As we conclude our tour of the US side of Lake Erie, our first stop this week was at Kelly’s Island (KI), just about 10 miles off the coast from Sandusky, OH. As we were pulling in the marina, two of our fellow looper friends were departing and gave us great recommendations. The friends we have met along the loop have in part, made this adventure just how great it is.
Our first adventure in KI was renting a golf cart and exploring the small island. The three of us loaded in a golf cart (yes, Murphy too) and began exploring. Oh…is that a winery I see? Dave pulled in and we enjoyed sampling local wines. Next, on to the Glacial Grooves, made by the slow movement of a massive glacier that created the Great Lakes and Lake Erie Islands and was uncovered in the mid 1800’s. It was 400 ft long by 35 ft wide, making it one of the largest glacier grooves in the States. We then carted over to a state park for Murphy swimming, and then a stop by the police station. What? Why would we go to the police station? Well, it seems, my shorts pockets were not as deep as I thought and during our golf cart outing my driver’s license and debit card fell out. We had driven down so many bumpy gravel roads; we didn’t try to backtrack. The nice police officer took my information just in case they were returned. Later, we enjoyed a truly scrumptious dinner at the recommended Island House restaurant and tasty donuts the following morning at Taste by the Lake. The best part of the morning is when we met Sandy at the Island Market. She had contacted me via Facebook messenger as she found my driver’s license and debit card along the side of one of those bumpy roads. Yippee! Except of course, I had already canceled my debit card and ordered a new driver’s license. Oh well. It is so nice to know there are still honest people in this world.
From Kelly’s Island, we cruised over to South Bass Island to the town of Put-in-Bay, OH. If you read my earlier post about the War of 1812 victory in Lake Erie, the battle actually took place near the South Bass Island. After Commodore Perry defeated the British, his squadron asked what they should do with the fleet of ships they had captured, and he replied, “Put them in the bay”. So, they did. Ha!
Put-in-Bay (PIB) is a well-known weekend destination for many living in the surrounding towns on the Lake Erie shore, with ferries running to and from it each day. We were told to avoid it on weekends; besides being tough to get dock space, it is crazy, crazy, crazy, almost a Key West type atmosphere. We arrived on a Tuesday and grabbed a mooring ball in the anchorage (and that’s a story in itself for another time). Once successfully secured to the mooring ball, we hailed a water taxi and off we went to explore PIB. First stop, golf cart rental, next stop the very tall Perry Victory Memorial (rising 352 feet), and next off to the state park for a Murphy swim. Oh….and we spied a dog park along the way so Murphy enjoyed a romp with a husky. Good thing that was before his swim as he was hot! We dropped off the golf cart and enjoyed an early dinner. Later that evening, Dave took us back for a stroll in town with the streets lined with restaurants and bars (including stand-alone pool bars and a large beach bar). I could see how this could get crazy on weekends.
Unfortunately, the wind picked up out to the north which made the anchorage quite choppy. We had a night of rocking and rolling on the boat. I guess the roller coaster gods wanted me to have a fun ride since I didn’t go on any at Cedar Point. Anyway, the winds were originally predicted to quiet by noon the next day, but they decided to keep blowing strong. So, Captain Dave graciously took Slo Pace and crew across the bay to Middle Bass Island State Park for a nice calm marina to spend the following night. Whew!
We woke up to a sunny day with calm winds, perfect for crossing our last leg of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Detroit River. We were guests of Ford Yacht Club (yes, originally built in the 1940’s for employees of Ford Motor Company). We ate dinner at the Yacht Club, having the best calamari we have every had. Next, up the Detroit River to Lake St. Clair where we stopped by St. Clair Shores, Jefferson Beach Marina for two nights and reconnected with our friends on River Ranger, Betty Gail, Bar-B-Que, and War Eagle for Dave’s birthday celebration.
Next week, we will be heading out to Lake Huron heading north to the tip of Michigan, exploring the eastern Michigan shoreline, hopefully visiting Mackinac Island.
Thanks for joining along on our adventure. Till next update…
Dave, Brenda & Murphy