South Bass Island (Part 1)

It seems that every year we make it out to South Bass Island and Put-In-Bay with the family. Yesterday that time came again and I think it is safe to say that we all had a blast.

Put-In-Bay is the name of the village that sits in the middle of the island. It originally only referred to the bay in which ships would "put in" to wait out bad weather. The "Bass" islands located in Lake Erie are part of Ottawa County and are an extremely popular summer spot in Ohio, mainly with the younger crowd due to the abundance of bars (including the longest in the world) located downtown.

Put-In-Bay and South Bass Island have a pretty substantial history as well. It was the place of a pivotal battle between the Americans and the British during the War of 1812. The first ship to shore transmission was sent from the annual Yacht races to the island in 1907. It is still home to the Ohio State Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island was opened up in 1900 and still is in service today. The island was also home to one of the largest hotels in America, the Hotel Victory. The hotel burned down in 1919, but some of the ruins remain.

To say that South Bass Island has an interesting history would be putting it lightly, but what does it look like today? Come with us on our mini vacation and find out...

Teresa and Sarah ready to go.

Ready to board!

Shot of the island as we pull into the bay.

Same area from above in the late 1800's.

The Jet Express Dock. Perry's Monument in the background.

Gibraltar Island sits in the bay and is home to the Stone Lab.

It was extremely busy, as you can see by this marina photograph.

The Jet Express II, our trusted steed.

Cool shot from the unloading area.

After we unloaded from the boat we took to locating a golf cart to get us around the island, which was not an easy task on such a busy day. We ended up going to 4 different rental places that were all sold out of the 6 seat carts, so we settled on one that seated 8. It was the equivalent of a golf cart bus.

The first ship-to-shore transmission.

Just a walk through the park in search for carts.

New plaque with the names of everyone who fought during the Battle of Lake Erie. Put in 2013 to celebrate the bicentennial.

Mom and Dad leading the pack.

The Round House Bar and Park Hotel are two of the oldest building still inhabiting the village.

The Round House opened in 1873, before electricity was brought to the island. They had to cut ice in the winter and store it in an ice house located on what is now the Put-In-Bay Winery Estate. (theroundhousebar.com)

The Park Hotel, located directly next door was built in the 1870's and still looks like it did the day it opened. The lobby is open to the public and the rooms are still in use today for vacationers looking to travel back to a much simpler time. (parkhotelpib.com)

The line for the last of the remaining 8 seat golf carts.

But alas, we were able to finally get going.

To be continued...