Kelleys Island

Had a great time in Chicago.  But before I get to that adventure, here is a quick recap of the trip Sarah and I took to Kelleys Island.

We packed up some snacks and water and headed for Marblehead to catch the ferry to the island.  We had a nice a drive out Rt. 2 with wonderful weather.  We enjoyed the boat ride and arrived at the island ready to go exploring.  But first, we had to secure a bike rental for Sarah (I brought my bike over on the ferry).  Once that was taken care of, we were off in earnest.

We made our first stop at the glacial grooves.  After exploring around there for a bit we headed to the beach.  We had no intention of swimming; instead we parked the bikes and took a walk down the small beach.  We walked out on a long outcropping where Sarah discovered a water snake sunning on some rocks.

After a bit, we got back on the bikes and proceeded to a butterfly house.  It was small, but they had a nice collection of butterflies.  From there, we biked to a nature trail.  We spent an hour or so on the trail (taking a nice rest at the lookout platform).

After that, we made a brief visit to an abandoned quarry.  We would've liked to have spent some more time there, but we were starting to get worn down by the heat.  So we biked back to the downtown area and began to investigate our dinner options.  We have two very picky diets to plan for, but we finally found a place that suited us.  We enjoyed a nice meal (and I enjoyed a rum & coke that was way too strong).  

After dinner, we made a lazy walk back towards the pier.  Since we missed the previous ferry, we had time to visit inscription rock where we were delighted by the antics of the swallows who had made nests in the covering over the rock.  We watched as they zipped around low over the water snatching bugs as they went.  They would land at their nests just long enough to deliver the yummy food to the babies in the nests before taking off for another sortie.

Then it was time to catch the boat for the mainland.  We enjoyed watching the sun set into the lake as a great day drew to a close.

Here are the pictures from the day:

On the boat to Kelleys!



In the butterfly house.

An abandoned stone quarry.
At the quarry.

They are very serious about sidewalk use.
The ferryboat moored.
The harbor at Kelleys.
Inscription Rock.

Sunset at the harbor.



On the boat home.  Hot & tired, but a great day.
Enjoying the sunset on the boat ride.
Perry's Victory Monument visible in the distance.


The day draws to a close.

Lake Eries snuffs out the sun.