We were graced with yet another beautiful morning sky to wake up to in Cleveland. Erik even slept in until an incredible 5am…lol. As he sat up on the fly bridge two of the three loopers who had come in yesterday made their early morning departures heading west on the lake. We are again this year traveling in the opposite direction as most loopers which means we will most likely only have brief encounters with fellow AGLCA members. Still nice to meet so many adventurous cruisers. We took Riva up to a large grassy park on the water to do her morning business. We were the only people there which allowed her to run free off leash making her a happy girl. After a quick breakfast we prepared to shove off with our typical routine of checking that everything is secured within and on the boat, disconnecting electric, running the engine compartment blowers, etc. Then time to start the engines. Vroooom goes the port motor, vroooom goes the starboard motor…..putt putt stall goes the starboard :-(. The Starboard motor would not start back up….hmmmm. Down into the engine compartment Erik had the thought that while working on the generator yesterday he turned off a gas valve to what he thought was the generator; maybe not. It turned out that he had actually turned off he gas to the starboard engine instead of to the generator. We do like quick and easy fixes though; starboard gas valve back on and generator gas valve off and we were off and running! Little did we know that after the pretty sunrise it would be the last of the sun that we would see for the entire day. As we pulled out of the marina a heavy fog set in that would stay with us not only the entire 45 mile cruise, but also for the entire day in Geneva On The Lake.
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| Calm waters, cool air, and low visibility |
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| This mornings meditation talked about expectations |
We had departed Cleveland at 7:43am and by 10:46am had made our way and were secured at the dock and ready to explore. When we planned our stops Geneva On The Lake was chosen as our second stop but we did not have particularly high expectations for what we would see or do there (should have meditated earlier). We were more than pleasantly surprised by what we found. The state park marina was very nice. It is tucked into an area of woods with multiple trailheads adjacent. Immediately to the west is the state park beach and just a couple hundreds yards to the east is the main lodge.
After a quick lunch of cheese and crackers with more of our almond/garlic butter spread we set out on bikes to ride into town.
Just outside the marina on a trail following along the shore was one of eight zip line towers…weeee!
It was a short ride of only about 1/2 mile into town. We parked the bikes and set out on foot. The town of Geneva On The Lake has a very rich and fun history. The town was settled in the early 1800’s. By the 1840’s people had realized its potential as a vacation destination. From then through the mid to late 1900’s the town grew and became a hotspot for entertainment and vacationing including an amusement park, dance halls and even burlesque shows! Throughout the town, along the main drag, there are signs describing the history of all of the sites and buildings, most of which are still the original structures. Certainly in its hay day it would have been a hopping place! Midway through our walk through town we stopped at one of several ice cream shops to enjoy an iced coffee dessert…yum.
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| Some of the many signs describing the colorful past of the town |
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| Many, many, many small cottages line all of the streets off the main drag A true ‘cottage town’ |
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| Arcades, shops, restaurants, theaters, magic shows all in nostalgic buildings We had thought that the fog that started the day would lift, but, not so. It was about 6pm and the fog still hung on, particularly over the lake and near shore. We rode over to the beach and took a short walk in the sand….and a lot of rock (fortunately the rocks were all rounded stones). Riva enjoyed a few fetches of her new frisbee and took a quick shallow swim.
Back to the boat we relaxed for a few before heading over to the state park lodge. We had noticed when riding by it earlier in the day that it had a very nice indoor and outdoor pool area. We were certain that our marina docking fees included use of the hot tubs (the sign at the pool area said otherwise, but…..)! We sat in the hot tub and had a very nice talk with a couple there from Syracuse NY. They were traveling through on their way back from Michigan where they were visiting family. They said they discovered the lodge a few years ago as a good midway point of their drive. They had four kids ranging from 1 to 7 years old who were all enjoying the pool. |
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| Excellent indoor pool area that opens to the outdoor area |
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| Very impressive lodge overall, probably the nicest we’ve seen It is fairly new having been built in 2004 Lots of activities to partake in: splash pad, bocci ball, shuffle board, corn hole, giant chess etc. |
An hour or so in the warm hot tub did our bodies wonders! Prior to heading back to the boat we walked the grounds for a few minutes enjoying the spectacular views and atmosphere.
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| Nice fire area overlooking the lake and pool |
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| PDA |
By the time we got back to the boat we were all tired and just about ready for bed. Our usual coffee and conversation ended quickly before heading off to bed. Geneva On The Lake proved to be a great stop that far exceeded our expectations.
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| Riva was the first to zonk out after her big day of activities |
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