Put In Bay – October 10, 2018

Our last stop before Michigan!  Put In Bay is actually on an island in Lake Erie called South Bass Island.  Once we left Cleveland harbor, we could see a tall tower/monument to Commodore Perry which is on South Bass Island.  It just took us several hours to get there!  As is our habit, we tried to call the marina we selected several times during the day, but never reached anyone.  No problem – we will just get in there, tie up, and settle up with the bill in the morning.  We navigated around the south end of the island and entered the protected harbor.  We saw the marina, found our way to a slip alongside a dock and managed to get secured.  It was really windy, and we were happy to be in a protected harbor on the lee side of the island.  When we arrived, it was pretty warm, still warm enough for sandals and shirtsleeves.  We rambled down the main street and selected a restaurant for dinner.  Not being a weekend, and being at the very end of the season, many of the shops and restaurants were closed for the season.  But, there were still plenty of places to go.  There were only two other boats in the entire marina. 

Next morning, the weather had turned – really chilly, very windy, jacket weather and no more sandals!  Turns out the slip we selected is not one owned by the marina, but by a vineyard located right on the waterfront.  They were closed for the season, so free dockage for the two nights we sheltered there!  Our favorite price!  We walked around town, down to the Perry monument.  It and the Visitors Center was closed, so we just looked around and went back to the boat. 

Looking at the weather, we decided the dash across open water in Lake Erie wouldn’t be too bad on the next day.  Well, “not too bad” is a relative term.  For the two or three hours it took us to get into more sheltered water south of Detroit, it was a rocky roley ride – lots of things that normally stay in place while cruising found the floor.  That’s why we have mostly plastic dishes!

classic lighthouse at entrance to bay

pretty house on South Bass Island before the Bay

another pretty island house

cool statue in central park

name describes the building!

sign.....

Love when late gardens are still pretty

lovely park in the center of town

looks like a fun place...

closed for the season - looks like a place I could love

another pretty Fall garden

Commodore Perry monument - we could see it almost from Cleveland

nice house in town

fun sign

nice old building

pretty church

Cleveland, 10/09/18

Wow, Cleveland!  Another place we placed on our “Must Visit Another Time” list.  The skyline is most impressive.  We stayed at the marina that is literally at the back door of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  We didn’t take the time to tour the R&R Hall of Fame on this visit, but we will definitely do that on our next visit.

Our first meal in Cleveland started out to just be a drink at the restaurant Nuevo right there on the waterfront.  We had a couple of drinks with their excellent chips and salsa, then ordered one dinner and shared.  There was a very convivial group there at the bar.  Two guys happened to be firefighters from West Texas, there for a training class.  They were enjoying their visit up north.  We started talking to another couple there, who were just starting to figure out what they want to do in their upcoming retirement.  They were fascinated to hear about our travels, both in the boat and RV.  We had lots of stories and advice for them – mainly, get a guide book, stay off the Interstates, and go exploring the US!  They seemed to be fired up and ready to do just that!

Next morning, we decided to go out for breakfast, visit the Chase bank, and find the downtown grocery store we had heard about.  This grocery store, Heinen’s, was like none other we expect to ever see!  It is in space that started out as the main branch of a big bank.  It had totally amazing and beautiful décor, right down to the brass medallion on the floor.  The pattern on the floor had some large circles, and the grocery store managed to find tables and chairs that exactly fit into that pattern.  One favorite feature was their wine and beer dispensers.  You purchase a ‘smart card’, insert it, and select which wine or beer, and whether you want just a taste or a glass!   Very cool.  I took lots of pictures!

Cleveland skyline as we approach

Cleveland's beautiful nighttime skyline, from our boat

Inside the atrium in Heinen's, a grocery store!

Beautiful atrium at Heinen's

Amazing Tiffany-looking dome over the atrium

stunning space

tables and chairs to match the original floor

 close up of one of the murals

just a back stairwell, but lovely!

you can see all the levels, with grocery store in the lower

self help wine bar

more than I would normally pay for a bottle!

want a taste, 3 oz. or 5 oz!?

Geneva on the Lake, Ohio, 10/8/18

The marina is in a state park.  Ohio does a very nice job with their state parks.  This one, right on Lake Erie, is lovely.  The marina is very nice, their staff friendly and helpful.  From the marina, there is a trail through the woods to a gorgeous lodge and restaurant.  We might like to go there to stay sometime – the colors were just about to peak and there isn’t a prettier sight!  The lodge has a wonderful buffet breakfast, so we took advantage of that!   This would be an excellent place to ride our bikes around - but, we were feeling the pinch of time with the cooler weather.  Time to get the boat and ourselves back to Michigan!

just love the look of a sailboat moving along with the wind

beautiful sunset, sun shielded by storm in the distance

sun peeking through the clouds

Erie, Pennsylvania, 10/7-8/2018

This was our first stop outside of the state of New York since about August 25!  Wow!  And, Erie is the only stop in Pennsylvania.

Erie couldn’t be more different from Dunkirk!  There was a beautiful marina and waterfront.  The marina was top notch, with very nice facilities for the boaters.  There is a huge hospital complex right across from the highway from the waterfront.  Their grounds are beautifully landscaped.  The walk to downtown was almost all uphill, but so worth the trouble!  We found a vital town, with restaurants aplenty, shops, a beautiful park, more than one construction project going on.  We had a very nice dinner in a busy pub downtown.

Right next to the marina was the very interesting  Maritime Museum.  A very old sailing ship, the USS Niagara, was docked outside the Museum.  It is the original ship, with, of course, replacement parts over the years.  It still sails every day during the summer season, at times taking groups of Boy Scouts for a several days' long adventure.  Our tour of the museum was so interesting – Erie was the site of a major battle in the War of 1812.  It was the first time the British fleet had been trounced!  Our guide for the tour was a retired Navy guy – the guide and our entire group appreciated Dan’s comments from his own Navy experience.

front of the Maritime Museum

We got to tour the ship!

pretty building...

gorgeous Greek orthodox church

girder from World Trade Center, post 9/11

9/11 memorial

We'll never forget 9/11

Whimsical statue with a good motto

cool fish 

USS Niagara, built in Erie, used to defeat the English in the Battle of Erie, 1812

Deck of the Niagara

on the deck - those square holes played an important role....ask me or Dan sometime!

proof that we were there!

beautiful sailing ship in full sail

just a beautiful tree!

Dunkirk, October 6, 2018

Leaving the Buffalo area, the town of Dunkirk was about a day’s cruise away.  While many of the small towns we had visited in this journey are economically distressed, this little town takes the prize for the most down-trodden one.  The marina and most of the boats there were a bit derelict looking.  As it our habit, we took a walk to see what we could find in town.  We walked about a mile, through what at one time had been their ‘downtown’.  Almost all the store fronts were empty, dirty, long abandoned.  There was the obligatory Post Office, bank, WIC and unemployment offices.  I remember one gas station, on the highway near the marina.  There was a small strip mall-type development next to the marina, where we obtained some dinner.  Since the summer season was over, most of those shops were closed, including the one where we had hoped for ice cream!  There was one small restaurant in town that had a sign advertising breakfast for the next day.  We only saw one large and once beautiful church just off the main road.  On Sunday morning we went to breakfast at the little restaurant, and we only saw about six cars at the church – on Sunday morning! 

Buffalo, NY, October 5, 2018

Leaving Tonawanda and approaching Buffalo, we came upon a very unique (in our experience) bridge.  It is a pretty large structure, is a railroad bridge, and it turns in a full circle to let boats pass!  I have pictures in sequence, as follows...

closed...

starting to turn....

a little more

coming around.....

almost there....

almost really there....

and open!  Amazing!

Buffalo is the first large, vibrant city we have seen since Albany, New York.  The waterfront has a wonderful veterans’ memorial area, with separate memorials for the Viet Nam War, the Korean War, Iraq and Afghanistan.  It was dark when we got there, so there may be more than that!  There are also some decommissioned Navy ships there that are open for visitors during the day.  Dan was really interested in touring the boats, but we are starting to feel a little pressure to get home to Michigan.  We liked what we saw of Buffalo, and we will definitely come back!  We had a nice dinner at the restaurant in the same building as the museum…not sure what the subject of the museum is, because we didn’t enter!

Navy destroyer, now a museum, docked in Buffalo

walking to the military museum and Navy ships in Buffalo

Buffalo has really honored their veterans

Viet Nam memorial in Buffalo

memorial to those who died in Iraq and Afghanistan

close up of the Navy destroyer

honoring veterans

far away look at the Navy destroyer