winter on put-in-bay

for those that don't know, my parents live on a little tiny island in the middle of lake erie. it is known mainly for it's bars; boasting forty-two in a half-mile stretch and the longest bar in the world. andrea and i's most favorite time on the island is in fall and winter, when all but one of the bars close down for the season, the majority of the summer residents move back to cleveland and michigan, and the population drops to about four hundred.

the streets, that in the summertime are usually crowded with individuals stumbling from curb-to-curb, empty as an old western ghost town that gave up after a rush to let the tumbleweeds [leaves] swirl around with little to no obstacles.
even a national monument for the war of 1812 closes it's doors when the ferry boats lull to a stop and the little cessna airplanes take to the air to hull groceries and residents back to their winter retreat.

andrea and i love getting out to stroll about the empty harbor that is normally cram-packed with boats and blaring sound systems. now, the sound you hear is ice making it's way into the docks; cracking with the thrill that there might be ice fishing this winter.



from the empty harbor you can see gibraltar island; the building on the left and various swamps is where my mom splits her time in the summer months.

we love walking on the small beaches, where the sight of an old steel soda can that has spent it's tour of duty in the lake seems to turn back time a few decades.

sometimes we drive to the other end of the island to see how the ice is coming along. most of the time the docks are covered with ice from the cold wind and waves.

andrea had fun throwing a few big chunks of frozen water through the fragile ice.

dog knows best; at least this one does! judge, my parents mastiff, wraps all 150 pounds of himself around one of their kerosene heaters. we swear, if he could make himself any smaller, he'd climb into the inferno.

when the mope-ster gets his face warm enough to fry eggs on it, he saunters to the next room to lay with his 'teddy squirrel' a bit.

your heart can't help but to melt when you see him sleeping.

my dad is famous in our household for party plates. he'll come in from the garage and say, 'would you like me to make a party plate?' of course we all jump at the chance for his special afternoon snack. even the mopester jumps at the sound of the cheese coming out! seriously, any cheese product opening summons him. he loves cream cheese, swiss cheese, vanilla ice cream...heck, he probably would slurp down a tub of cottage cheese!

we had a wonderful visit with the trisler family. it was great to get to see mom and dad, forrest and my 'brother-from-another-mother' walt. although we had an amazing holiday with family on this tiny island, we had to leave a day early. when ferry boats dictate your life, you learn to get while the gettin's good. the day after we left, the ferry line pretty much shut down for the winter.

we'll see you guys in the spring!