August 3, 2012
As soon as I turned on my TV I saw Buffalo's WKBW transform into Cleveland, OH's WVIZ, which means I was probably catching it via their Eastlake, OH repeater W38ET-D (RF38) at 67 miles away!
The weather was hot, but the swimmers were even hotter as Diana Munz could attest during the Olympic Zone on Cleveland, OH's WKYC (RF17)! All Cleveland stations were approximately 98-99 miles from our location.
Even the sexy estrellas de Univision on Cleveland's WQHS (RF34) were transfixed by the muy caliente Olympic action!
One of the most distant catches during my trip was Bowling Green, OH's WBGU (RF27) which was roughly 189 miles from our campground!
Erie, PA's WJET (RF24) was about 57 miles away from our area, swimming in with an episode of Shark Tank!
I was watching Bowling Green's WBGU when I asked my pal Brian if he liked any PBS shows. He replied "Lidia's Italy" at the very moment an episode came on WBGU's Create subchannel!
WKYC was showcasing classic Olympic highlights including Kerri Strug's victory at the 1996 games! (We needed to borrow some of that spirit as we were sweating buckets pitching our tents in the heat!)
Cleveland's WEWS (RF15) arrived with a promo for the fabulous Canadian duo Steven & Chris on their Live Well Network subchannel!
My pals Mr. A and Brian got a fire started as the reception continued to sizzle that evening!
Check out the flames in the background as Danita Harris brings a spark to the 11pm newscast on WEWS!
I mentioned in a previous blog that Debora Lee sounds like a name you'd see on desserts. Imagine a series of tasty donuts, pastries and what not with the catchphrase "It's gotta be Debora Lee!"
"I think that's a fabulous idea," Jim Donovan allegedly replied on rival Cleveland station WKYC!
WKYC's late newscast was anchored by Kris Pickel and Russ Mitchell!
The handsome Dan Haggerty was on hand to report on the Hall of Fame Weekend taking place in Cleveland!
WKYC's station ID landed a perfect 10 in the TV Garth logo-lympics that night!
Nothing could rain on Betsy Kling's parade except a thunderstorm or two!
I wondered if Betty White or Valerie Bertinelli were nearby, since it was hot in Cleveland according to WKYC's 7 day forecast! (Port Burwell had pretty Golden temperatures as well!)
I didn't break any distance records, but the Ohio reception certainly had legs as it dashed through the area! I also loved experiencing some of the Summer Games while on vacay!
August 4, 2012
I had a 90s flashback when I saw Beakman's World pop up on WKYC's weather subchannel. Stations often use old kids shows to fill the educational (E/I) requirements of their subchannels.
Everybody wave if you love the Olympics! Kate was in the Middleton of all the action on WKYC's afternoon coverage of the games!
Erie, PA's WQLN (RF50) served up a chef-in-training who was stirring up trouble on their Create subchannel!
Meanwhile, WVIZ was airing an a-door-able episode of This Old House with Kevin O'Connor!
Even a shirtless Brian and a can of Diet Cherry Pepsi couldn't distract me from my camping DX!
I'm not always sure what's going on during Univision programming on WQHS, but the wacky antics often bring belly laughs!
I was excited to be catching news from Cleveland, except when the stories went violent. WEWS' Tracy Carloss (who sounds like she might be missing a vehicle) reported on a shooting at the Hall Of Fame festival held the previous day.
Meanwhile, Lynna Lai was anchoring over on WKYC!
WEWS featured a great shot of the Cleveland skyline during their newscast!
Meteorologist Elisa Malinovitz hopes her message isn't scattered when she does her forecasts on WEWS!
Viewers were bound to enjoy Chris Tye's Olympic reports! WKYC and many other NBC affiliates sent their staff to London for special coverage of the events!
Back over on WEWS, Stephanie Ramirez was reporting from the newsroom!
I wasn't sour about Liz Lemon popping up on 30 Rock, seen via Cleveland's WUAB (RF28.)
Ryan Bailey made my heart sprint when he was showcased during WEWS' Olympics coverage! Even the runner on the left seems to be checking out Bailey's impressive physique!
By now, most readers know I traffic in tawdry innuendo when something gets my motor going...
Sitting behind one desk wasn't enough for WEWS' Macie Jepson, so she commandeered a classroom full of them in this Good Morning Cleveland promo! Now that's how you school your competition!
I didn't get any money, but I still felt like a big winner when I captured this lotto themed station ID on WKYC!
Bruce Kalinowski was well suited for WKYC's forecasts that evening.
The ball was in Mike Cairns' court over on WEWS as he slam dunked the sports roundup!
We had heard about potential storms over Lake Erie during the weekend, and WKYC's WXPLUS subchannel gave proof they were coming! Check out those lightning strikes on their radar!
It was cool and scary to see the storm heading for us with the warning "stay indoors" blaring across the screen while we were stuck outside!
Thank goodness I had distractions to keep me from worrying about the weather! Here's proof that the Olympics still looked fantastic even on a small TV screen!
August 5, 2012
Mr. A, Brian and I built a makeshift shelter in anticipation of the coming storms. It actually worked surprisingly well!
Be warned there's a hairy monster in the video below! I couldn't resist doing some video of myself listening to Erie, PA's Classy 100 (WXKC, 99.9 FM) on the beach! LOVE some of the wacky ads during this commercial break, especially the one about bacon near the end of the clip! (Click here for another set of ads and a weather update I recorded! Also, click here for a station ID I captured!)
Sandusky, OH's WGGN (RF42) popped up at an impressive 137 miles away from our campground! It almost looked like the woman below was saying, "Ooooooh! With firewood, fierce storms and fine athletic specimens, you boys have had quite the weekend! Save a drink for me!"
"Now now, dear...remember, we're on a family oriented station!"
Jorge Calvo is a real team player at Univision, bowling over WQHS viewers with his sports updates!
As the "low battery" light flashed ominously, I caught a pic of WVIZ's evening lineup!
I also glanced at the Ohio Board Of Regents meeting on WVIZ's Ohio subchannel. (They totally need to appear on the fourth hour of the Today show so the appearance could be dubbed "Live with Regents and Kathie Lee"!)
It felt appropriate that one of the last pics I took featured a Praise Band on WGGN, since I had much praise for the awesomeness of our weekend! Cheers to Brian, Mr. A, Port Burwell and Lake Erie for a wonderful, memorable trip!
Stay tuned to TV Garth for more "Vacation Reception" reports, including a recap of an outrageous road trip to St. Louis, MO!
