I never tire of this view especially at dawn. It is eternally scenic but the morning colors are often breath-taking. The Lake Erie Freighters add so much to the scene that it is difficult not to shoot photos daily. These photos were taken within a couple of days of each other. In the close up of the freighter the gulls were flocking through the air as they often do. You can see them in the sky. Enjoy the view out my back door!

A chain of archipelagic islands, the Lake Erie Islands are fun places to visit. There are many summer homes and some year around ones. They have also become a place for anyone to visit and just hang out, drive around any particular one that is developed, see the sites, enjoy a latte or glass of wine and imbibe of some great food.

One of the larger islands, South Bass, is home to Put-In-Bay which is known for its hospitality. In 1784 unidentified explorers charted these 20 islands naming one of them Pudding Bay because the bay resembled a pudding bag. Over time the name morphed into Puden Bay and eventually became Put-In-Bay. Weekends, and particularly times like Christmas in July, the bay is full of people and boats. Lots and lots of boats! It is a popular boating destination.

You may wonder how I got that aerial shot. It isn’t all that mysterious. South Bass Island and particularly the bay has a rich, American history. The Battle of Lake Erie was a turning point in favor of the Americans during the War of 1812. Admiral Oliver Hazard Perry commanded the American fleet within Put-In-Bay that defeated and captured six British vessels which turned the tide of the war.

The story of the battle is quite interesting and there is a visitor’s center where they show a movie of and about the battle. Don’t miss the movie! There is a lot to see within the center including this statue of Perry and it is well worth spending some time here.

The memorial to Admiral Perry is visible from inside the center. Be sure to visit it, too, when you are on the island because now that renovations are complete you can go up to the top of the memorial to get those great aerial shots.

The views are fantastic but hang on to your hat and small children! It can be very windy up there. Both British and American officers from this war are interred within the rotunda of this spiraling memorial.

 Along with the bay, you can see Peele Island which is actually in Canada. Peele is the only Lake Erie Island under the rule of Canada.

We always take Miller’s Ferry (www.millersferry.com) from Catawba across to South Bass. Slower than the Jet Express, it is part of the fun for this family. You can take in the lake, sea gulls, boats, overhead geese and the approaching island at a leisurely pace.

This year we paid to park–a whopping $5.00. I like the paid parking as there is someone there watching your car until you get back to pick it up. Plus, we received a deep discount for our golf cart rental from E’s Golf Carts (http://esgolfcarts.com) by showing the parking ticket coupon. When you arrive at the island and walk up to the street, take a right and walk a short distance to E’s. It’s worth the walk in savings on the golf cart day rate.

You can stop at the gift shop or anywhere in town for brochures and information on what there is to do on the island, restaurants and shops. But, if you go back past the ferry dock straight on you will come to the lighthouse. We at Umpqua River Haven, of course, love lighthouses and this one is historic and unique as they go.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, South Bass Lighthouse is thought to be the only lighthouse in the US owned by a university. Brought into service in 1897, it is a 2 ½ story Queen Anne brick house with a 3 story tower on one corner. Originally fitted with a Fresnel oil powered lens, it was eventually converted to electric power. There is much more to the story of this beautiful lighthouse now owned by Ohio State University but that is part of the fun of visiting—to discover the stories.

There are caves, a natural museum and haunted places to discover but one of our favorite things is to just cruise around the island in a golf cart. It is easy to see the beauty of the island, the houses, the lake and bay, birds and more at the slower motoring in a golf cart. I got this shot out on one scenic point.

We had early morning coffee at a small outdoor coffee stand on the bay. For lunch we went to our favorite place to eat on The Upper Deck (http://www.the-boardwalk.com/pdscms). The Lake Erie perch served here is yummy and the views of the bay are fantastic!

We did some shopping in town acting like the day-trippers we were. We also had a golf cart problem and had to hop the free bus transport back to E’s which is about 2 miles from town where we broke down. The bus driver was most helpful and E’s had a cart ready to go so we didn’t have to wait around for one.

At the end of the day we relaxed at a local winery with a glass of wine and watched the bay.

If you are ever in the Toledo/Cleveland area make a point to head to Catawba, hop on the Miller’s Ferry and head over to Put-In-Bay, South Bass Island for a day. It’s a fun time and you can take the family along. There are a lot of things for kids to see and do. And if you are so inclined, you can rent bicycles to tour the island with. We went on a Monday to avoid the crowds. The trip back on the ferry leaves you with great views of the island and thoughts of returning again.

One of my favorite places to visit and spend some time is Newport, Oregon, on the North Central Coast. It’s a 90 minute ride along the beautiful coast road from Umpqua River Haven. There are so many fun and interesting things to see and do in this coastal town that I’m not going to try and put them all in one posting. We’ll visit one or a grouping of a few at a time.

Starting just south of Newport before crossing the bridge and making a right turn is the Hatfield Marine Science Center. This is a hands-on research center for Oregon State University and also involves many state departments and agencies. Its history goes back to the 1900’s when there was a small, one-building fisheries laboratory. It has grown into the 40 acre collaborative campus that is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year.

HMSC does field research in the ocean with dolphins…. 

And whales like these Humpback Whales. 

Named for Senator Mark O. Hatfield, HMSC is involved through OSU with marine biology student education as well as research. But my favorite thing about this unique place is how much they do with children. How geared the center is to meeting the ways in which children learn. The first thing you’ll encounter when you walk inside is the octopus tank with children and adults gathered around watching as she is being fed. If you miss feeding time, stop and watch anyway. It is a challenge to keep her in the tank as she is often trying to get out. This one was named Ursula but is no longer in residence having been returned to the sea. 

There are cylindrical tanks full of schools of fish swimming in synchronized balletic unison. There are icky things in small window tanks that often delight children. A unique feature is the touching pool that contains all manner of small marine life.

Children love to be able to touch things and even pick them up and turn them over to discover what is there. Adults, too, become fascinated with being able to do this. You can touch sea anemones and watch as they fold in and then open up again.

You can pick up, turn over and pet a sea star. 

This is a juvenile Alaska King Crab. 

Another photo of sea anemones because I thought they were so pretty.

Another of our favorites are the Jellyfish or “Jellys” as we refer to them. They move so very gracefully and we can watch them for very long periods of time. 

One fish, two fish, red fish, yellow fish…… 

This is a truly fun place to visit and you can probably tell that I like it a lot. Don’t miss Hatfield Marine Science Center on your next visit to the Oregon Coast. Bring the kids and visit us, too:  www.umpquahaven.com  We’d love to see you!

Ariel shot of HMSC

I often walk to the mouth of the Huron River in the evenings. There are a few different destinations. One is the lake park with the new benches that replaced some old, wooden ones. Here are great views of Lake Erie and the cove the park sits on. A sandy beach is often being explored by kids and parents alike. Sometimes there are picnickers at the tables in the large grassy area. Often there are people just watching the water or waiting for the sunset.

A second destination is the long pier to the light. I don’t try to walk on the rock jetty at the end to reach the light but enjoy the views of Lake Erie surrounding the end of the pier and of the light itself. I encounter many who are fishing, often whole families, people on their jogging runs, walkers like me and even tourists speaking foreign languages. It’s a great place to hike and enjoy the water and maybe meet a new person or two.

The City of Huron is redeveloping the area just before entering the pier walkway and doing a nice job of it. That area is between the pier and the third spot I like to walk to. It is a gazebo area in grass with a couple of nice benches next to the river directly across from the Lime Plant. There usually isn’t anyone there although I did encounter a fella fishing there awhile back. It’s peaceful and quiet and scattered with views of blue heron, seagulls, ducks paddling in the river and Canadian geese flying overhead or cruising up the river.

But one night recently I went to watch the boats coming in and a surprising number going out considering it was getting dark. Labor Day weekend and it was Saturday evening so there were a lot of boaters out. Kind of the last hoorah before back to work, school and the promise of a cooler fall coming.

Photography in what amounts to the dark is difficult with the right equipment which I didn’t have. But I did get this one shot that I thought turned out well enough to share. Soon the mosquitoes drove me away but the memory lingers in the picture.

Bandon, Oregon on the coast is where I took my first Pacific Ocean beach walk in 2002. 

Yep! That’s me walking on the beach. The beaches along the Oregon Coast are often stretches that go further than the eye can see. You can walk for miles. This was a December day near the Bandon Lighthouse.

One of Bandon’s claims to fame is the mist that hangs in much of the time. This photo of the lighthouse was taken on one of those misty, summer days. We will visit this lighthouse in depth another time. 

Bandon, on the South Oregon Coast, is known as “Bandon-By-The-Sea.” It is a small town with a lot to offer and is considered a major coast resort area.

Bandon has a Western history in that the Coquille Native Americans were the first residents here prior to 1850. In 1851 French Canadian trappers discovered gold. The first settlers arrived in 1853 and in 1856 conflicts with the Coquille started until they were moved to the Siletz Reservation. In 1873, George Bennett and his sons arrived from Ireland and re-named Averille, Bandon after Bandon, Ireland. Thus Bandon was established and grew as a town and not just a settlement.

In 1885, Charles McFarlin came from Massachusetts to pan for gold. He didn’t make his fortune in gold but had brought cranberry vines with him having been a grower on Cape Cod. He established the first cranberry bogs near Hauser. However more than that, he established cranberries as a crop here. Bandon celebrates its 69^th Annual Cranberry Festival next weekend, Sept 11, 12, 13. https://www.bandon.com/cranberry-festival

Along with agriculture and tourism, other industry in this very small town (2010 pop was a bit over 3,000) is fishing and wood products. Both timber and fishing diminished greatly by the 1980’s though some of both still remain.

The center of Bandon is old town. Here you will find many shops and restaurants. Bandon is definitely a tourist haven with lots to see and do and easy to get around. 

Plan to spend at least a couple of hours here. The Wharf is on the right in the above photo as you drive along. There’s a lot to see here and you’ll want to hang at the wharf taking it all in. There is plenty of parking and our favorite place to eat is here, too. 

 And of course the boats!Bandon is a golfing destination with Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, Bandon Golf Supply and Bandon Crossings Golf Course. There are many places to stay but we like the small motels along the scenic drive that are up on the cliffs overlooking the ocean.

No trip to Bandon would be complete without taking the 5 mile Ocean Scenic Loop Drive along the cliffs past houses, motels and one of the golf courses. The picture below was taken from the north end of the scenic drive. Again note the mist that hangs here. The lighthouse is in the distance on the right.

Bandon is famous for the many rock formations in its waters off the beaches. Perhaps the most famous formation is Face Rock. There is a Native American legend and photos about this rock formation you can read here:  http://thebandonguide.com/the-legend-of-face-rock/

I’ve taken random shots of the rocks at Bandon and you can see one below. Come stay with us at Umpqua River Haven and visit Bandon which is less than an hour’s drive from URH and take some of your own photos of the rocks that reside in the misty waters of Bandon!     And for our friend, Mike W. , you were correct that the photo in a previous blog isn’t Face Rock!  My bad, Mike! Hope you’re still reading us!

The United States Civil War was a horrible period in our history. The country was split, families were torn apart by their political differences and men were far away from their wives and children often to never return.

Slavery was a very big moral issue for the North but it was an economic issue for everyone, especially the South. The Southern States produced cotton which they exported to the North and other countries but England was their biggest foreign importer. The Northern States produced goods and supplies that were bought by the Southern States.

Additionally the North wanted to raise tariffs on imported goods to make them more expensive to buy so that goods produced in the North would seem more affordable. The South did not want tariffs to rise because their many purchases from England would become too expensive.

States Rights were also involved in that the South believed they had the right to determine their own practices, including slavery, and did not want to be dictated to by the North.

The Southern life style would also be in jeopardy if tariffs raised or slavery was abolished and the South wanted to preserve the way of life they had created.

The South seceded but after a long, bloody war ultimately failed due to the North having the advantage in resources, the National Treasury for funding and a much larger population to draw soldiers from. The South was at a disadvantage from the beginning and blockades causing exports to fall drastically effectively eliminating funding, along with no support from any foreign country spelled doom.

One aspect of this dreadful war that I have always found interesting is that many of the officers on both sides of this conflict attended West Point together having the same training for war maneuvers and having been pals at school. They knew each other well.

While visiting Northern Ohio I was surprised to discover Johnson’s Island on the shores of Sandusky Bay in Lake Erie. Captured Confederate Soldiers were brought here to serve in a prison camp in this scenic, serene place. The views are outstanding and the quiet all encompassing. Winters could be filled with extreme cold, snow and ice.

During its 40 months of operation about 10,000 prisoners were processed through this facility with the maximum number at any one time of 3,224. Many of those brought here were Confederate Officers.

200 Confederate Military remains are buried in the now preserved Johnson’s Island Cemetery.

A statue of a Confederate Soldier erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1910 stands sentinel at one end of the cemetery.

Many of the headstones are carved with the names, rank and date of passing of the individuals.

 But on the far side of the grounds are many headstones merely marked “Unknown” and not always dated.

A tribute plaque to Mary Patton Hudson also resides here as she was instrumental in aiding the purchase and erecting the monument of this memorable place.

It is sobering to stand here and think of this history and of our countrymen from both sides who rest here and in other US States. As violence escalates around our land it seems we have not learned the lessons of this sad time in our growth as a nation.

Located 1.1 miles offshore from Tillamook Head where the seas frequently turn violent, the Tillamook Lighthouse is a story of extreme adversity in the building and operation over the years. Commissioned for construction by the United States Congress in 1878, actual construction was begun in 1880.

There was much controversy about building on a rock and it seemed wasteful and foolish until a cry of outrage went up in 1879 when surveyor John Trewavas was put ashore and slipped and drowned. Construction commenced but in secret due to public opposition. The crew was sequestered on the U.S. Revenue Cutter Thomas Corwin.

Fighting off families of sea lions and battling heavy seas, four laborers and head of construction, Charles A. Ballantyne, were put ashore October 21, 1879. They carried all manner of equipment, provisions and shelter with them. A few days later additional quarrymen arrived along with a small derrick.

In order to get men and supplies from ship to shore and back again a line from the Corwin to the rock was rigged with a “breeches buoy” that the men sat in (see Interesting Nautical Stuff for definition of breeches buoy). Due to the motion of the seas during transfers the line would often go slack causing the men to become drenched. This device was used to move men and supplies on and off the rock until the lighthouse was unmanned in 1957.

Working on the rock was not an easy task. Early in construction they set up shelters and landed tools and supplies all done in exposure to the wind, storms and high seas. In January of 1880 big storms caused pieces of boulder to fly about and supplies, provisions and equipment, including their “traveler” line to the Corwin, to be swept away. The storms came close to sweeping the men off the rock also. The Corwin was not able to approach for several weeks.

It took 575 days to complete construction and during the first 7 months the crew blasted away tons of rock consisting of 4,600 cubic yards of basalt in fog, rain and wind to complete a pad for the lighthouse. During construction Ballantyne would throw explosive powder cartridges over the water to warn ships away.

In a full gale one ship, the Lupatia, wrecked but wasn’t found until the storm was over. The entire crew of 16 men perished and only the ship’s dog survived.

Once built, the Tillamook Lighthouse was comprised of the square tower lifting upward from the one-story building that held rooms for each keeper, a kitchen and storeroom that could hold six months of supplies. The auxiliary building contained the fog signal and siren. Rain water was collected in a deep cistern carved in the rock.

In January, 1881, the Fresnel lens was lit for the first time standing 134 feet over the water. Frequently storms would cause damage to the building from airborne rock and debris. In 1934 storms smashed the lantern house and the Fresnel lens. The lighthouse was badly damaged and it was four days before anyone could approach with aid. The cost of repairs and maintenance were high but the lighthouse is like a fortress and has stood all this time through many severe Pacific Northwestern Ocean storms. Women and children were not permitted on the rock.

The Tillamook Lighthouse Fresnel lens was lit until 1957 when the last keeper, Oswald Allik, made the following entry in the station log (now housed at the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria):

“Farewell, Tillamook Rock Light Station. An era has ended. With this final entry, and not without sentiment return thee to the elements. You, one of the most notorious and yet fascinating of the sea-swept sentinels in the world; long the friend of the tempest tossed mariner. Through howling gale, thick fog and driving rain your beacon has been a star of hope and your foghorn a voice of encouragement. May the elements of nature be kind to you. For 77 years you have beamed your light across desolate acres of ocean. Keepers have come and gone; men lived and died; but you were faithful to the end. May your sunset years be good years. Your purpose is now only a symbol, but the lives you have saved and the service you have rendered are worthy of the highest respect. A protector of life and property to all, may old-timers, newcomers and travelers along the way pause from the shore in memory of your humanitarian role.” 

Allik, September 1, 1957

The lighthouse was then sold to various companies and individuals over the succeeding years eventually coming into the hands of individuals with a company called “Eternity at Sea.” The interior was converted into the world’s first lighthouse Columbarium with 100,000 niches for urns promising helicopter rides for those purchasers who wanted to place an ash filled urn in solitude inside the building. As of 1996, just 17 urns resided within the Columbarium, two of which had been stolen, it was presumed, by thieves that landed at night in helicopters. It is difficult to imagine why anyone would go to that much trouble for an urn full of ashes.

The lighthouse is privately owned but the rock is still owned by the U.S. Government. Tillamook Rock, also known as “Terrible Tilly” for obvious reasons, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places which provides for exterior painting so that is looks good from the sea. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the overseer of the lighthouse which is again home to sea lions, seals and sea birds.

I love Ohio summers. The cruising events abound. The uniqueness of them is something we will now discover. It’s not just classic cars although those are plentiful. This weekend in August, along with classic cars, it was classic boats. Yes, old, well-taken-care of wood boats. Mostly Lymans but also Chris Crafts and others including an aluminum vessel or two.

Huron, Ohio has a very active public boat basin that includes an amphitheater/park, large parking lot and, of course, boat docks. Directly across from the moored Lake Erie Freighters (remember our blog on those freighters), the boat basin houses full time. summer boats. and special event boats.  For 4^th of July, River Fest, Christmas in July and this recent weekend the Classic Boat, well, cruise in.

There were boats parked on the grass on their trailers, boats docked in the slips, boats moored along the walls. Beautiful, classic boats everywhere. It was difficult to take it all in but I tried.

The first couple of trailer perched boats I came to were replicas of both of dad’s boats. He had a 13 ft Lyman for awhile and then upgraded to an 18 ft Lyman—-just like these two. I was ready for a boat ride! 

We launched that 13 footer every weekend into the Rocky River. Dad would back it down the ramp into the water, jump out of the car and crank the boat off the trailer while I held the line, jump back into the car and pull the trailer out from under the boat. Good thing it was a small boat because I wasn’t that big to be holding the line. I was just the only one handy. I lost it more than once but there was always some gent around to rescue me, er, the boat.

Dad got tired of all the launching and after awhile he docked it at Eddy’s Fish Shack & Dock. Eddie was quite the character. He loved fish but people not so much. He didn’t even smile at little girls. But, off we would go from the launch or the dock onto Lake Erie.

One time we had guests and dad just wanted to take them out into the lake a very short ways so they could say they’d been there. It was rough and the waves were mighty high for such a little boat. Dad managed to bring it around to dive into the waves properly, we got sprayed, well ok, soaked, but he managed to get us back into the calm river safely. It was a bit tense and scary for awhile.

That might have been when he decided to get the 18 footer although 5 feet wouldn’t have made much difference in those waves. We trailed that boat up along the lakeshore to Vermilion, Huron and Catawba. Sometimes dad docked it in one of the rivers but more often we trailed to Catawba to meet up with friends who owned a 33 foot cabin cruiser much like this one without the mural.

We slept on the cruiser or in someone’s cottage. The cruiser would anchor in a cove and we’d water ski off the 18 footer. Water, sun and sand!

During the winters the boat would come home and be parked on its trailer in the garage. But before she got stowed for the season dad would scrap and paint the outside of that wood and treat the inside, bow and rails. I always assisted. It was a fun way to grow up.

Here are more samplings of the boats at the cruise in. The Lyman Boat Club folks were out in full force that weekend and having a great time with their beautiful wood boats along with some classic but not so wooden boats.

The walls were filled with cabin cruisers.

And the docks were filled with Lyman after Lyman after Lyman. 

As unique as this Lyman Boat Cruise In weekend was, the boats had some outright shinier competition. Along with the collection of classic boats came a collection of our favs….yep…you guessed it!  Classic cars. It was a hot day and the sun bounced off those spit-polished classics in blinding flashes. They were some of THE most beautiful classics I have ever seen anywhere. Enjoy feasting your eyes on them here. The first one is car AND boat! Put on your shades before viewing!

Remember our favorite classic muscle car? Just like moms. These are two different ones.

It doesn’t get much better than this! And at the end of the day you might think this last photo is representative. It’s actually the sun at dawn behind the Lake Erie Freighters out over the Huron Boat Basin.

Oregon celebrates its 150^th anniversary as a state this year. In keeping with this statewide celebration, the annual Reedsport Chainsaw Carving Sculpture Championship this past June adopted “Oregon 150” as its theme for 2015. Each carver created a work of art from what amounts to a large log representing someone or something in line with the 150^th theme.

This is by way of introducing you to the annual “Woodcarver’s Ball” so to speak on the Oregon Coast in Douglas County. Just 18 miles from Umpqua River Haven, this celebration of one of Oregon’s largest industries, timber, takes place every year in Reedsport.

 The carving area.

Oregon has a lifetime history with timbering dating back to the early days (remember our blog post about Scottsburg). Mostly men worked in the forests of Oregon cutting down large Douglas Fir for housing and industry needs. When chainsaws came into being it changed the industry quite a bit by allowing faster, more efficient means of harvesting the trees that are grown for that purpose. Those doing the cutting became creative with their chainsaws working to outdo each other. The competitions were born.

The Reedsport competition was started 10 years ago by Bob and Cindy King, both Reedsport natives. Bob is a championship carver himself. The Kings have moved out of state and the 4 day event over Father’s Day is now managed by the Reedsport/Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce and supported by sponsors, businesses and individuals. We want to share with you a few of the amazing sculptures the carvers have created over the years. Keep in mind these are all done with chainsaws.

 Beginning the process.

2010 First Place

 Angel 2015

Snorkel Bear 2008

Seals & Pelicans

 First Place

Bears are very popular at this event.  2015

Come stay with us at Umpqua River Haven next June and take in this unique artistic event on the Oregon Coast. You can learn more:  http://demo.jspicher.com/chainsaw  Don’t forget to come back to our blog!

One of my favorite states for classic car cruisin’ shows is Ohio. Ohio doesn’t let a summer weekend go by without one and between weekends you can often find one or more happening somewhere. From small towns like Huron, Ohio, to big cities like the state capital of Columbus, shinny, colorful classics frequently trimmed in large amounts of chrome rule.

Weekends and weekdays regular Cruise-Ins can be found in places like the Dairy Queen in Huron, Quaker Steak and Lube in Sheffield Village and our favorite, Bearden’s in Rocky River.

Bearden’s has been around since 1934 although it didn’t have the Bearden’s name until 1948. If you lived in Rocky River during the 1950’s and early 1960’s, this was the place you came to after a game or movie or just to hang out with your friends. Fellas brought their dates here for the famous burgers and onion rings or fries and the milk shakes! Carloads of girls came. Unattached fellas hung out in the back part of the parking lot whistling at the girls driving by.

One of the main features of this hangout was the curbside service. There were speakers in the parking spaces to call in your order. When it was ready, a young girl on roller skates would deliver the food on a tray that attached to the partially rolled up window on the driver’s side. That went by the wayside when central air became the norm in the late 60’s and inside was more comfortable in the heat or cold. But at the time, your brother was in the hot summer kitchen cooking the burgers!

The train, another main feature, is still there up near the ceiling traveling around the perimeter of the seating area. It’s not the same train and it doesn’t puff smoke any more but children still love it as well as those who remember what it was like back in the day. And every Monday evening during the summer is the perfect opportunity to see all those shinny classic cars once again. 

We didn’t forget telling you about the chrome!

 One of our favorite classics below. Our mom had one!

There’s another one I remember well. Belonged to a girlfriend’s mother but we had many interesting, fun and one or two scary adventures in it. Hers was yellow.

If you get to Cleveland (don’t forget our Cleveland Rocks blog post!), head to Rocky River. It’s the second burb west of Cleveland along the lake shore. GPS 19985 Lake Road and look for the Bearden’s Bear on the sign for some great Monday evening classic burgers and shiny car gazing!