September 25 A Spur of the moment…..

Let me begin by expressing, just how happy I am that the weather has cooled and that Autumn has arrived.  My windows are open and the air blowing through the house is cool, fresh and clean.  My curtains are once again dancing and rejoicing with me.  I am full of gratitude.

There is much freedom attached to this time of year, for me.  The cooler temperatures open up many opportunities to me.  My gardening is no longer restricted to the mornings and hiking and biking are enjoyed during times other than in the coolness, near sunrise and sunset.

The freedom that I am most grateful for is the ability to comfortably travel and sleep in my van.  This weekend, I did just that.  I could see that the weather was going to be favorable and that my people were in a good place for me to be away. 

I have become proudly competent at packing quickly and efficiently for a spur of the moment adventure.  I keep fresh sheets on the bed and my solar charged.  I pack what I think that I may like to eat from the house, always coffee fixings and oatmeal.  I usually take what is needed for a peanut butter and honey sandwich, jugs of water and cans of sparkling water. For longer, more intentional trips, I can get pretty creative with what to pack and prepare for meals.  I most often, add things from farmers markets or markets that I find while on the road.  I usually treat myself to a nice meal out too. 

My biggest dilemma while packing is what craft should I bring? I always take my journal and what ever book I am reading. I download a movie or two.  This weekend I watched “The Rest of Us”.  On this trip, in the evenings, I spent most of my time crocheting and listening to the podcast “This American Life”.

My destination was Lakeside on the Marblehead Peninsula of Lake Erie, a favorite childhood and later parenthood and then grand parenthood vacation spot.    I loaded my E-bike (the “game changer”) with plans to ferry over with it to Kelleys Island and to cover the island well. 

I took the long way to Lakeside, not the longest way of what normally is a 114 mile journey.  When traveling, I normally use Google Maps and choose the “avoid highways” filter and then adjust to a justifiable, not too much longer, route.  When planning my route,   I also, take into consideration the possibility of hitting Antique and Resale shops in the interest of curating the Bohoagogo line.

I slept well on the Lakeside grounds, one night under the large trees, in the overflow parking area up near the campground where the active squirrels, woke me early, by knocking something off of the trees that hit the top of my van and made a loud ping and then a shatter sound.    On the second night, the weather was calling for rain.  I have made the mistake of overnight parking under trees, during and after a rain storm where the residual water in the trees, would randomly drip drops of water that would sound like a rock hitting the roof at the most unexpected and nearly back to sleep times.  With this, past learning experience, I decided to stay in the Historic Hotel Lakeside Parking lot where I often park during the day, to take advantage of the large, screened porch, clean bathroom and its convenient proximity to the highlights of Lakeside.  It did rain that evening and the sound was steady and soothing.  I believe that I could record the sound of steady rain hitting the top of my van and market it as the ultimate white noise.

 The Lakeside hotel was built in 1875 and has much of the original furniture and fixtures. The Hotel has an inviting wrap around screened porch with high ceilings and white Victorian wicker furniture mixed in with large, white, wooden, wide bottomed, rocking chairs, all with royal blue, padded seats.

 The front porch overlooks the lake and arguably, provides the best view of the islands. I have so many memories on this porch.  Thirty plus years ago, when our babies where infants, my sister and I would rock them here.

  When relaxing on the porch, you can see the Lakeside Pavilion that sits on the lake with a long concrete fishing pier, a sandy beach and an ever evolving kiddie pool.  The pavilion has been revamped and redesigned through the years and for some of my childhood years it was a funky 70’s modern design.  I remember teen dances there, on the Friday nights of our Saturday to Saturday stays.  

Today the pavilion design is most like the original design with two covered decks, lined with white Adirondack chairs that are perfect for viewing one of the famous, Lakeside sunsets.  The sunsets are so special that while at Lakeside, most make a note of sunset times to be there each night. 

On the top of the pavilion there is a clock with a Westminster bell chime that can be heard throughout most of Lakeside.  Hymns are played on the hour.

When you step from the porch to the inside of the hotel, through the enormous, squeaky, screen doors, it feels like you have stepped back in time and the smell is always the same, that smell that comes from a seasonal place, a place that is closed up for the winter, a transporting, musty summer cottage scent that I always associate with Lakeside.

Mid day on Saturday, after visiting some local shops, I did catch the Ferry to Kelleys Island with my bike. It was cloudy and the temperature was in the mid 60’s. It felt like it might rain but the forecast did not predict any. The ferry ride takes about 20 minutes and as we crossed from Marblehead, the sun came out from behind the clouds. From the boat, I enjoyed views of the Marblehead Lighthouse and the Lakeside waterfront and then Kelleys Mansion as we approached the Island.

Kelleys Island did not disappoint.  I have been on the Island before but have never traveled so deep, off of the beaten path.  I found many unique historic and abandoned places.  I took a few sketchy dirt trails, trails that went deep into the woods and felt infrequently traveled because of the number of birds that disturbed.   I found myself looking for the end of the trail, not wanting to return the way that I came, but,not sure where it was taking me.  I checked my GPS and found a road up ahead.  I was relieved when the trail dropped me out on a paved road.  The temperature changed depending on what end of the island you were on but I was prepared with layers.

The German Reform Church

The Old Stone Crusher

Camp Patmos

Other spots around the island

The ferry back to the mainland was full and the light was shifting toward dusk. I loaded up and treated myself to a dinner out at the Crows Nest which included an Old Fashion with extra cherries. 

The next morning, I took the long way home with a few stops.  Along this journey, I found many items to add to the Bohoagogo line.  I am processing and preparing to add these found items to the space, where I sell, at Old 42 in Plain City.

A Sneak peek of some items found.