Once we arrived at Port Colborne Marina, we were weathered in for 4 nights due to high winds and waves. Originally we were docked a quarter of a mile from land so we asked if we could move closer onto the face dock. From the face dock, Doug was able to be entertained by watching all the freighters come & go out of the Canal system. Port Colbourne has a nice Riverwalk with shops, boats and restaurants. Also, as we have witnessed all summer, we found Canadian's typical pretty landscaping, even at their public bathrooms. Terry & Dale came back to see us one more time and they treated us to dinner at Canalside along the River.
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| The thoughtful, kind Canadian Rules |
The winds finally subsided and we were able to head out into Lake Erie. There were 3 foot residual swells but they were on our beam so our stabilizers helped a lot. We used our Auto Pilot and crossed the lake at a slight diagonal direction from north to south. We only saw 2 boats all day. We had to check in to U.S. Customs and I used the CBP Roam App. After completing the Entry form online and scanning our Passports into the App, we had questions to answer. One of the questions was, "Are you carrying fruits, vegetables, meat, food etc" it was a yes or no choice, to answer. We had a fully stocked Galley so I had to answer yes. Well, that prompted a phone call from a U.S. customs agent. We didn't video chat, just a phone call. The agent was very pleasant and he asked a few more questions. He then gave us clearance to enter back into the U.S. without stopping anywhere. Relief! For a change, this agent was nicer than the Canadian agent we dealt with when we entered Canada.
Our first stop back in the U.S. where we anchored for the night, was in a protected bay in sight of Presque Isle State Park, PA. We were the only ones anchored in this pretty spot. It wasn't any warmer, even though we are farther south than we've been for most of the summer.
The next morning, Lake Erie had finally calmed down and we enjoyed a nice 8.5 hour cruise west to Fairport Harbor. We threw our anchor outside of the channel in a small bay near the inlet. There were day boats at the small nearby beach so we did rock and roll mostly from boat wakes.
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| Fairport Harbor Lighthouse |
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| Lorain Lighthouse |
We were ready to keep moving early the next morning so we took off on another day of calm conditions and continued west past Cleveland to Lorain Ohio. We docked at the Oasis Marina. We had never been here before. The docks and pedestals need some TLC, everything looked a bit tired. We dined out at a restaurant on the second level above the Marina Office. We sat outside on the Balcony overlooking the boats & Lake Erie.
We had hoped to make it to Middle Bass before Labor Day weekend was over so we could see and visit with Jeri, Jerry O, Paul, Jess and Hudson. Craig & Cheryl did not come to the island this weekend because Cheryl has her second case of COVID. She never got vaccinated. We were able to get a last minute reservation @ the Middle Bass State Park Marina and even get our favorite slip: A-19. Luckily, we arrived on Sunday afternoon. Paul, Jeri & Jerry O came and picked us up from the Marina and took us to the cottage. Hudson had just woken up from his nap. He entertained us by crawling, walking, playing and being adorable. He turns one year old in October. Paul and family left later in the afternoon. We hung out with J&J playing a game in the evening.
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| Roman's photo of Middle Bass Island |
The next morning, we had breakfast at the cottage with J&J. After breakfast, we left the dock & headed over to Sandusky where we will dock @ Sonrise Marina for the rest of the month and then store Day Dreams for the winter. The lake was a bit riled up with 2to3to4's just like we remember, welcome back to Lake Erie. It was little shallow on our approach to sunrise Marina in Sandusky Bay but we made it in without touching bottom. The Harbor Master helped us in and invited us to their Labor Day Party. The staff are very friendly and helpful. They made us feel welcome.
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| Our view of Cedar Point from Sonrise Marina |
