I’ve put off writing about this little slice of heaven as if keeping it to myself would keep the sparkle. The Presque Isle State Park sits on a peninsula surrounded by Lake Erie. As you enter the park, you are immediately met by enchanting views. There is a marina a little ways south of the park; sailboats, kayaks, and even people on floats can be found near the shore. Due to travel restrictions, the boats across the lake to Canada are not running. Trees and water views line both the road and bike path.
There is a beautiful little pier labeled as “art.” Once I experienced “The Feather,” I understood the appeal and artistic elements. The pier has a beautiful pattern lining the sides with a meaningful poem engraved in the floor, one word at a time. It reads:
“The feather
Unto the heavens I will soar
with water at my feet
to humbly flow
with the balance of nature
as my guide.
Manitou the great spirit.”
Much of the park is protected land where endangered species, particularly migrating birds, reside. I’m not sure what type of turtle this is below, but I definitely did not want to get out to help it to the other side of the road.
Aqua-cycles
One evening, we rented two aqua cycles to pedal on a pond in the middle of the park. As we were thoroughly sterilizing our aqua-cycles, Ginny decided some lily pads looked really interesting and walked right off the pier into the water. Splash! Kaeli, holding the leash, yanked her back onto the pier. Ginny spent the whole ride attached to John’s shoulder staring at me in the other aqua-cycle. She has shown a bit of an aversion to the water since then, although the kids have convinced her to wade in the creek a few times with offers of animal crackers. The aqua-cycle was so much fun! Half an hour was enough of a work out. Riley alternated between sitting, where she couldn’t reach the pedals and I was left lopsidedly motoring the whole thing, and standing up and leaning forward, where she frequently began to slip off the pedals. I spent a good deal of time trying to balance holding the steering wheel straight with my left hand while my right hand clutched the back of her life vest to keep her upright; this was more difficult because all of her weight rested on the steering bar when she was standing, pushing us sharply to the left. John’s ride wasn’t much easier, keeping the dog calm. We all had a fabulous adventure and were sad to make it back to the pier. The kids wanted to rent one of the four person bicycles next, but we already had plans to fish.
The pond caddy corner to the aqua-cycle pond was exclusively used for fishing. I sat down to write a blog post while the kids sort of helped John fish. They are very excited about the prospect of fishing (Riley really wants to catch some “yummy fish to eat” and Kaeli loves learning something new), but spent most of the time playing with the live bait and fish they caught that we were keeping in a small plastic Tupperware filled with water.
We released our fish and headed to the truck to deposit our fishing gear before heading to the beach. In this process, we lost Riley. When she didn’t respond as we called for her, we started to panic. I patrolled the area near the truck and John headed back to the pier. Apparently, she had stopped to chase a butterfly. When she looked up and didn’t see us, she stood still and waited patiently for us to return. She was very proud of following the safety rules and nonplussed by the experience. We ate dinner at the beach and watched as the sun began to fade into the water.
I always thought I was not a beach person. In Florida, I actually lived “beachside” all through high school. Even my first house was only a 20 minute trip to the beach. I enjoyed watching the waves and could feel the steady rhythmn of them crashing deep inside my soul, but I never enjoyed the “beach experience.” My first experience at Presque Isle State Park was alone with the girls. We found a beach where there were only a few cars parked and decided to see if we felt comfortable with the amount of visitors. We were very happy to find that there was barely anyone there. It’s interesting going to places like this. It feels post-apocalyptic, sparse and more back to it’s natural roots. We dubbed this first beach the “kite beach.”
This beach often had many majestic kites flying like a rainbow in the sky. It also allowed for dogs in the water (although ours was not interested), but no swimming. Ginny loves everything about the beach, although her favorite beach activity is helping the kids dog holes in the sand. The kids had a fabulous time playing with their new sand toys and climbing in the dunes. In true Riley fashion, she somehow got her shorts wet each time she was given permission to put her toes in the water.
During that first trip to the beach with the kids, I noticed that almost everyone had an umbrella or tent at the beach, so I started my petition to buy a tent. I can be rather persuasive and also figured we could double use out of a tent at our campsites. We began using a tent at the beach each time we all went as a family, and it is divine. There is nothing like soaking in the Vitamin D without the direct rays. It’s a great way to relax, enjoying the gentle roll of the waves and the cool lake breeze.
If asked, the kids would say their favorite experience was the day we went to the beach on a windy, colder day because there were large waves to jump through. They also love being buried in the sand.
They loved swimming in the lake, although John and I found it to to be only “kid warm” temperature (meaning super freezing). We spent countless days and evenings enjoying the beach at Presque Isle State Park; memories that we will keep close to heart as we continue on our adventure.
