library person like me ..." the "Price Is Right" master of ceremonies said during a phone conversation about his old stomping grounds.

He finished the thought with a recommendation to visit the Cleveland Public Library and its sweeping marble staircase and reading garden.

The Forest City native, and creator of the namesake show with the catchy "Cleveland Rocks" theme song, still returns to the scene of the sitcom - as recently as late spring. For attractions, he says the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a "no-brainer" and urges visitors to stop by the Great Lakes Science Center ("people forget it's next door"), the Cleveland Museum of Art ("a fantastic art museum"), the Cleveland Botanical Garden (10 acres of gardens, plus the Glasshouse) and the Museum of Natural History (home of Lucy, the 3.2-million-year-old human ancestor).

GOPers with a hankering for Polish or Ukrainian cuisine will "be in heaven," he said. Sterle's Country House, for one, pairs food (schnitzel, pierogies, haluski) with dance moves (polka nights) from the old country.

"It's stupid fun," Carey said.

For condensed nuggets of entertainment, Carey directs conventioneers to Public Square and East Fourth Street, a pedestrian thoroughfare packed with bars, restaurants, live music venues and comedy clubs such as Hilarities, where he performed stand-up as a new comedian.

"It's such a nice city to walk in, and it's on the lake," Carey said in all seriousness. "I really do miss it."

If you get a break, or simply need an escape, here are some suggestions on where to go in Cleveland:

Buy a political party outfit: Kilgore Trout

Chill out after a heated debate: Edgewater Beach on Lake Erie

Go if you are not a hypochondriac: Dittrick Museum of Medical History, at Case Western Reserve University

Blow more hot air: Popcorn vendors at North Union Farmers Market (various locations)

Fork a signature dish: Double bacon cheeseburger pierogi at Pierogi Palace at West Side Market

Sip a patriotic cocktail: The Chocolate Bar's Let's Make America Great Again Martini: apple vodka, Goldschlager and cranberries stirred with a golf tee

Freeze your tongue: Mitchell's homemade ice cream

Track down an elephant or a donkey: African elephant Crossing exhibit at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

Feel tiny amid outsize art: Free Stamp, a 28-foot-tall Claes Oldenburg sculpture

Float down a river with a paddle: Upper Cuyahoga River

Raise a glass in a presidential watering hole: Millard Fillmore Presidential Library

Saunter down a cultural row: University Circle

Rock it: Whipps Ledges in Hinckley Reservation

Tiptoe through the petals: Cleveland Cultural Gardens in Rockefeller Park

Roll in the money: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Learning Center and Money Museum

Act like a team player: Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians

Honor POTUS No. 20: Garfield Memorial at Lake View Cemetery

Bridge the divide: Lorain-Carnegie Bridge

Release your inner film fan: "A Christmas Story" House (aka Ralphie's house)

Hide if you pledge allegiance to the opposing party: Coventry Village