A Cloudy And Grey Monday

For Labor Day we decided to head off to Vemrillion, Ohio to spend a day at Lake Erie. Abby was staying at College so it was Tash, Leah, and I.

The forecast initially said thunderstorms, then no storms, then a 20% chance of rain, then no rain. So the forecast kept changing.

So we decided to try our luck, and luck was not quite with us. We got in the car and headed off with road-snacks and some in-car entertainment.

From Michgian through Ohio it was pretty solid overcast, if not low IFR conditions all the way. When we reached Vermillion, The weather did not improve, and there was indeed rain, which petered out shortly after we arrived at the beach, leaving there were lots of clouds with a fully overcast sky.

We did as the sign instructed.

No, the Clouds would not be overlooked.

Not a day for swimming, as due to the choppy water and there was a major undertow warning for the beach as well as quite constantly blowing wind.  A few people wandered the beach, but we had it practically to ourselves. On our previous visit when you could hardly find a spot.

So we pulled out our chairs and had some snacks on the beach and read a bit and watched the rather choppy waves.

After awhile it got a  bit chilly in the wind so we packed up and headed off. We walked around for a bit then drove home, stopping at IKEA for some items along the way. Got home, tended to lots of things that needed doing, made dinner, and now just relaxing for the rest of the night.

Still, it was a nice calm time, and not a bad little family road trip.

Independence Day In Ohio

For Independence Day we drove to Vermillion, Ohio to enjoy small town America, and to take the kids to Lake Erie for the first time.

Vermillion is on the shores of Lake Erie, A nice picturesque town where people from Cleveland come to go boating with their yachts, and there's some darn nice yachts there.

The town wasn't very crowded, and many people wore masks walking around, but most did not when outside. Stores had signs limiting guest to 5 at a time with masks on in the stores stores, so we checked out the various art galleries and other shops for a bit. Ohio tends to be less uptight about masks, etc., than Michigan and has opened up quicker and been les dictatorial about it throughout.

They also have a nice park with a couple naval guns on display:

They're 32-pounder smooth-bore Dahlgren guns from the US Civil War era with anchors signifying naval usage.

We had lunch in the park, doing takeout from the Main Street Soda Grill - burgers, fries, onion rings, milkshakes and ice cream floats. Everything was great.

Then on to Lake Erie:

We had a nice swim and relaxed on the beach.

Now the only Great Lake they haven't at least dipped their toes into is Lake Superior - and we'll fix that.

Then, home in time to watch fireworks and have dinner. It was a great Independence Day.