Wednesday August 22, 2012
Having run through a bit of Lake Erie through the night we found a group of islands centered around Put-In-Bay and dropped anchor around 1 am. Â It was right in between a very tall monument and a restaurant covered in neon blue lights and still blasting music at that hour. Â Strange combination. Â Not in any rush to actually do anything once we got up I stole some internet time on Matt’s phone and made a nice brunch of pancakes and eggs. Then doing the dishes (which is quickly becoming my least favorite part of this lifestyle) and getting dressed in real clothes once again we hopped in the dinghy to go ashore. Not sure of where any public dinghy dock was we searched and searched the bay and finally ended on a lone part of shore between a few houses which we thought we had the least chance of getting yelled at for docking the dink for a few hours if it did happen to be private property. Of course once we got close to the shore we saw that the water in the area was overrun by seaweed and the shore did not look much better. Oh well, less chance of anyone coming to take her either since there was also no place to lock her up.
Not knowing what to expect from this town we wandered down the street and were passed left and right by people on golf carts which seemed to be the main mode of transportation on the island, very few actual cars. At least it was better than having horse crap in the streets (which I never really minded anyway). Taking a turn off the main drag that was filled with bars and restaurants we could see only more bars and restaurants. Me thinks this may be a bit of a party town. Aready sweating in the hot sun and another 85 degree day on shore we landed at a place called Tony’s Garage for a quick $2 PBR. Why not, right? Hitting the streets again, all you could hear around you was music pumping out from every bar, restaurant and hotel. All the hotels had full bars around their pools and even at 1:00 in the afternoon on a Wednesday were filled with enough people, drinks in hand, to cement that yes, this has to be a party town. A very fun vacation spot if we were with friends I’m sure, but not what we were looking for at the moment.
So we turned to the only non party thing on the island, the Perry memorial. This is a 356 ft tower built from 1913-1915 to commemorate the battle on Lake Erie of September 10, 1812. Since it was calling to us all the way from being dropped out of the Detroit River (it’s that bright at night) we walked out of the party lined streets and to a grassy knoll and the base of the monument. Seeing that it was only $3 per person to go to the top (I could give up my afternoon PBR) we jumped on the chance and walked inside. Even the entrance was gorgeous, filled with plaques and fallen soldiers names carved into the granate. After buying admission we took the elevator up and when we were let out it was beautiful views as far as the eye could see. Just enjoying the breeze and the sights we spent 20 minutes just gazing around, from our boat in the harbor to the barely visible roller coasters of Cedar Point. Finally making our way back down we also spent some time in the visitors center learning a little more on the history of the battle and then cutting across the street to enjoy a bagged lunch in the park.
My lack of sleep was catching up with me and all I wanted at that moment was a nap so we walked all the way back around the bay to our dink which was still tied up on the rocky and mossy shore where we left her. As soon as we were in the boat the fan went on and I was in bed. One of my favorite things about this lifestyle? Afternoon naps. Â I had assumed that once I woke up we’d take the dinghy back in (we spotted people using a dock near a restaurant, we were going to land there) but both of us were still tired and lounging around the boat sounded much better. Â There was sun…wine…internet, everything I could have wanted at that moment. Â It was also getting close to dinner time and there was a pork tenderloin in the fridge calling our name. Â The same one that was good enough to put my friend Bri at risk of drowning so the pork could make it to shore (check 9/11/11 for the full story). Â There must be something about cooking that kind of tenderloin on a boat grill because just like last time it turned out pure perfection. Â Due to a food coma afterward we never did make it back to land. Â Sorry ‘Key West of the North’, I guess we’re just going to wait for the real thing.
Serendipity looks so small!
I’m thinking about turning the boat into a 5 star restaurant.