Simple Pleasures

Although Denny spent several years living in the Cleveland area, this area of northeast Ohio is all new to me so when the rains finally quit for a few hours I suggested a trip up to Geneva on the Lake. (The picture below is not a creek in the campground but simply a low spot between our row of camp sites and the row of camp sites behind us) Geneva on the Lake has been popular as a vacation spot in Ohio since the mid to late 1800s thanks to the foresight of the Spencer family who settled here and built a tavern for travelers and businessmen. Sitting on the banks of Lake Erie, the area soon became "the" vacation spot for families who wanted to get away from the larger cities. Even Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller and Harvey Firestone would come here to camp, fish, swim and relax together. A small amusement park sprang up, along with campgrounds, followed by small cabins, motels and motor courts, restaurants and dance halls.
Like many small resort towns, Geneva on the Lake lost clientele when the larger amusement parks were built but the town hung in there and once again families have returned to wander the streets, play some golf, splash in the water park/amusement park, picnic at the parks and explore the many shops and wineries. I told Denny if a person couldn't find something they liked to eat here, especially if you're into fair food, then you're just too darn picky. There's a little something for everyone but the place to eat seemed to be Eddy's Grill which had a continuous line of waiting customers snaking outside their door and out onto the sidewalk.Denny and I chose instead to have a picnic at the somewhat soggy park looking out over Lake Erie. I might have wished for a sunnier day for taking pictures, but there was a nice breeze blowing off the lake and it was a very pleasant way to have lunch. We stopped for ice cream on the way back, where we saw this motorcycle that we've seen advertised on TV:One of the reasons I had decided to visit Geneva on the Lake was the fact that the town was sponsoring a flea market and the Old Firehouse Winery (which had no wines on display that I could see) was sponsoring an arts and crafts show on its grounds. The flea market was just getting started and was a bit on the small side due to the imminent threat of rain, I imagine. Denny and I were a tad too early for all the craft booths to be open but we did see a lot of unusual hand made items, a huge painting of birch trees and chickadees I would have bought in a minute if I owned a residence that had wall space and even some booths with Amish baked goods. I walked away with this: An unbreakable cocktail shaker with silver wire and blue glass bead decorations. Because I bet John D. Rockefeller had a snazzy cocktail shaker when HE camped up here!