We got a slip at The Dock of the Bay Marina. Harry the Dockmaster was having a little “Canada Day” party with four Canadian boaters who observed July1st by having cocktails WAY before 5 o’clock. Speaking of Canada, this is where we planned to take care of the paperwork needed to enter our neighbor to the north. First we each needed three photos so off we went to “Snap Shots” to have that done. Then we found the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, gave the officer our photos, passports, one of our driver’s licenses and boat information. We now have our CBP Form I-68 forms in hand; luckily both these places were within walking distance from the marina. Paul had already gone online to get the decal required for boats over 30 feet. Supposedly the fine can be up to $10,000 without it. Needless to say there are many more regulations today compared to the last time we boated in Canadian waters way back in 1982.The next day was breezy and cloudy but no storms expected so we headed northwest to Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. There are 11 Erie Islands, but only three are open to the public: Kelleys Island, Middle Bass and South Bass Islands. All the rest are privately owned. We could sail a lot of the way there too but it was really close to the wind. Here’s a peek through the dodger.
For awhile it was pretty rocky so Ginger was more secure in the pet carrier we got for the flight to NY. It was one of the things left in Kyle’s car but he mailed it back to us at my cousin’s in Cleveland so that worked out well. She actually fell asleep in there.
We grabbed a mooring ball, one of about 80 maintained by The Boardwalk Marina and Restaurant in Put-in-Bay, hereafter known as PIB. PIB has been an ideal stopping point for boaters ever since Native Americans “put in at the bay” during their many journeys across Lake Erie. We rocked around quite a bit the first night as winds were causing quite a chop. Water taxi service is included in the daily fee for the mooring ball. Here’s one of the drivers approaching our address (H-6) to drop us off after a shore visit.
In the morning we had coffee and a bite at the Village Bakery and met a boating couple from Rocky River, OH who gave us some tips about the area. We did the tourist thing and took a tour of the island on the little yellow and orange Tour Train, the drivers are always entertaining. We got off to tour the Heineman’s Winery which is the oldest family-owned winery in Ohio, in operation since 1888. We also got to stand in a real geode; a tour of the Crystal Cave is included in the winery tour – such a deal. It was 57 degrees down there; I wouldn’t recommend it for claustrophobics. After a sample glass of wine we walked to the “GOAT Soup and Whiskey” for lunch (funny name but the food was good and we could eat outdoors). Ginger made many friends there with her antics; she gets quite animated when there’s food to be had. Then it was back on the Tour Train to head back to the waterfront.
There used to be 1,000 year-round residents on the island, currently there are 350; 80 of them are students in the K-12 school we passed. The HS Class of 2009 had 5 graduates. There are 5 full-time police officers in the winter and 30 in the summer. There are no doctors on the island, emergency patients are taken by helicopter to the mainland. There are only two churches, one Episcopal and one Roman Catholic but numerous bars. One of them claims to be the “longest bar in the world” but our son in Milwaukee informed us that a Milw bar also claims that distinction. Since it was 4th of July weekend, PIB was hopping. The bar scene is pretty active in the evening but we were back on the boat by nightfall and left that to the “young people”. This is how most of the tourists get around – there are golf carts to rent everywhere:
There used to be 1,000 year-round residents on the island, currently there are 350; 80 of them are students in the K-12 school we passed. The HS Class of 2009 had 5 graduates. There are 5 full-time police officers in the winter and 30 in the summer. There are no doctors on the island, emergency patients are taken by helicopter to the mainland. There are only two churches, one Episcopal and one Roman Catholic but numerous bars. One of them claims to be the “longest bar in the world” but our son in Milwaukee informed us that a Milw bar also claims that distinction. Since it was 4th of July weekend, PIB was hopping. The bar scene is pretty active in the evening but we were back on the boat by nightfall and left that to the “young people”. This is how most of the tourists get around – there are golf carts to rent everywhere:
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial was our landmark heading to PIB as it rises 352 feet over Lake Erie. It was built between 1912 and 1915 to commemorate Admiral Perry’s victory over the British fleet in Lake Erie during the War of 1812. This victory helped persuade the British to cease hostilities and enabled the U.S. to claim the Northwest at the peace talks a year later and contributed to a lasting peace between the U.S. and the British.
I wasn’t able to take the elevator up with Ginger, “No Pets Allowed”, but Paul went up to the top and got this great picture. We’re to the far left side of the mooring field, the ferry dock is at the bottom. On clear days you can see 10 miles northwest to the battle site.
We saw a parade of antique cars on the 4th and got a kick out of how fast they rolled by. I said if there HAD been a marching band, they’d have been run over! The fireworks display on Saturday night was fabulous, lasting about 45 minutes. We know Ginger is REALLY deaf as she fell asleep in the midst of the kabooms! She used to panic when a little firecracker went off in the neighborhood. This is a peaceful sunset moments before the action started.
We hadn’t really planned to be anywhere special on the 4th as we didn’t want to be somewhere crowded and crazy but we had a great time on our 3 nights in PIB. This was our last night spent in Ohio - on to Michigan.
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