Upgrades

Thanks to my wonderful wife my bike has finally been upgraded to level 3. For those of you that do not know level 2 was the small pouch on the front that holds my phone for when I am tracking my rides. Level 3 is the all new rear rack and bag (which I got for Christmas and finally installed today). The bag has room for an extra water bottle for longer rides and also (a real treat for you, the reader) room for our way higher resolution Nikon J1 digital camera. That's right folks, no more cell phone pictures. All of my future posts will have much higher quality pictures.

Crystal Beach (Vermilion Part 2)

Finally (I know you were waiting at the edge of your seat for this) part 2 of my Vermilion post. In this post we will cover the old Crystal Beach Amusement Park . If any of you are familiar with the area you can probably see that I am working my way West into downtown Vermilion.

Then and Now

Anyone that grew up in Vermilion or the surrounding area has probably at least heard of Crystal Beach. Even though the park has been gone for about 50 years now, the fond memories still linger on in the minds of the last generation and the generation before that. Unfortunately nothing remains of the long gone park and the location is now home to the Crystal Shores apartment complex.

Entrance to Crystal Shores today.

Cranberry Creek/Huron River

Today I rode my bike further than I have ever rode before. I was able to make it all the way to Huron, which is two cities West from our house. Huron is a really cool lake shore city. It is basically a larger, more industrial version of Vermilion, but first I made a quick stop for a cool "then and now" shot.

49.66 Miles

Cranberry Creek

Cranberry Creek in the very early 1900's (Ernst Neibergall)

Vacationland, Ohio

So I decided to take a little break from part 2 if my Vermilion post and take a ride farther West of the city into what was once known as "Vacationland". Vacationland is the section of Lake Road that runs from the outskirts of Vermilion to the West all the way into Sandusky. I only rode to the edge of Huron though due to time constraints.

Vacationland was basically a long line of campgrounds, cabins, dance halls, bathing houses and beaches that stretched along Lake Road in the early to mid 1900's. At a time when people had nothing else to do but go outside (I know, weird concept) the shores of Lake Erie was the place to be. Vacationland is still there, but it is now a shadow of its former self. There are still cabins and beaches along the shoreline, but they are mostly run down. All of the dance halls and bathing houses have been replaced with trailer parks and bars. Most of this is due to what is considered more "exciting" forms of entertainment coming about (most of which takes place indoors) and also the ever growing amusement park in Sandusky to the West, Cedar Point.

So here are some pictures from my ride through Vacationland.

32 Miles (Google Maps)

VOL Clubhouse/Diagonal Crossing (Vermilion Part 1)

Vermilion is a special town, and yes I am biased. I grew up on the outskirts of Vermilion and it is currently one of my favorite bike riding destinations, probably due to my strange obsession with the lake. So here is the first part of a two part (possibly three part) post about this "Small Town on a Great Lake".

23.91 Miles (Google Maps)

The Vermilion-on-the-Lake Clubhouse

The first stop on my ride is the Vermilion-on-the-Lake Clubhouse, which is located just East of downtown Vermilion.

VOL Clubhouse 2014

Marblehead Lighthouse

Edited: I was criticized at work because technically this was not on my bike. I drove here and then walked around. So I will call it Mike Driving and then Hiking. Jerks....

While waiting to finish my two part post about the city of Vermilion (because I forgot to take ONE picture!) I decided to write a post about the Marblehead Lighthouse located in Ottawa County, Ohio. I'm not sure if this still qualifies as Northeast Ohio, but it is a place that my wife and I visit frequently in the summer and has a pretty cool history.

The Marblehead Lighthouse

Satellite view provided by Google Maps of the Marblehead Lighthouse State Park. The lighthouse is at the top right.