Port Clinton-Marblehead, OH

Someone had suggested we visit Marblehead, which is located on a peninsula on Lake Erie. So one day we headed out and saw not only Marblehead, but visited Sandusky as well.

One of my favorite things is the architecture and the old homes, many of which are still being occupied.

 

Now a gift shop and ice cream and fudge parlour, this was once the elementary school for Marblehead.

I found this saying on a t-shirt and thought it was very appropriate.

Max's new look.

The lighthouse, one of the earliest built on the Great Lakes.

The lightkeeper's residence was not built until some 20 years later. Prior to that time the lightkeeper lived about 2 miles away.

There are over 100 lighthouses located along the shores of the Great Lakes. Trivia question: Which state has more lighthouses than any other? The answer is at the end of this blog.

Sandusky was considered the largest ice producing area west of the Hudson River.

The original lightkeepers residence.

Although it is now a tourist location and has been put back to how it was when the lightkeeper lived here, the home was occupied continuously for over 200 years. In addition to being a personal residence, it was also a restaurant before being abandoned. In the 1990s it was purchased by the historical society, since it is the oldest remaining building in Ottawa County, and the restoration began.

Sandusky has some beautiful parks and gardens in the downtown area.

They also had these painted lighthouses scattered around town, too.

I think we took pictures of about 1/2 dozen, and I know we did not see them all.

Notice this flower clock not only has the correct time, but the correct date as well.

Now, for the answer to the trivia question: Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state.

Port Clinton-Fort Meigs

Just outside of Toledo is Ft. Meigs. During the War of 1812, William Henry Harrison, who later became president, commanded at this fort during a major battle with the British and Indians, which were led by Tecumseh.

Ft. Meigs was built so as to protect travel and trade on the Maumee River, and subsequent travel on the Great Lakes. The fort was laid to seige several times by the British, but never succeeded.

 

Heading out to the reconstructed fort.

Just a few miles away is the memorial for the Battle of Fallen Timbers. This battle, in 1794, was the last battle between the American Indians and the United States over control of the Northwest Territory. The defeat of the Indians led to the signing of the Treaty of Greenville, which ceded much of what is today Ohio, to the U.S.

Port Clinton-Bass Island-Put In Bay

Put In Bay is on Bass Island, about 3 miles offshore from Port Clinton, MI. Port Clinton is located between Toledo and Cleveland on Lake Erie. You can take the ferry out to the island.

We chose to take our bikes to the island.

 

This is my life.

We are standing inside the world's largest geode.

Nancy had a flat on her bike and luckily Tom and Rellene had rented a golf cart and could transport her to a repair shop on the island. In just a short time the bike was fixed and she was on her way again.

We had been told to have lunch on the Boardwalk. Their specialty is their Lobster Bisque and boy was it good.

There is also a Monument to Admiral Oliver Hazard Perry, whose victory in 1813 against the British in the War of 1812, gave the U.S. control over the Great Lakes.

Did anyone notice, the distances are nautical miles?

Of course we just had to go in and find out more about the claim. And yes, the Guinness Book of Records does list this bar as the longest in the world. Unfortunately there was no good lighting to get a picture, so you will just have to take my word or go see it yourself.

But while we were there they had entertainment, Kenny Kid, from Arkansas. He played the piano in the style of Jerry Lee Lewis and he was good. Not just a good piano player and singer, but a great entertainer. One set he imitated the different style of piano players, such as Charley Pride, Billy Joel, Elton John and many others. We stayed through his entire performance.

As we bicycled around the island we spotted the grapes for the winery we had visited earlier.

And the lighthouse. Now owned by the University of Michigan, it is open only one day a year to the public.

We even saw one of the old limestone kilns.

I don't know what kind of airplane this is, but I thought it was sure cute.

Thanks Joanne for recommending we go out to Put-In_Bay, it was well worth seeing.

Lansing, MI

On the way to Grass Lake from Frankenmuth, some of us stopped in Lansing to visit the capital.

The front of the capital building.

 

We got there just in time to catch a guided tour. Here we are looking down on the state senate chambers.

This was the first state supreme courtroom. Now the state supreme court has its own building so this room is now used for legislative committee meetings.

We did have a group of junior high students taking the same tour as us, and sadly, most could not even begin to answer the questions the guide would ask. It was plainly evident the entire class had no concept of how our government works.

Grass Lake-Jackson, MI

I'm quite behind again in blogging. Although I am currently in Niagara Falls, NY, I'm just now blogging about my time in the Jackson, MI, area, several weeks ago. But here goes.... I met up with the WINs at Grass Lake, a small community east of Jackson. There were about 20 of us, staying in a field owned by another WIN, Nancy. Although Nancy couldn't join us because she is basking in the Florida sun, she graciously allowed us to park at her place. Thank you Nancy. Here are a few of the things we did while there.

We visited Michigan's first state prison, in operation from 1838-1934.  This is the first cell block, built by the prisoners.

Some basic info about the prison.   We went on a guided tour and the tour guide was very good, giving us lots of detail and information. When the prison was first started the idea was to have the prison be self-sustaining. So it was the prisoner's themselves who built this first cell block, which was completed in 1841. The room is now a gym, stage and conference area. It was put into use as an armory for many years before being abandoned. It has now been resurrected as Armory Arts Village. They old prison has been turned into apartments and art galleries.

 

A picture of the original cell block and how it looked before the cells were torn down.

Additional cell blocks were added in later years. Looking down the hallway, the bars on the windows are original. These cells are now art galleries for the residents.

How the prison looked back in the 1800s.

As a self-sustaining prison, the prisoners had to farm to produce their own food, milk, dairy and meat. Many were on chain gangs which worked in the nearby factories. On the prison site itself were many businesses established for the inmates, such as a blacksmith shop, leather shop, pottery shop and even a tailor shop. The inmates provided services not only for other inmates, but local townspeople paid for their services as well. Personally this sounds like a grand idea, I wonder why we don't continue to do more of this today instead of the prisons bleeding our government of funds for support.

 

In a solitary cell block underneath the ground. They did have some barbaric practices, one of which was months and even years in solitary. This practice was stopped in the 1880s (I think that's the dates) after it was discovered a number of prisoners had gone blind from being kept in the dark.

In one of the art galleries we visited I saw this motto painted on the wall. I liked it enough to want to post it. It kind of washed out, but it reads, "If you want something bad enough, you will work for it."

In our tour guides apartment. It is a 2nd level apartment with an upstairs open bedroom and bath, and a downstairs living room, and study as well as kitchen. Originally it was 36 cell blocks.

Across the street from the cell block, this building once housed the blacksmith shop and other industries for the inmates.

We were in Grass Lake over the 4th of July and some of the group attended the parade. Unfortunately the parade was at the same time as our prison tour, but here are some pictures that Max took.

I guess there were lots of tractors. Lots and lots of tractors.

Instead of the little cars this parade had small airplanes.

And big tractors too.

Jackson county's claim to fame.

The nearby Jiffy plant not only put a truck in the parade, but had people handing out Jiffy mixes to the crowd.

After the parade and the prison tour, some of us joined up for the Grass Lake BBQ in the park. They had a great turnout for the cardboard boat races. These are the 15 and younger crowd.

Some of us enjoyed the BBQ chicken at the town picnic.

Many of the smaller towns in the area had fireworks exhibitions. Part of our group went into Jackson to Falls Park, while some of us went down the road to Manchester.

They had a beer tent. For $5 you had the privilege of purchasing a beer and listening to a live band while waiting for the fireworks. The band paused during the fireworks but started up again after.

This was the first time I have seen beer being sold in a quart jug.

The fireworks were very good and lasted around 45 minutes.

Some of us decided to take a bike ride on the Falling Waters Trail. Along the trail we passed a couple of old lime lakes, where Marl, an earthy deposit containing clay and calcium carbonate, was dug and shipped off for use in cement and fertilizer. At times we also saw the Springbrook River and Sandstone Creek, which all flow down into the Grand River. There were also several other creeks or rivers in the area, including the Kalamazoo River, which all fell into the Grand River, thus the Indians called the area Falling Waters.

The trail was about 9.5 miles one way and we stopped for lunch before heading back.

I caught this picture of a swan, but never saw the babies of which we were told to look for.

On the way back I spotted a sign which talked about a historic village just a 1/4 mile down the road. So we made a short detour to find Spring Arbor Village. Now just a park, the small area has quite a history. Settled in the early 1830s, by 1835 Albion College had been established and in 1844 became Hillsdale College. At one time this village contained a storekeeper, tailor, blacksmith and shoemaker.

After the bike ride we all stopped at The Parlour for ice cream.