Nostalgia Week At The Islands

Bow on to Perry's Monument, just like we
did to the Statue of Liberty

We both had a fantastic week at the islands, visiting friends and family, and reminiscing many years of memories.

The last couple days of our stay were highlighted by our meeting up with Lynn & Kerm, a couple that we knew during the summer of 1966.  In fact, Lynn is from Strongsville OH, and her parents actually went to high school with Sue’s parents.  We told one story after another about how we all roamed the island over the years, and how the place has changed.

We took the boat out on Saturday for a tour of the islands and several “photo ops”.  As we cruised past the Club House end of Middle Bass, I blew the horn in the same pattern as the old “Erie Isle”, and since Kerm & I both used to work on that ferry boat in the 1960’s, he knew immediately who was making all the noise.

This was the view I saw every day from my Grandmother's home

At South Bass Island, someone made a home out of a freighter bow section

 

The famous park bench from 1966 was still there!

Outside the Town Hall, the memorial bricks to my grandparents

 

Awaiting the start of the Barbershoppers

Of course, the other highlight of our final days was going to the Barbershop Quartet entertainment Saturday night at the Town Hall.  Even though the groups performed each year at Middle Bass, Sue & I haven’t attended the event since the summer we met in 1966.  This year there were at least 20 quartets during the 2-3 hour free show.  For the finale, 130 past & present Barbershoppers came to the front for a loud & strong couple of songs.  Need I say that we thoroughly enjoyed the evening?

This quartet was the life of the evening

About the only negative this past week was the fact that the green algae blooms have returned to Lake Erie for a second straight year.  The water was green enough that we couldn’t go swimming at all.  (Must be due to all those dastardly pleasure boaters dumping their black water tanks overboard.  It just couldn’t be due to fertilizer run-off or municipal waste discharges!)

See, Jeanette, the buoy IS marked on the chart!

All good things come to an end, and our return to the islands did also.  On Sunday we left the marina to again pass the Club House end of Middle Bass, where Lynn was on shore taking our photo.  We continued west past Rattlesnake Island, almost going to West Sister Island, to find and photograph the Battle Buoy.  On September 13, 2013, to commemorate the 200^th anniversary of Perry’s Battle of Lake Erie, a reenactment was held at the location of the original battle, and a buoy was placed.  Of course, I had to see it, since last summer we located & photographed the buoy marking where Francis Scott Key observed the attack on Ft McHenry outside Baltimore Harbor.

The same gallon of water where the Battle of Lake Erie happened in 1813!

A big boy exiting the Detroit River onto Lake Erie

Detroit River Light

The downbound ship channel of the Detroit River

 

 

So now we’re traveling north to Mackinac Island.  We’ll try to make up some time during this week, and then stay a couple days visiting Mackinac.  We still need to be off the Great Lakes right after Labor Day