DAY 13

Sandusky, OH / Boston Heights, OH

We did very few miles today.  Is it too much to ask for a decent coffee shop ? After about an hour driving in circles with the GPS bleating “recalculating” at every turn we gave up on breakfasting overlooking the lake. Actually we would have been content with ANY breakfast spot by then!  Instead we got bagels and muffins, tea and juice from a donut shop and went down to the beach on Lake Erie.  $5 to park !  A girl had driven her car into deep sand and G went to help.  Together with some others they got her out.  There was a play structure which B enjoyed and we went down to the water to paddle.  Spike was very pleased to see “the sea” and darted in.  OMG he came out literally black !  The black did not shake off, nor could it be rubbed off with grass or sand or hand.  There was no water / faucet to be found and Spike had to get into the car looking like a little tar barrel.  Lake Erie is very polluted given the surrounding industry yet Ohioans have little choice for a “beach experience”.  In the 1970s the river that runs through Cleveland actually caught on fire!  That is when they realized they actually need to do something and have cleaned the area up (well apparently not the water).

 

We stopped by a Winery and thank goodness there was a high-pressure hose we could use to clean Spike.  We bought wine, apples and peaches and continued on, with our freshly cleaned dog, to the beautiful Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

 

 

What worked for us : Road tripping with children and dogs

Keep extra water, towels, Wet-Wipes and newspaper handy.