As we prepared the boat for departure, Tony continued to study the weather and lake conditions. Since the lake was predicted to become even calmer over the next hour, we decided to delay departure a bit. As we left, the wind died down and the waves were minimal. It was a beautiful day on Lake Erie. At times, the water was like glass and seemed to be inviting me to jump in and take a dip!
Instead, we kept going, cancelled our reservation in Ashtabula, and went onto Geneva to fuel up for the final leg of the trip to Port Clinton. We decided to keep going and reach our home marina in Port Clinton. We cruised 15 mph for much of the day and at other times, we cruised 35 mph, surprising us by getting better gas mileage at that faster speed.
We arrived in Port Clinton early enough to share time at Tony's cousin's campsite at East Harbor Shores State Park. We spent part of that night and the next several days with John and Lisa Shoemaker and their boys and their families. It was a great time to reconnect with family!
The next day, we washed the boat and readied it for the broker to show it to a potential buyer, a man with a business of painting roller coasters around the world.
The next day, we spent time with Looper friends who were traveling across Lake Erie, Pam and Vince on R.A.M.B.L.R. We also arranged for Gary and Mary on Volare to fly in to surprise Vince and Pam and spend the day together exploring Cleveland. We had a blast starting at the West Side Market for breakfast and shopping and then a walk to the Flats and an Uber to downtown Cleveland. We wandered around the city and found the Old Stone Church, the Soldier and Sailor monument, the Arcade, and Michael Symon's BBQ restaurant. We tried to get tickets to the Guardian's baseball game, but the game was sold out. Vince and Gary zoomed off on rented scooters to retrieve the car so that we could get everyone back to Vince and Pam's boat for a final little beer and a toast. Pam and Vince were docked behind the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, so it was another great Cleveland experience to share together. We got ice cream on the way, of course! We took Gary and Mary back to their hotel and then made our way back to the boat.
The next morning we had breakfast with Karen's college friend, Karen Doyle, and then returned to the boat and relaxed before heading back to the campfire again.
The next day, we met Pam and Vince in Vermillion on last time before we would head home the next day. We enjoyed dinner and ice cream and time with friends.
The next day, we had the boat hulled out for an oil change and we left for home to rest! We were certainly blessed by another Long Recess!