Short Time Away, But Oh So Good!

This past weekend, we went on a much-anticipated, much-needed mini-vacation to one of our favorite places ~ Lakeside, Ohio on Lake Erie. This is one of our family's favorite places in the whole, wide world ~ so many wonderful memories there. We have some dear friends who are the 3rd generation to own their cottage in this historic little town. Lakeside was originally begun in the 1870's as a Christian church camp by the United Methodist church & has remained a sort of Christian community/resort. It has several hundred cottages ~ from mere 1-room shacks to huge places we refer to as "The Kennedy Compound", lol. Only about 1/3 of the homes there are lived in year-round, the rest are vacation cottages & historic hotels.

The weather couldn't have been better ~ even when the lake got a little choppy b/c of Hurricane Irene's outer bands. And DD#2 took her friend, C. This was our 1st family trip up there w/o DD#1, that was a little odd at times & she was thought about, often.

The first stop on your tour is our Home Sweet Home Away from Home ~ our friends' cottage. Always a snug & happy place.
This is the most-often seen sign in all of Lakeside . . . & I LIKE IT. :-)

So, 1st thing's 1st, we HAD to take "C" on a tour of our favorite places in Lakeside. 1st stop is ALWAYS the Pavilion & the dock. The dock stretches many yards into the lake w/benches to sit upon to relax in the sunshine, watch the boats go by, the gulls fly over, & watch grandpa's & dads teaching their little guys how to fish just like they were taught in generations past.

From the Dock, you can look slightly to the right & see Kelly's Island & while you watch the sail boats go by . . .

. . . & to your left, you can see Perry's Monument at Put-In Bay.

Then on the important things . . . our favorite restaurants! :-P

Sloopy's has THE best pizzas . . .

Ahhh . . . decisions, decisions . . .

Mmmm . . . the "Woody Hayes" ~ pesto pizza!

Now, you really must see some of the cottages in Lakeside . . . Here is a "typical" cottage-lined road . . . isn't that pretty?


This sweet little yellow cottage is probably my all-time favorite: Cape Jasmine. Isn't she lovely?

Left, is what we call "The Ship Captain's House" next to my hubby's favorite, "The Farmhouse."

Now . . . remember that I told you that Lakeside has cottages that are everything from 1-room shacks to huge "cottages"? Here's what a person has GOT to wonder: if THIS (below) is your summer vacation "cottage", WHAT does your home look like?! . . .

We call this one "Big Blue".

Welcome to "The White House."

And this lovely "little" number (probably 5,000+ sq. ft.) is the one we refer to as "The Kennedy Compound." I'm sure you can see why. These 3 biggies are our favorites that are on the lake-front.

Well . . . I'm sure you've seen enough for today. I'll have a little more for you tomorrow.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><