The Better Side of Put In Bay

Good Morning Put-In-Bay

Maw Maw is enjoying her early morning view.

It started off chilly but turned out to be a beautiful day

The geese are squawking and want breakfast. It's a good thing I love them..so of course I had to feed them. I guess they're tired of eating dead mayflies.

I thought we had a ton of mayflies in Toledo but this place has a gazillion of them but the majority of them are dead. Look at the shore, that's not sand, it's mayflies. Oh my! 

Our view of Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial on South Bass Island in the background.   At dawn on the morning of September 10, 1813, Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry hoisted his battle flag inscribed "DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP" just prior to their encounter with the British.

 Now I understand why everything here has that slogan on it.

The monument was established to honor those who fought in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812, and to celebrate the long-lasting peace between Great Britain, Canada, and the U.S.  The memorial stands 352 feet over Lake Erie.  They have an observation deck but unfortunately we didn't make it there in time to enjoy the view or learn more of the history.  I guess that's a good excuse to come back sometime, right?

We found the tourists! And they were kind enough to give us a quick history lesson about the monument.  Thanks Billy & Piper. We'll see you in a little bit. Enjoy the quiet time..

                                                    Let's start this day off with a bang!

                                                        We're happy happy happy

                                                 

                                                     Wow! I think I found a few live ones.

                  This brings me back to my childhood. I don't remember what they are but I like them.

My little munchkin

  We were instructed by Regan to go here and like always he never steers us wrong. Joseph, Rachel,     and Christopher had the famous root beer floats and it was delicious and the pizza was yummy too! Thanks for the suggestion.

Captain Phil was nice enough to take the kids for a tour of the island

Here are some of the kids views of the island 

             Who would feel comfortable living upon a rock? Well, I guess it's better than living under a       rock, huh?

I love the sun rays shining upon the shimmery emerald water 

             The water is inviting but not that welcoming after I found this swimming in it- a water snake.

Now that family time is over, it's time for us adults to do our tour and see what the town has to offer.

While kids have their nighttime snack-ice cream, we're going to have our snacks-mojitos at Mojito Bay.

We all agree that we love this bar.. from the swinging bar seats, the musician, the corn hole game, and  it wouldn't be complete without the constant buzzing of the swarms of mayflies overhead. The best memories were when a mayfly flew into my face and made me cross eyed, and another one ventured down Pipers dress. 

We would have loved to have had a longer experience but all good times come to an end. 

Who know's what this bar is known for?

No cheating!

Who would have thought that this little island would have the longest bar.

 Our evening concluded with Piper & Billy at Frosty with a few drinks and some more delicious pizza. 

 Put-In-Bay has a great down home, laid back feeling. It's quite refreshing seeing the carefree behavior of the children. Why can't every place be this peaceful?  I wish we could stay in this sweet little paradise, but we have places to be.

Put-In-Bay..Here We Come

The day has finally arrived..Tuesday, June, 18th- we are finally departing TYC with

Captain Joseph at the helm

Our view as we exit the yacht club

Nanie is taking over..for the moment

                            

      All smiles before the swells

Rachel and Piper are trying to hide from the spray, but they weren't very successful with that one.

Now they're laughing at me because I'm the one getting soaked, and the water is freezing!! I'm outta here!

Lake Erie and it's snotty swells but it looks pretty though

No more smiles, just upset bellies. The swells are now taking it's toll on Nanie.  At first it was funny, but quickly became nauseating and I feel so horrible for her.  This was not supposed to be her first memory on the water.  She tells me she's a land lover and is not happy with cruising.  That's not what I want to hear, but I completely understand at this moment. They say that when you're feeling sick, the fresh air is best for you. Well, Nanie was struggling just to walk, let alone climb upstairs to the cold fresh air.  That plan didn't work so well for her.   I also discovered something new with her.. she can sleep standing up. She's better than Christopher.

 Poor Livie, she's feeling it too. She's learning quickly to stay low.  Anyone that knows Olivia, knows that you can't keep her still for a second and she sat with me for almost three hours straight. The weather got the best of her but she lasted longer than I ever expected her too.

We learned a valuable lesson- if you're planning on going in the engine rooms PLEASE INFORM OTHERS ON THE BOAT!! Joseph was doing a systems check and with the swells, the door managed to lock itself with Joseph inside!  That was a scary moment for him..and a lesson learned for all of us. 

Due to the poor weather-pictures of the ride over to Put- In- Bay are limited due to the need to care for myself and my babies-Ariana (Nanie), Olivia, and Marli- the dog.  I can describe this experience with two words-NOT FUN!

Everyone else was on the upper deck and they weren't feeling all that well either.  Poor Billy was constantly running up and down, checking the engines, radar. On top of all that he wasn't feeling good either.  He is going to sleep like a baby.

We thought that when we arrived in Put- In-Bay that we would be protected by the islands from the bad weather, that wasn't the case at all.  We arrived at 10pm and it was a challenge to get us docked with the strong winds that were whipping around. 

The kids are over this boat ride and just want to forget about it.  They were down for the count instantly. Even Joseph felt defeated by our beast.  It was a lot more challenging than his old 53'.

Thanks to Captain Phil and the other boaters for assisting in the docking of the boat. 

                            Now, let's all get a good night sleep and put this day behind us.

                                                 

It's Family Time

The wait is over.. Welcome aboard Billy & Piper Mathews. We're so happy to have family visiting with us at our new home.

Let the lessons begin with Billy onboard.  Billy is teaching the kids how to tie knots, and they are so proud of themselves.  Billy was also impressed with how quick they caught on to doing it.  We have some smart kids..that is..when they want to be.  

      Instructor Billy.. it's easy..see

Practice makes perfect..

Piper is getting in on the action too. I can only imagine what Piper is telling Nanie now. She's been pretty good at making the girls blush. I love it!

She did it!

Olivia is loving her quality time with Piper too.  It's shocking to see Livie without her favorite book.. What book is that Piper?? Are you having nightmares about it yet?

So much for vacation for Piper & Billy, get to work people! Us girls were working hard to remove the adhesive from the mirror with the awesome "snot remover".

Piper & Nanie conquering the wall. Now the wall looks like it has chickenpox and I'm not a fan of the outcome so now it's time for plan B.  Piper then decides to get Ariana addicted to.. candy crush!!  Oh Boy!! Before you know it I have all three girls glued to their devices.  I won't even attempt to take away their Ipads because I might get beat up by them..it's that serious!  At least they're laughing and enjoying themselves, so I guess it's best to leave them alone.

In the meantime,  Billy is teaching Christopher all about the mechanics of the boat.  It's a good thing Christopher (Bill 9) absorbs information like a sponge, because I would need a notebook for all the knowledge Billy has to share.

After all that talking, Billy is in need of a refreshment

Some well need relaxation

Rachel is still practicing - hours later. It soon became a contest with the girls and they thought it would be fun to lasso Christopher too.  Although they were having their fun with him, he wanted no part of their nonsense. And the winner is...Rachel!

Now it's adult time


It's another great morning and since Billy is an early bird he decided to surprise the kids with.. FRIED DOUGH for breakfast. More brownie points for him.  The kids love him and Piper more and more with each day. I think we're gonna have to kidnap you guys.

As our time is coming to an end in Toledo, the marina is still a happening place.  We had the rumbling of boat engines and people partying before they headed out for the poker run.

Before we leave we HAVE to take Billy & Piper to El Vaquero for the delicious guacamole and yes, they loved it too. We'll definitely miss that awesome food. It's making my mouth water as we speak.

Prior to our departure we had Burt & Regan stop by to do a boat check.  We're good to go. Yay! We're all itching to head to the next destination on our journey called life. Although we've had a great time here and met great people, it's now time to move on.

Bye Bye Regan!  We can't THANK YOU enough for all that you have done for us. You're a great man and we are blessed to have been able to get to know you on a more personal level.  Until next time, enjoy that 70.