I woke up to sunshine and blue sky in Cleveland! What a difference! Today we had a few things to do. First, we went to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens.
It's free for Dillon with his student ID, but for me it was $12. It was well worth it! We went into the tropical Glasshouse portion. As it really is a glass house, it was nicely bright and sunny...and warm, of course. The first area was the spiny desert section. All plants of a pokey nature could be found there. In addition to the flora, there was also a fair amount of fauna. There were red finches flitting around as well as some slower movers such as a couple of chameleons. 
This is a young chameleon. He doesn't have a name yet.
This is Ernie. He's an adult and about 18 months old.
Both Ernie and the juvenile chameleons are males. I always thought chameleons changed color based on their surroundings. Not so, according to the guy at the garden. Nope, chameleons change color solely for display toward a female (females also display, but their colors are more muted). The color of Ernie above is his "calm" coloring. When he is displaying, his oranges become brighter, the lighter greens near his feet become almost yellow. Chameleons are slow moving. They great "Live long and prosper" feet. Their prehensile tale helps them to climb. It was very interesting learning about these guys. We also saw these two tortoises.
They looked to be enjoying each other's company.
Next we moved on to the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica. Here there were butterflies dancing around. It was quite humid. 
Managed to get some photos while some were sitting still.
A feeding frenzy...butterfly style.
These two were...well...busy.
There were also birds in this part two. They were, decidedly, more tropical.
There was a nice waterfall we walked behind.
After the Glasshouse, we went outside to the large collection of outdoor gardens. Although it was sunny, Spring has not quite fully arrived in Cleveland yet.
The tulips are coming!
Topiary of a peacock (at least, I think so).
Still, we managed to find something blooming.
We left the Botanical Gardens, and walked to the Cleveland Museum of Art. It's a fabulous museum that is free! We ate some lunch at the cafe (okay, that part wasn't free--in fact, that part was quite expensive), then wandered the museum. It is actually two buildings connected together by a massive atrium.
Here's some of my favorites.
Matisse
Picasso
Miró
Warhol
Don't know who the artist was. I just liked the green color.
Egypt
Having a little fun.
We finished with the museum and went around Wade Pond.
Severance, where we are going to the Symphony tonight.
The art museum across the pond.
Bare trees...still.
We finished the afternoon by going to Emily's violin recital. She is in a different studio than Dillon, but they are friends. She's a sweet girl, and she played very well.
Now we are off to the Cleveland Symphony. Tomorrow, I head home at the crack of dawn.
Cleveland is not so dreary when the sun is shining!
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