Day 11 - Farmer's Market

Today the fun was all mine.  Our Lady Queen of the Americas, the Catholic church in Conneaut Lake is home to a farmer's market every Thursday from 2 - 6.  This is the first year for it.  I really would like to see it become a success.  I was a little disappointed when I pulled into the parking lot and saw that there were only about a dozen vendors.  However, I have to say that I found some treasures.  There was a guy there from Saegertown who was selling everything maple - maple syrup, maple sugar, dip mixes with maple, maple barbecue sauce, spicy maple mustard...you get the picture.  Another booth featured homemade cheeses sold by some Menonites - garlic dill was the yummiest.  An Amish lady was selling baked goods; I took home some homemade bread.  I bought some cinnamon swirl bread and some zucchini bread at another booth.   I know, carb overload.  It's worth it.  There were also a few crafters.  One woman was there selling beach glass jewelry at a very reasonable price.  My neighbor picked up a necklace and a bracelet set for two dollars.   I even had a chance to chat with a retired colleague, who also had a booth.

The farmer's market was very small today but still well worth going to.  I really hope that it catches on and becomes more popular, both for vendors and for customers.  

Day 10 - The Beach at Presque

Today was the perfect day for the beach.  We are so lucky to live 45 minutes from Lake Erie.  When I was a kid, we vacationed in Pymatuning and always spent one day of our week's vacation at Presque.  It's easy to pretend you're at the ocean.  Soft sand, waves, and not being able to see all the way across the lake create that illusion.

There is so much to do around Presque Isle State Park that I could probably complete my entire 30-day project in that vacinity.  I'll leave some of that for another day.  Today we went to the park with another family.  On the way, we stopped at Little Caesar's and picked up three pizzas.  Now that's a picnic.  Three adults and five children ate for under $20, and I didn't have to spend a bunch of time making sandwiches for everyone.  The kids had a blast in the water.  And of course I could count on Jim to go in and play with the kids....and throw them around...and get yelled at by the lifeguard!  :-) 

For those of you familiar with Presque, we went to beach 7 and then went to the playground area after the beach.  The sand isn't as smooth as I remember in other parts of the park, but it's a good one if you need handicap accessibility, and it's nice because of the playground.  Normally we go to beach 6, which we like for the concession area and the nice bathrooms.  Anyone who knows Presque, I would live to hear which beach you normally frequent and why.

Ben was very sad because we did not make time to go to the Tom Ridge Environmental Center.  Now that place is a great free attraction.  You can go to the top of this tower and see great views of the lake.  Inside it's basically a small museum.  And geocachers, yep, there's one there, too.  Next time we venture to Erie, we will take advantage of some of those other attractions...we'll fill you in when we do!

A random picture of the beach. 

Look, waves!

Ben loves to get thrown.

I think this was right before the lifeguard yelled.

Day 9 - Ernst Trail

Today we went on an easy six-mile bike ride on Ernst Trail.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this trail.  Built in 1996, the trail is actually five miles long and goes from right around Park Avenue Plaza in Meadville and continues to Route 19.  Eventually, the goal is to continue the trail into Conneaut Lake.  A couple times of year, there are 5K races there to raise money for the project.  Much of it parallels French Creek, providing beautiful scenery.  About a quarter mile into the trail, there is a covered bridge.  We stop there every time.  The boys like to play in a little creek that runs under the bridge, and for you geocachers, you can find one there.  Every half mile is marked clearly, so it's easy to keep track of how far you've gone, making it a great trail for running.  It's also very flat.  It would have been pretty easy to complete the whole ten miles, but it may have gotten dark before we finished.  Oh, and the bugs tend to get pretty thick, so sunglasses are a good idea.  Jordan got a bug in his eye and ended up swerving off the path and falling off his bike.  But he's a tough one, so he really didn't complain much.  It was a nice time - we really should go more often.  And Dairy Queen is pretty close, so of course we ended the evening there. 

This is the creek that goes under the bridge.

Too cool for words.

Jim caught this little guy.

And Jordan loved him.  He wanted to "spend as much time with him" as he could.

French Creek is in the background.

He's goin' FAST!

Day 8 - Hanging at home

I had every intention of going on a bike ride with my family today.  Sure, I'll put in a few hours of cleaning at the hotel...starting early so I'll be home early and be ready to go.  Yeah, right.  A few hours turned into 7 and a half.  Ouch, I'm old.  Bike ride?  Another day.  Luckily, our very good friends agreed to come over and hang out with us.

It's the 4th of July.  What could be better than sharing a fire, some drinks, some smores, and some fireworks with friends?  It was just what I needed.  And my kids, too.  Sometimes I get stressed (surprise!).  My kids are growing up so fast.  Shoot, how did they get to be 10 and 6 - almost 7?  We have one chance to give them childhood experiences they will look back on fondly.  I hope they will remember days like today - sparklers, pool, riding bikes, picking raspberries, catching fireflies, pulling their wings off and throwing them into the sparks.  Okay, so nothing's perfect.

So those of you who are actually reading this to see what there is to do around here, don't give up on me yet.  We've got some things planned this week.  Well, I do.  Eventually I'll fill in my family.

The boys strike a pose.

Day 7 - Fireworks

Okay, let me just say that cleaning hotel rooms is HARD WORK!!!!!  Either that or I am just getting old.  Every part of my body hurts.  What does this have to do with the topic of my blog?  I was toooooo tired to do anything when I got home from work.  But it is the 4th of July, and Ben had gone to watch fireworks with a friend.  So here was little Jordan, stuck at home with old people who just wanted to be done for the day.  I couldn't let my exhaustion ruin the day for the little one.  But I still was not ready to venture back over to the park (Conneaut Lake Park, that is.) and deal with crowds, so we grabbed a blanket and some barbecue chips, crossed Route 18, walked down the hill, and hung out at the little park that is really just for the Lauderdale development people (shhhhhh...don't tell anyone).  Jim and I sat by the edge of the water waiting for the show to begin on the other side of the lake while Jordan made a new friend (Lucas, who has a summer place here and likes wrestling just as much as Jordan).  When the fireworks started, Jordan and Lucas sat side by side, chatting, eating chips, and commenting on the fireworks.  Will Jordan remember or care that we were not among the crowds at the park?  Nope.  I don't think so.

Day 6 - Canoeing and Beach Club

Conneaut Lake Park charges a $5 parking fee on holiday weekends.  Want to know how to avoid paying?  Go by boat!  When we take out the canoe, sometimes we go out on Conneaut Lake.  We launch from the public boat access - take Comstock Road off of Route 618 to get to it. 

There is one place in Conneaut Lake that Jim has been dying to explore in a canoe.  If you are from around here, you know that a development group bought Park Golf Course and the trailer park on 618.  They had grand ideas, built one condo, and went bankrupt.  Now all those people who had summer places in that trailer park were kicked out of there for nothing.  Sad.  But I digress.  There is a canal that goes under a bridge and back to the trailer park.  Today we took the canoe back in the canal.  Unfortunately, there was a tree down, and we could not go any farther.  Jim wanted to get out and carry the canoe past the tree and continue on.  The rest of us wanted to turn around and head to the Beach Club.  Jim was outvoted - we'll explore more of the canal another day.  On the way back, the boys were thrilled because they spotted a secret patch of black raspberries, just beginning to ripen.  Jim was able to pick them from the canoe.


Just beginning to head back into the canal.



So we ended up at the Beach Club.  I have to say that this is one of my favorite places to go.  Many times, there is a DJ; every once in a while there is a band playing on a floating stage.  It's nice because the adults can hang out on the beach and have a few drinks while the kids play in the sand or in the water.  Boats pull up to the edge of the swimming area and anchor there to hang out and listen to the music.  It's really a fun atmosphere.  If you're the sporty type, there is also a sand volleyball court.  On Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day, there are fireworks.  Tomorrow the DJ will start playing at noon and will play until the fireworks show at 10. 

I'm not even going to start talking about the park...it is very sad how run-down it is.  The beach club and the hotel are not run by the same people who run the park.  We know the people who are currently running the Beach Club and the Hotel, and they are doing a lot to renovate and bring life back to both places.  There is entertainment scheduled just about every weekend.  It is definitely a place to check out.

A view of the Beach Club from the canoe.

This is the Hotel Conneaut.

Hotel again.

Just a few of the boats anchored at the Beach Club.  I love the American flag!

These are all bird nests.  We watched some mother birds feeding their babies.

Ben wanted an opportunity to paddle with Jim.

Day 5 - YMCA...The Movies at Meadville

Not much to post today.  I do have to sing the praises of the Meadville YMCA, though.  Every day this week, Ben has gone to basketball camp from 9 -12.  The young men who run this program have done a great job.  Every day when I have picked Ben up, he has been bright red and drenched with sweat.  If you know my Ben, he doesn't go out of his way to exert energy for anything.  They ran drills that you would in a real sports practice, and the kid who came in last needed to do extra.  Guess who was last.  When they missed a basket in certain practice drills, they had to run.  I thought that was awesome.  First, it motivated Ben to try harder to do better.  Second, Ben could use the exercise.  And the best part about all of this is that Ben did not complain one bit.  He walked away today with a new shirt, a new basketball, and I think a little pride because he worked hard and got a little tougher.  The program was $50, but if we were members it would have only been $35.  If I lived closer to Meadville, I would consider joining the YMCA.  They seem to have a ton of great programs.  There are many other sports camps this summer that I'm sure would be just as great.  And they offer many programs throughout the school year as well.  http://www.meadvilleymca.org/

This evening we went to the local movie theater to see Cars 2.  Jordan was invited to a friend's birthday party, and we figured we would check out the movie as well.   Birthday parties at the movies are a hit.  All of the kids got candy, popcorn, and a drink.  After viewing the movie, all the kids gathered in a party room for pizza, cake, and games.  Kudos to my friends Tim and Mandy for a coming up with unique party games to play and for being so gracious as to allow Ben to join in the fun.  We could have made a whole night out of it.  As we were leaving, we saw that that the theater was having a dance party outside, and then they are doing fireworks at 10.  Much to the chagrin of our children, we headed home instead.  To be honest, I'm quite tired today.  But the movie theater has been a great addition to our community.  Every Saturday at 10 AM, they show a family film, and admission is only $1.  These aren't the newest releases, but how cool is it to be able to see some of your old favorites on the big screen for such a great price?  Every Tuesday is bargain day, and admission is only $5, including free popcorn.  In the fall, they also show football games on the big screens, and they do serve alcohol for the over 21 crowd. http://www.themoviesat.com/Meadville_Home.aspx

I hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend.  We will not be up to much over the next couple days, as I will be working at the Hotel Conneaut.  But we'll try to do something fun.

Sorry no pictures today...could have taken a few at the dance party worthy of "The People of Walmart" website, but then that would be a little off topic, now, wouldn't it?

Good night, all.