It was a cool, blustery morning. Quite a change from our previous days. The morning temp was 69 degrees with cloudy skies and 26 mph winds. It would be a fleece kind of day. We left the trailer around 11:00 to see some of the sights in the area and save the ferry ride to Put-In-Bay for tomorrow. We started our drive up Highway 163 towards Marblehead. There are so many marinas in this area, so we wanted to check out a few. We are always drawn to boats and water. Our first stop was at Gem Beach Marina.
We had seen a few billboards advertising it on our drive here, so we thought it was a good place to start and it was very close to the campground. In driving around the marina, we found a few boats like ours, only smaller.
We stopped to talk to 4 older gentlemen who were doing some fishing for sunfish. They were quite a talkative group and had us in stitches. Our next stop was Miller’s Ferry Dock.
We stood at the dock for quite awhile and watched the waves crashing on shore.
From there, we could see the high speed ferry making its way through the rough waters.
In the distance, we could see Perry’s Monument on South Bass Island.
We went inside the gift shop to look around, but mainly to get out of the wind and warm up. We watched a couple of ferries arrive and depart in the rough seas and were glad we chose to go to Put-In-Bay tomorrow. The lady in the gift shop said they had sold a lot of Dramamine today. From there, we continued up the peninsula to the town of Marblehead. It was a quaint little town with lots of old buildings and cool shops.
At the end of the road was the Marblehead Lighthouse State Park.
The Marblehead Lighthouse beacon, originally 50 feet tall, was built in 1821. The additional 15 feet was added to the structure in 1903.
It is only 77 steps to the top and is considered a small to medium lighthouse.
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The current light flashes green every 6 seconds. It can be seen for 11 nautical miles on a clear night.
Of course, I had to make the climb. At the top, it was very windy, but the view was spectacular.
From the top, I could get a better view of Cedar Point–in Sandusky, OH. Cedar Point is a 364-acre amusement park and is called “the roller coaster capital of the world”. It opened in 1870 and is the second-oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. Known as “America’s Roller Coast” the park features a world record 71 rides, including 17 roller coasters, the second most in the world. It is the only amusement park in the world with 6 roller coasters taller than 200 feet. Bob had visited the amusement park when he was a child.
Bob waited for me at the bottom.
The lighthouse had another open-step spiral staircase that created a beautiful design standing at the bottom looking up.
Bob and I walked around the base of the lighthouse and were told that these huge pieces of shale
were washed ashore in a storm last year. What a storm that must have been!
We visited the lighthouse museum and got a close-up view of the original Fresnel lens–a 3 1/2 order clam-shell. We had never heard of that size or shape before.
We left the lighthouse and drove back down the peninsula making a stop at Crabby Joe’s Waterfront Restaurant for a beer, an appetizer, and a view of the lake.
Afterward, we walked on the pier checking out all the charter boats that had not gone out today due to the rough sea conditions.
Bob was especially interested in this one–an Ocean Yacht just like the one we owned.
By 3:00, the skies cleared and the sun came out, but the wind had not yet subsided. We drove on Highway 163 towards Port Clinton where the road follows the shoreline with a great view of Lake Erie.
Once in Port Clinton, we stopped at the Port Clinton Light Station. It is one of the earliest lighthouses on Lake Erie, and Port Clinton’s first lighthouse.
It was a 40 foot split-stone tower erected in 1833 and discontinued in 1870 due to its poor location and lack of traffic.
It still contains a 5th order Fresnel lens . It is one of the smallest lighthouses I’ve ever seen and was not open to the public.
We took a drive on the bridge that goes over the Portage River. We were trying to find a way to get to the Port Clinton Yacht Club to check out their marina. We came across this sign that we should post in our community.
Leaving Port Clinton, the sun was out and the winds died off. The high temp today finally reached 73 degrees. It turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. After what we experienced this morning, I was beginning to think I would have to break out the blankets and hot chocolate for tonight. On our drive back, I wanted to get a picture of Herb’s Drive Thru Beer and Bait Store.
We got back to the campground around 3:30. Auggie and I took a nice walk around the campground now that the sun had dried up all the puddles. Bob got out our folding bikes and set them up for our ferry trip and bike ride on South Bass Island to the town of Put-In-Bay tomorrow. I tried out one of the bikes and took a ride down to one of the 3 pools they have here. This is the adult pool.
There is also a splash pool and family pool, besides a putt-putt course, and playground for the kids. The area near the office is decorated with beautiful flowers. This is a great campground with large, grassy sites.
We had the campground to ourselves all afternoon until our neighbors returned from their day’s activities. The campground is mostly deserted with very few people around during the week. It is very peaceful! I sat in the sun with Auggie while working on my blog.
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Auggie got a chance to run in the dog park with Bob. Bob checked the weather for tomorrow and it looks fabulous–light winds, sunny skies, and a high of 78. The low tonight is expected to be 49 degrees inland and 53 degrees for us. Being near the lake keeps us more temperate at night. We ate a late dinner due to our appetizer indulgence this afternoon at Crabby Joe’s. Bob made scallops with fettuccine and alfredo sauce. It was the last bunch of scallops from our scalloping adventure in July. Yum! We had a relaxing evening and planned an early departure to Put-In-Bay tomorrow.
