Great Loop Date 08.16.2010: Just Relaxing Our Cares Away...

Todd and I continue our planned four days lay over at Put in Bay.  It may even be extended a day if Lake Erie doesn't lay down tonight.  A welcomed front came through last night taking away the horrible humidity and high temperatures of Saturday and Sunday.

We watched the thunderheads grow behind Perry's Monument Sunday evening.

Friday evening, we were tired from our final preparations to leave Bay Point and the ensuing battle we had through the rough water between Bay Point and the Put in Bay moorings.  We enjoyed relaxing on the bridge with some wine, cheese and crackers.  We had a late dinner of doctored store bought pizza that I cooked  later that evening.

Saturday was miserable hot and humid with no breeze to speak of.  We swam off the back of the boat, put Charlie on a line and let him swim about, lathered him up with pet soap and let him swim some more.  After the cooling dip, we went to the Beer Barrel Saloon to see the last set of the Danger Brothers, adopted as the Official Ohio State Buckeye tailgate band.

The original Beer Barrel Saloon was housed in the Colonial Inn, built in 1905.

 

As with so many of the old, beautiful structures at Put In Bay, the Colonial burned to the ground Memorial Day 1988.  We could see the smoke 16 miles away at Bay Point!

The Beer Barrel Saloon was built in the footprint of the old Colonial and opened in 1989.  It has the longest bar in the world (as recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records).  It is 405 feet 10 inches long.

From there we had chicken from the famous Chicken Patio.

We love to take a chicken dinner from there to DeRivera Park, find a picnic table under the canopy of trees and watch the boats in the Municipal Docks.

In 1854 a Spanish merchant name Joseph de Rivera bought South Bass, Middle Bass, Sugar, Gibraltar, Ballast and Starve Island for a price of $44,000. He began to develop the islands building a saw mill and a starve mill in the fall of 1854. He had the county engineer survey the area in 10-acre lots. In the first ten years, de Rivera sold 42 parcels of land in South and Middle Bass. He sold a quarter acre of land to the South Bass Board of Education for a dollar. The park downtown is named de Rivera Park in his honor, and a trust is responsible for the park and other land still today.  (As a side note, you can't touch any property for $44,000 today...if you COULD find a land parcel for that price, you'd better JUMP on it!)

Last but not least we went to the Boathouse to hear the Put In Bay troubadour himself, Pat Dailey.

Pat Dailey...let him explain himself !  You have to hear him...he's quite the story teller.

The Boathouse Put In Bay has undergone so many changes since we first started coming to the island.  It actually is built around an old WWII Quonset hut.  It's hard to find remnants of that today.

 

Sunday morning we went to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, the first church built on the islands and the oldest Episcopal church in Ohio.

The parish has been in search for a minister for the last two years.  Their new minister, Rev. Mary Staley, was moving in today (Monday) so we were unable to meet her.  I find it interesting that the two islands we love have the oldest Episcopal churches in their own areas, the first churches founded in those areas and also have the same name...St. Paul's on Put In Bay, OH and St. Paul's on Key West, FL.

Todd had a desire for a Bloody Mary (no surprise to folks who know him) so we were accommodated at Hooligan's, a new Irish Pub on the Bay (well, new last year!).  We came back to another very hot and humid day on the moorings, so we dropped the dinghy into the water and cruised around to keep cool.  Refreshed, we went back into the Bay to hear Mad Dog (Mike Adams) final set at the Roundhouse.  Todd loves the fact that you can't get cornered in the Roundhouse!

As I understand the history of the Roundhouse, it was originally built in 1873 in Toledo, OH.  I was first told it was moved board by board and reassembled in Put In Bay in 1944 (or there abouts).  I just read an article that gives a different story, saying it was cut in half and put back together on Put In Bay.  At any rate, a red, white and blue parachute canopy is spread across the ceiling.  It was originally placed there to keep the crumbling plaster from falling on the clientele in the bar!

 From there, we walked down to the Blue Harbor Martini Bar.

That brought Sunday to a close.  A cool front came in late evening, making our sleep a bit rocky.  Neither of us is complaining about the more comfortable conditions on the boat.

This evening we are going to dinner with boating friends, Dee and Dave, Cam and Sue at the Crews Nest, a private yachting club here on the island.  Unfortunately Kevin and Mary were called off the island for an emergency at home and couldn't be with us.  This is the final send off.

Drinks on Double D with Dave and Dee, Cam and Sue.  It's calm in the Bay...but beyond Gibraltar Island we could see the rough seas!

Wonderful dinner at the Crews Nest with (left to right) Cam, Sue, Paula Sue, Dee, Dave and Todd.

The Crews Nest is a private club with many amenities including dining facilities, a swimming pool, basketball court, tennis court and large marina.  During the week, dockage is available to non-members on a space available basis with full access to the club's facilities.  Weekends, however, are members only.  The Crews Nest originally was a private residence.  It was turned into a guest house in 1946 and was called the Friendly Inn.  It was sold in 1968, renovated and began taking members in 1970.

We were hoping for quieter seas tomorrow.  However, as I write this tonight, the wind is howling through Bay, the boat is rocking and we feel fairly certain our departure will be on Wednesday.  Our plan is to cruise from Lake Erie into the Detroit River and stay at the Detroit Yacht Club when the weather settles down.