Turtle Tales: Day 31 & 32 - Obstacles Overcome!

We left Lockport, N.Y. with a heavy heart as we had such a wonderful experience there, and fulfilled life time dreams! We will remember our trip to Niagara Falls and our cruise up the Erie Canal for years to come! We have seen and visited many places in our travels, and all of them were special, but not as much as this particular segment of our journey.

After leaving Lockport, we stopped in Dunkirk, N.Y. to visit the Dunkirk Main Lighthouse. To our surprise, there were two other lighthouses on the property. An un-named tower and and un-named bottle light.

Our last stop before leaving New York, was Barcelona, N.Y. where we visited the Barcelona Lighthouse.

We then headed to Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio, which is located on Lake Erie. It was a beautiful day and the drive was uneventful. We did see some fall colors along the way, but the hightlight of the drive was having the opportunity to once again to drive through those wonderful quaint lakeside communities. Some of them were already preparing for the winter months and many of the attractions and campgrounds were already closed for the season.

We are staying at the Indian Creek RV Resort, right on Lake Erie. It is a wonderful campground with many amenities - except for wi-fi! You have to purchase the service on a daily basis. So we chose not to blog last night and to blog tonight in an effort to save $$$$ and get two days of lighthouse hunting posted at one time!

Yesterday after setting up, it was still fairly early in the day, we headed out to begin our lighthouse search.

The first lighthouse we visited was Ashtabula Lighthouse.
During WWII, Ashtabula received more iron ore than anywhere else in the world. This port still ships and receives goods from across the globe, including limestone, taconite, coal and agricultural potash. Lighthouses underwent many changes as technology advanced and boat traffic on the Great Lakes increased. This lighthouse was the last one manned on Lake Erie and was built in 1905.

The second lighthouse was the Conneaut Lighthouse. The current lighthouse was built in 1936 and features a 60 foot steel tower with a black band that serves as a navigational aide during the day. This lighthouse was automated in 1972. It is not the first lighthouse to guard Conneaut Creek, Pier lights lit this harbor until 1885 when the first lighthouse was built.

On the way back to the RV park, we saw the most amazing sunset on Lake Erie, and were able to catch this on camera for your viewing pleasure!

Since darkness was upon us, we deferred the next lighthouse at Fairport until the next day, and instead, stopped at Alessandro's Authentic Italian Cuisine Restaurant for dinner. The place was packed so we anticipated an amazing meal, but we were disappointed. The ambiance was null, and the food was mediocre.

This morning as we began our travels in search of lighthouses, we passed some unusual sights, including another very yellow house,(what's with the bright yellow color?) a caboose, a city wide garage sale (which we had to detour around), arts and crafts fairs and parades! (Did we miss a holiday somewhere?) We didn't get to see one lighthouse in Vermilion, Ohio, due to a parade which had the street where the lighthouse is located blocked!

So on to the lighthouses......

Today's first lighthouse was the Fairport Lighthouse located in Fairport Harbor, Ohio. There are actually three lighthouses in this location. The Old Fairport Main, sits on a hill overlooking the harbor. The Fairport West Breakwater sits at the entrance to the harbor, and there is an un-named tower on the museum grounds. The museum was not open, so we aren't sure what role it played in navigation. The museum was the keepers house, but it was closed for the season. The Old Fairport Main was built in 1871, and leads visitors up a spiral staircase to the top of its' 60 foot sandstone and brick structure. The Fairport West Breakwater Lighthouse was fabricated in Buffalo, N.Y., and transported by the steamer WOTAN to it's location and began operations in 1925.

From Fairport we drove to Cleveland, Ohio. In our effort to find a decent vantage point to view lighthouses, we ended up in the Cleveland Browns Football Stadium parking lot! From here we were able view the Cleveland West Pierhead lighthouse, the Cleveland East Pierhead light, and the Cleveland East Entrance Light. The Cleveland West Pierhead Lighthouse is 67 feet high and built of cast iron. It was constructed in 1911. The original 4th Order Fresnel lens was removed in 1995. This lighthouse still operates as a U.S. Coast Guard Station. The Cleveland East Pierhead Light was built in 1910 and once housed a
5th Order Fresnel lens. At 30 feet tall, this light now operates with a 300mm plastic optic and is an active Coast Gurad Station. The Cleveland East Entrance Lighthouse is 47 feet tall and is constructed of steel and is still an active navigational tool. The original structure was a skeletal lighthouse built in 1915.

From Cleveland we traveled to Lorain, OH. to view the Lorian Breakwater Lighthouse. This light is located at the mouth of the Black River in downtown Lorain. Lorain's first light was a lantern hanging from a pole at the edge of Lake Erie. Today's lighthouse was constructed in 1917. This concrete building with steel walls was built to withstand Lake Erie weather. The walls are more than 10 inches thick and even baseboards and window frames are made of steel. Originally outfitted with a 4th Order Fresnel lens, the beacon was replaced with a small red Coast Guard warning light before the lighthouse was decommissioned in 1965.The lighthouse was replaced with an automated light at the west tip of the harbor breakwall.

Across from the Lorain Breakwater Light on the east pierhead, is another light called the East Pierhead Light. There is no information on this light that we can find, so we will research more on this "unknown" light when we return home.

On our attempt to visit the Vermilion Light, the whole town was blocked off, for some event, and we could not find an alternate route to view the light.

We proceeded to a small town called Elyria, Ohio. This is the town where Jim's Grandparents raised their son William Muir Auld, Jim's Father. Jim's Grandfather was a minister in the First Congregational Church, and baptized Jim in his home church (First Presbyterian Church) in Bound Brook, N. J.. (Picture posted in a previous blog). We attempted to find the home that his Grandmother had lived in after his Grandfather passed away, but it had been too many years and Jim couldn't remember the street name. It was nice to see where Jim spent his summer vacations. Jim fondly remembers flying in a Piper Cub, with his Father piloting, from Middlesex, N.J. to Elyria, for a visit. Memories........

We headed back to the RV to catch up with family and to watch football, and of course, to blog! A long but pleasant day!

Leaving Lockport, N.Y.