Put-In-Bay

During the first week of summer break, we spent three days at Put-In-Bay on South Bass Island in Lake Erie. We left home on a Sunday morning and drove to Catawba Island where we took the Miller Ferry across the lake to the island. It was about a 20 minute ride and we arrived on the island around 3:00 PM. A cab (van) took us from the dock to our hotel, the Islander Inn.

The first thing we did was swim at the hotel’s pool. Interesting note: several of the pools located at hotels are open to the public on Put-In-Bay. Our hotel, The Islander Inn, had three pools and a large outdoor Jacuzzi.

Our balcony is the top left with the towels

Our room at The Islander Inn

Later we went to dinner at the Put-In-Bay Brewing Company. My friend from GFS, Ursula, met us there. She owns a lakeside cottage in Put-In-Bay, so she was there for the weekend. She brought goody bags for the kids (tons of candy!) and told us more about the island.

After dinner, we walked around the area and saw several shops and restaurants and the kids played at DeRivera Park. We ended up visiting this park several times during our stay.

On Monday we ate breakfast at Pasquale’s and took a photo of this neat sign there.

Then we went to DeRivera park again and browsed through many shops along the main road. We went back to our hotel, checked out, and headed around the corner to a different hotel. After reading more reviews of hotels online, we wanted to try this other hotel that included a free breakfast and golf cart rental. After getting our 6-person golf cart, we rode downtown to explore. First, the kids rode the carousel, twice.

We then drove to the residential area of the island and found Ursula’s cottage. It sits right on the lake shore.

Then we were off to explore South Bass Island State Park and campground. The kids played on a playground there before we headed back to the hotel.

We checked in to our new hotel, the Put In Bay Resort and Conference Center. Our room was bigger, with a separate bedroom and a kitchen area. This hotel has one outdoor pool and a large Jacuzzi. We spent a lot of time in the Jacuzzi!

After settling in our new room, we changed into warmer clothes and went to the Upper Deck for dinner, which is a waterfront restaurant on the Boardwalk.

View from Upper Deck restaurant

We then went to Ursula’s cottage to see the sunset. Unfortunately, it was too cloudy. But we did enjoy sitting in her backyard, watching boats go by, and listening to the water.

Tuesday morning we ate breakfast at the hotel. Shane and Parker were the early risers, so they took the golf cart to the beach and marina. After breakfast, we all went to Perry’s Monument. The view from the top is spectacular! Other islands and Cedar Point can be spotted.

From there, we went to an area that had a lot of family activities. The kids made their way through a maze, Seth climbed a rock wall, Parker, Isabelle and I went inside a butterfly house and we all toured Perry’s Cave.

We had lunch at Subway that afternoon (Seth’s pick), had ice cream at the Chocolate Café and went to a beach area where we played in the sand.

Back at the hotel, we swam in the pool and Jacuzzi. Unfortunately, Seth wasn’t feeling well, so he stayed in bed at the hotel while we went to dinner at Big Ed’s Bar & Grill (which was within walking distance of the hotel). He ended up staying in bed the rest of the night, but he felt better the next morning. We think he may have had too much candy. Once again, we drove the golf cart to Ursula’s to try to see the sunset, but it was too cloudy. We did get to see a pretty pink sky, though, and saw the Jet Express ferry go by!

On Wednesday, we had breakfast at the hotel and then it started raining. We didn’t let the rain stop us, though. We drove the golf cart to DeRivera Park, walked on the docks (where we saw several snakes and a crane), browsed the shops and rode the carousel again.

After checking out of our hotel, we took a cab back to the ferry dock and took Miller Ferry back to Catawba Island.

Back on the mainland, we found our van covered in Mayflies! We promptly looked for a car wash! We ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant, then headed home and were back home at around 5:00 PM. It was a fun-filled trip and we all agree that we should do it again soon!

Here are some more photos of our trip:

Note: We looked at the BayShore Resort, and decided that would be a great hotel to stay in next time. It is the only lakefront hotel and is in a quiet area.