Tonawanda, NY

The day started out calm on Tuesday, September 18 as we set out for our five hour run to Buffalo.  It was sunny and warm but after a few hours the lake got pretty rolly and the sky clouded up. We were overwhelmed by the thousands of tiny little gnats that surrounded the boat and covered the outside of the flybridge  - and this was in the middle of the lake!  As we approached Buffalo, we could see its impressive skyline.

We perused the area where we would dock if we stayed in the city but decided to push on to stay just outside of the city.  The reviews were more positive about the town of Tonawanda so we chose what turned out to be a great location there on the town dock.

We were just across from a charming restaurant and close to the dockmaster’s office, laundry and restroom facilities.

We spent Wednesday thoroughly cleaning Zendo, inside and out in preparation for Stephanie’s arrival that evening.  Once she arrived we had dinner at that charming restaurant called Prescott’s Provisions and it was the very best restaurant we’ve been to on our entire trip!  

The next day we took an Uber to nearby Niagara Falls.  Although we had all been there before, the falls never cease to impress and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.  We took the Maid of the Mist boat ride into the falls and even though we donned the rain ponchos, we walked away partially soaked.  Walking around the grounds we had a great view of the falls from all different angles.

We had a very good lunch at a restaurant called Savor which was part of the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute.  

Afterwards, we returned to Zendo to rest and later on we went into Buffalo to start exploring the city.  We had some unique cocktails at Buffalo Proper, a very cool cocktail “lounge” that we had learned about in a New York Times article about Buffalo. 

From there we walked though some of the interesting parts of downtown Buffalo which has a lot of impressive architecture.

 We took an Uber again to a funkier part of town where we had to have Buffalo wings at the Anchor Bar, the birthplace of that “delicacy.”

On Friday we went back into Buffalo to visit two museums, the Burchfield Penney Art Gallery and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery just across the street. We had a delicious lunch there and managed to walk through a good part of that museum to see some great modern art and an exhibit of the works of the sculptor Robert Indiana, famous for his LOVE statues.

From there we rushed over in time for a two hour tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Darwin D. Martin House Complex. This was a very interesting tour of a site with three houses designed by Wright.  The complex includes a range of options from a somewhat modest home to one more opulent and all in his inimitable Prairie style.  Even Stephanie enjoyed her first exposure to this iconic architect. 

That evening we had leftovers from all our previous meals and then went for a walk in our “neighborhood” heading over a bridge to North Tonawanda. Our side was the quieter, more residential side. The other side was livelier with more commercial establishments, live music and ice cream which we treated ourselves to.  This was to be our last night in Tonawanda so we could have the following day to cruise with Stephanie.  She and Georgio have clearly been enjoying their time together!

Dunkirk, NY

We awoke to a gorgeous sunrise on Monday, September 17 but delayed our departure from Erie until the wind died down a little.

 Then we made our way to Dunkirk on a beautiful sunny day.  We had calm seas encountered and very little boat traffic.

We listened to the Slow Burn podcast about the Bill Clinton empeachment and its start with the Monica Lewinsky affair.  These podcasts are fascinating and help make the cruise much more entertaining and informative.  Jonny kept calling marinas all along our route to find the cheapes fuel prices but we missed our opportunity for the best prices which were in Pennsylvania.  It turns out New York has very high taxes on fuel,  which shouldn’t have been a surprise to us. 

At first we were going to anchor in the Dunkirk’s harbor just inside the breakwater.  But once we decided to buy fuel at the marina called Holiday Inn at Chadwick Bay, we thought we would just go ahead and stay there as well (plus the nearby anchorage had no attraction to it).  It turned out that the marina was not all that attractive either but the dockhand was helpful and friendly and it was a calm and secure place to stay for the night.

We learned that a local restaurant had a special on buffalo wings that evening so since the price was right and we were getting close to Buffalo we went for it. Dinner was OK and afterwards we walked through the town (or city) of Dunkirk which has definitely seen better days.  At least 35% of the storefronts on the main drag were closed up and as far as we could see the town had few, if any, redeeming features (though there were a few attractive buildings)!

That evening we had a fabulous sunset and watched the Emmy’s (not a great show).  We were looking forward to getting to our next stop in Buffalo where Stephanie would be flying in to spend a long weekend with us!

Erie, PA

We began a long day of travel on Sunday, September 16 bound for Erie, PA.  But first we stopped at the town dock in Ashtabula to take advantage of their free self-service pump-out. Since we didn’t explore the town the day before, we decided to take a few minutes to do so.  It turned out that Lynn’s negative first impression of the day before was ill-advised.  Ashtabula was really quite charming with attractive architecture, cute shops and interesting restaurants.  It touted its designation as America’s Main Street Winner in 2018. We strolled along its Bridge Street and stopped for coffee at a cool coffee shop.  Jonny liked the featured grind so much that he bought a pound for the boat. 

From there we proceeded on our cruise on a beautiful sunny day with flat seas. It was a perfect day to be on the water!  As we approached Erie, PA, we saw a schooner leaving the harbor and a lighthouse guiding our way in.

To approach Erie, one has to enter a very long and extremely well protected harbor.  It was easy to see why this is such an important port. We thought we would tie up at the city dock and explore the town for a couple of hours but discovered that it was only for commercial traffic, i.e. the local ferry.  So we made our way to Wolverine Marina where they told us we could tie up for $5 per hour.  The dockmaster turned out to be a very friendly woman who oriented us to the town and eventually waived the fee.  

We walked up the broad main street of the town that led away from the waterfront in search of a brew pub that had been recommended by a live-a-board at the marina.  Erie is a small city that looks like it is trying to become more attractive but is not all the way there just yet.  But it does have potential and some of its architecture is quite beautiful.

It also had some interesting historical and funky murals.

Many stores were closed because it was Sunday but we managed to find a cool place called Voodoo Brewery that was open.  Jonny chose it because of its extensive array of beer that they brewed themselves.  We settled into comfortable Adirondack chairs in their outdoor courtyard and enjoyed a relaxing hour.

From there we returned to Zendo and headed out to a beautiful and extremely well-protected anchorage in Presque Island Park which forms the outer perimeter of Erie’s harbor.  The few boats that were already anchored there left by sunset and we were alone in an idyllic spot.   There were no houses and only a small marina with lots of sailboats.  Jonny went for a swim and we enjoyed dinner on the aft deck and watched a fabulous sunset.

Ashtabula, OH

The first thing we did on Saturday, September 15 was to have breakfast at the Lakeside Yacht Club in Cleveland before we resumed our cruise.  Because Stephen couldn’t find a viable ride from Ashtabula (our next stop) back to Cleveland for his Sunday morning flight, he would stay overnight in Cleveland on his own.  After saying our goodbyes, we shoved off by 10 a.m. for a long day of travel.

The day was stunning with blue skies, perfect temperatures in the 70’s and calm seas.  We passed a few boats whenever we cruised through populated areas but for the most part it was pretty quiet. 

We passed a lighthouse and an attractive bridge as we arrived in Ashtabula. 

We had to wait a bit for the 5:30 opening of the very interesting looking drawbridge.  While waiting for the bridge to open we attempted to tie up at the town dock but it was too crowded and miscalculating the current we almost got tangled in the lines of some fisherman at the dock.  

Once the bridge opened we went up to the Ashtabula Yacht Club which we had been trying to contact all day for a reservation.  Upon arrival, we decided that the set up did not look very attractive and neither did what we could see of the town.  We were clearly the largest boat around so we decided to to do a 180 and anchor out in a nearby anchorage.  Of course we had to wait for the bridge to open again, which we did, then proceeded to the anchorage which was between the two breakwaters for the town.

We were one of only two boats in the large anchorage. Our view on one side was not the most attractive as what appeared to be a big mining site lined the shore.  There was a concert of sorts on shore and the music wafted across the water as we ate leftovers on the aft deck.  After sunset we were treated to long fireworks display which is always a treat!

Cleveland, OH

We left Put-in-Bay at 7:30 for the run to Cleveland on Thursday, September 13. The weather was overcast and a little misty.  We cleared the nearby island and then encountered swells of one to one and a half feet but we were able to take them at a good angle. All the coastline was shrouded in fog. It was rough enough that Jonny took Lynn’s place in going below to make lunch.  

As we got closer to Cleveland we could see its skyline through the mist and by mid-afternoon the sun came out.

Arriving in Cleveland, we cruised past a very long breakwater that protects the city’s waterfront. We arrived at the Lakeview Yacht Club which was just two miles east of downtown Cleveland.  We tied up at the dock for transients and went up to the comfortable yacht club bar for a drink. There was some kind of social event going on so we were there for a short while then went back to Zendo for dinner amidst a gorgeous sunset.

The next day we Ubered to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where we thought we would spend a couple of hours then go on to something else.  But the museum was so interesting that we stayed all day.  There were lots of exhibits of movies, music and paraphernalia representing the most fun days of our youth and the great artists and music that we had the privilege of growing up with.

Returning to Zendo, we took advantage of the yacht club’s bar again before walking back and encountering this unique floating device.. 

Again

We had dinner on board enjoying the smoked meat we had purchased in Montreal along with Lynn’s new homemade coleslaw recipe from Robbie.  That evening we kept trying to find an early Sunday morning ride for Stephen from Ashtabula (our next destination) to the Cleveland airport.  Unfortunately there were no viable options so Stephen would have his last night with us and find alternative sleeping arrangements for the following night before his flight. It was great to have him visit again having joined us for our Down East adventure three years ago. 

Put-in-Bay, OH

We made our first big foray into Lake Erie departing Detroit on Wednesday, September 12 at 8:30.  It was a fine sunny day but cool enough for jackets. It was also the first day of travel with Stephen Chew who had flown in from Sacramento for a few days. 

The current was fast and we were flying at 9 mph for a couple of hours until we entered the lake.  As time wore on, it became a little rougher and some cloud cover developed.  It got increasingly uncomfortable on board so much so that Jonny went down below to make our lunch.   Apparently Georgio wasn’t too happy with the rocky seas because he left a little gift for us on our cabin rug.  Poor thing!

We arrived at Put-In-Bay by 2:40 and selected a mooring ball in the almost empty mooring field.  The tender came to pick us up and we walked into town for a beer. 

Put-In-Bay is pretty touristy but because it was after Labor Day and wasn’t busy at all.  The town is actually quite pretty and we could see why it had been recommended to us by many cruisers.  It had lots of gaily painted restaurants and stores and a very nice park along the waterfront.

After taking a stroll through town, we headed back to Zendo where we had chile for dinner sitting on the aft deck.   It was a lovely evening  and we had fun with Stephen telling stores and reminiscing about our long friendship together.  The next day we would be heading to Cleveland for two nights.