Lake Girl Forever

That truly does describe me. Today i was so happy to spend the day on the lake and in my favorite town. My husband and dad went fishing for the day. They set out for perch but ended up catching sheephead, catfish and walley!

Mom and i walked around downtown Vermilion. We stopped at my favorite coffee shop and ran into Allie LaForce. She is from town but she was also miss teen USA, a sports anchor and a sports journalist the NBA and college basketball. She was there with her husband Joe Smith who is a pitcher for the MLB. We talked to both of them for awhile about her pregnancy and their fight to find a cure for Huntington’s disease. They were so sweet and we enjoyed talking to them!

After our breakfast stop we walked around town. We walked through the farmers market, shopped at a local boutique and checked out the chalk walk.

This evening i spent some quality time with the most needy sister ever 🤣. Luckily she is super cute!!!

After a long, but fun day, we all decided salads, pizza and subs sounded like a good idea for dinner. I was so happy to be at the lake for a million dollar sunset. As we were walking back to the house i also noticed the vibrant first quarter moon!!! It’s very rare that i catch a gorgeous sunset and a gorgeous moonrise! It truly was a wonderful day!

A scene from a movie…

The morning of the Fourth of July our lake community, Mitiwanga, has a parade for anyone to participate. Renters and permanent residents look forward to this every year. This has been a tradition for decades. Here is a photo of my aunt in this parade when she was just a little girl.

The children decorate their bikes an scooters. Everyone has on their patriotic outfits. Adults decorate their golf carts and dogs! It’s really a special moment to see them all ride up and down the streets while my mom plays patriotic music. Guests and residents stand outside their homes and cheer us on. It’s kind of a reverse parade, as they pass out candy and treats to us as we ride by. This year the president of Mitiwanga passed out coloring sheets and a gift certificate for the local ice cream shop, Pied Piper, to all the children!

Red, white and brewed!

Honestly there is just something about getting coffee from a local coffee shop in a small town, that makes my day so much better. I love Brewed Awakening in Vermilion, Ohio. I know i have talked about it before but its just such a quant place that i can’t get enough of. The walls are filled with coffee quotes, artwork from local artist and historical new paper articles. There is a train table and chalk board for children to enjoy while their parents have some coffee talk with friends. In the center is a coach and two comfy chairs that seems to be used mostly when customers are waiting for their orders. They have quite a large menu or such small place. The breakfast options are amazing but i always get the classic egg and cheese on a bagel. They also offer a wide variety of coffees and specialty lattes. Again i stick to the classic breakfast blend with cream and Splenda!

A small town on a Great Lake

My happy place…..

Nothing brings more peace to my heart then spending time up at Lake Erie. I am blessed that my parents live in a small community at the Lake. They are in the middle of two small towns that have so much to offer.

We started our day in Vermilion. We grabbed a breakfast sandwich and coffees at Brewed Awakening. Oh how i wish i could start my morning there everyday.

The city businesses always do different themes throughout the year. Current it’s a Alice and Wonderland theme!

How cute is this kids meal at Woodstock’s Cafe? I wanted to order one for myself!

In the afternoon we decided to go fishing. It was hot and nothing sounded better than being on the boat. We headed east of the Huron river. We marked a lot fish and i was just hoping they weren’t all full of mayflies. It started off a little slow but soon we were catching…..sheepshead. Ugh the rats of the lake. They were big and put up quite a fight. Never happy to reel in a sheepshead but it was better than not catching anything. We did end up catching about a half a dozen walleye. A few small that we threw back and we kept 4 of them. Good size eaters!

Wonder how long this crane has been there?

In the evening we ate dinner with my folks and headed back to clean up and close the boat. It was another wonderful day at the lake!

Me, Myself, and I

This morning was some much needed me time. The boys went fishing. No kids. So i spent the morning all by myself! I started in small town Vermilion, Ohio. I went to breakfast at a local coffee shop, walked to the beach to take a photo of the lighthouse, walked around the town and finished up with some shopping!

I stopped back at the house for a few minutes. I walked down to the beach. The air was a little cool and the water was rough, so the beach was empty.

Next i headed west to Huron, Ohio. I walked the pier and by chance actually found the boys fishing. They were several miles north of the lighthouse but i had my super zoom camera!! I also had a great view of cedar point because it was so clear out!

I walked around Huron some more until the boys let me know they were heading in. I went to the public ramp to watch them come down the river. Jimmy was nice enough to moon me as he passed by 😂

After leaving the river i stopped at a local boutique. It’s called When Pigs Fly and 94% of their sales go to cancer!!!! As i was finishing up shopping, John called me from our boat dock and we met up for lunch!

We went to Rudy’s in Vermilion. We love their food and the chefs homemade chili is a must! John also had a truffle burger and i had a chicken Philly. We both had homemade chips as our side!

After lunch we swung my most favorite candle shop, Swan Creek. It’s so cute inside and their candles are the best. I think John smelled every single one. We bought 2 candles, a pack of wax and a wax warmer!

Ok enough play time….we headed back to the boat to clean it up and close it for the night!

On the way home we stopped at John’s favorite ice cream shop, the Pied Piper. He got their signature cone and i had a sundae!

Overall it was a wonderful Saturday! It was a much needed peaceful day! I highly recommend taking days to yourself to rebalance!

Small towns, good eats

Chapter 6….

For lunch we ate in the VERY small town of Cedar. Yes the sweet little town with the man in overalls. We ate at the Cedar Tavern. Honestly i think it was the only place to eat, but John saw it on the drive in and wanted to check it out. The inside was rustic and clean. It had a long bar and about a dozen tables. The bar tender and cook were the only 2 people working. There were several other couples eating inside and they all appeared to be locals. The chili was so good! Our lunch hit the spot and we were ready for the next adventure!

For dinner we ate at Dick’s Pour House. This is a bar and grill closer to our cabin. This restaurant was very outdoorsy and John loved it. Our waitress was Roseanne. You know the sitcom? Yep it was her and i loved it. Our food was was really good. John had smelt and he was very excited this was even on the menu!