Thursday, August 08, 2013

Lake Erie Anniversary Getaway




Steve and I have been married eight years of marriage last month, and thanks to my parents, we got to celebrate with a little overnight getaway a couple of weeks ago! We left the boys with Grammy and Pops and boarded a boat in Sandusky, Ohio, for an "Island Hopping Day Cruise."


Our first stop was Kelleys Island, home of the largest prehistoric glacial grooves in existence. We rented bicycles and rode out to see the grooves, but we were only on the island for an hour and a half, so we didn't have time to do much else.
 
 Then it was on to Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. We grabbed lunch at Put-in-Bay Brewing Company (highly recommend their Walleye Bites appetizer!) and then visited Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial.


The weather was absolutely perfect and we enjoyed gorgeous views from the top of the monument. 
 


After our cruise back to Sandusky, we ate more fish right on the bay and then drove to Lakeside!



I went to church camp at this beautiful little gated community every summer while I was in high school--in fact, it's where God captured my heart and drew me to follow Him--and returned as a counselor for two summers in college. I hadn't been back sine 2002, and Steve had never been there, so it was such a treat to return to this place of so many sweet memories and show my husband around.

After checking into Hotel Lakeside, we took a walk down to the pier and then walked along the shore, admiring the cottages and flowers and the sunset. 
 
The next morning, what could we do but head straight for The Patio? Lakeside, you see, is home to the best donuts in the history of the universe. The End. Oh, they were even better than I remembered. After breakfast, we rented a tandem bicycle and rode all around town, visiting my old stomping grounds and seeing places I'd never noticed or explored back in the day.

Steve was so patient to listen to all my stories!

 
This is WoHoMis, the lodge where we stayed. Oh, the memories...from making "window silhouettes" on that second-floor porch, to waking up every morning to the sounds of the guys blasting Pure Funk from the third floor...I could go on. I won't, because it would mean nothing to all but about three people :)


 Before we left, we had to stop at The Patio again, because not only are their donuts amazing, they also have fabulous ice cream. And ice cream is basically a vacation necessity for me. Sadly my favorite flavor, Tons of Turtles, no longer exists...but my waffle cone was still delicious.
 
 Lakeside is just a couple of miles from the Marblehead Lighthouse, the oldest continually-operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes, so we drove there next.



 It was another gorgeous day, so we toured the little museum and climbed the 77 steps to the top.

 

 After visiting the lighthouse, we decided to swing back through Lakeside and grab lunch at Sloopy's. We tried their Meatball Supreme pizza, which has won national awards, and it lived up to the hype. So, so good. Here's my handsome date making his "I will humor my sweet wife but I am really not thrilled about having my picture taken right now" face :)
 
Then it was time to head back to my parents' house and see our boys. So, so thankful for parents whom we can trust to care for our kids and who are willing to serve us like this...so, so thankful for a wonderful husband and the opportunity to spend time with him, enjoying uninterrupted conversation and having fun.

3 comments:

Danielle said...

Aw, what a fun time! Congratulations on 8 years!

Zoanna said...

What a great memory! The sunset picture...the cloud formation in the center looks like a giant gull in flight (being chased by an enormous fish). Oh, the tandem biking and the donuts sound amazing. Glad to know you've been refreshed. So important.

Robin said...

Yay! I'm one of the three :)