Coming Home

It is time for a confession. I am writing this on September 11, 2013 (Marissa's 25th birthday!!). We are already home. Surprise!!!

In early summer we started to get homesick. We didn't come home at any time during our trip and it was time. At the same time our friend Ron Feldner was organizing a special weekend at Put-in-Bay to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie. The timing was perfect. We enlisted Ron in our secret and adjusted our schedule to come back to Put-in-Bay by August 29 when our friends would start arriving. It is actually kind of funny. Ron put us on the attendance list as DB Cooper and his family. Remember DB Cooper? The guy who stole a bunch of money then totally disappeared? Eve was organizing the food for the weekend and needed to contact DB Cooper but Julie told her that Mr. Cooper is really old and doesn't have an email address! No one suspected!!

We knew that if we wanted to visit the North Channel in Ontario we would have to be in New York City by July 4th and that was not going to happen. Or at least we chose to not do that. We chose to spend a marvelous summer in the Chesapeake with great friends instead of rushing around just to make a target. Instead we decided we would head home at a relatively leisurely pace. We have done everything we intended. We visited with all friends who were able to accommodate us.

Now that you know the secret, let's close the loop.

We spent 4 days in New York City from July 31, 2013 through August 4 then wandered up the Hudson, arriving in Waterford on August 11, 2013. We completed the Erie Canal and arrived in Oswego on August 15. On to Toronto on August 18 and did the Welland Canal on August 20.

We needed to be at Put-in-Bay on August 28 so we had plenty of time. It is better to be early because you should never be overly confident of the weather.

Approaching Erie PA

Since our location was a secret we started putting space between blog postings and not talking specifically about the date. We also told all our Lake Erie friends that we were still on the Hudson and didn't expect to be home until late October. So it was important that we drag our heels a little so friends didn't accidentally run into us in the Cleveland area.

Presque Isle Lighthouse

Erie PA

These marinas are very large

So we left Sugarloaf Horbour Marina outside of the Welland Canal on August 21. Our target was Erie PA only about 60 miles across Lake Erie. We heard that Presque Isle was supposed to be beautiful. I visited Erie PA with my sister about 10 years ago when she interviewed for a position at Gannon University. It was absolutely frigid in February. But in August it is gorgeous. Just spectacular. The weather was perfect - just under 80 degrees.

 

The laundry room

After gassing up and pumping out we docked at Bay Harbor Marina East. This is a 5 star marina with new composite docks and a fabulous club house. They have gas grills and a covered picnic area, recycling, and the best bathrooms we have ever seen on this trip. No kidding. I wish my home bathroom looked like this!! It even has real towels by the sink.

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It is the little things like real towels and reserved parking spaces for the "Dock Captain" a guy who is specifically in charge of making sure the people on the dock are happy. What a concept!

We stayed in Erie for a few days so we rented a car. We needed to deep clean the carpet since our sons and their girlfriends planned to join us for the Labor Day weekend. Having the car allowed us to see the sites a little, although we never do as much touristing on our own as we do with our looper friends. We found a neat local diner and a great grocery store, Wegmens, so we could restock before the kids arrived.

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We grilled out a few times including an amazing dinner with salmon grilled on a cedar plank. Yum!!

Rusty liked Erie PA

Erie is really a pretty place

Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Mentor

The best part of this marina is the people. These are the friendliest people we've met in a long time. This would be a great marina to stay at if it wasn't so far from home.

But on August 25 we had to move on. Our next stop is another 60 miles down the road at Mentor Harbor Yacht Club, another nice place.

Mentor Harbor Lighthouse

The entrance to the marina is kind of narrow and there are a lot of boats. We enter the marina from the west side of a breakwall then straight in with a bunch of other boats.

Mentor Harbor Yachting Club

They let little kids drive dinghies here

The yacht club has a big club house with a great swimming pool and a nice beach that opens to Lake Erie. Slips are arranged on both sides of the channel. Those folks with slips on the east side, away from the clubhouse, use a water taxi to travel back and forth. Someone is on duty 24/7 in case a member needs something or wants to use the water taxi. Our slip was just behind the gas dock on the clubhouse side of the marina.

Good Karma at Mentor Harbor

Our time in Mentor was quiet. We rented a car again to take Rusty to the vet. His prescription for Rimadyl needed to be refilled. Rusty was downright frisky here. He jumped and played and scampered with the young doberman next door but he paid for it later with a bit of stiffness.

We relaxed and waited for the right time to make the 80 mile trip to Put-in-Bay. We are tired but excited to see our friends. A little part of ourselves is disappointed to be finishing the trip. What is next? Not sure yet.

Next up: The big surprise at Put-in-Bay.