What are the odds that our friends from St. Petersburg, FL, who have been out cruising the last 3 years, from Florida, the Bahamas and all around the Chesapeake, would be in Erie, PA the same time we were? John & Sharon traveled by land yacht to Erie for a family reunion and arrived a day before we left. Whew! It was so great to catch up with them. John introduced us to McGarrey’s, famous for their Reuben sandwiches. Tender pastrami, delicious sauerkraut, and thousand Island dressing to top, they were scrumptious (and huge!). While we enjoyed Rueben sandwiches, we left John & Sharon’s fur baby, Tiller, with Murphy on Slo Pace and both were sleeping when we returned. What good kids!
Earlier in the week, we traveled from Buffalo, NY to Erie, PA in one long day (rather than a stop in Dunkirk) due to a great weather day on Lake Erie. We’ve had some looper friends that have been on Lake Erie in not the best conditions, so we are thankful we could take advantage of a good weather day. Erie, PA has a rich maritime history with a maritime museum where the US Brig Niagara is usually docked. During the War of 1812, Commodore Oliver Perry was instrumental in supervising the building a fleet, which included the Niagara, and led a squadron in a pivotal victory defeating the British. In touring the museum, we were able to see the Niagara at her dock, however, most of it was under cover due to COVID restrictions. Commodore Perry is credited for two well-known sayings: “Don’t give up the Ship” and “We have met the enemy and they are ours…” after the key defeat of the British for the War of 1812.
We are now in the small Ohio town of Ashtabula for the weekend waiting for our slip reservations at Geneva-on-the-Lake State Park on Monday. They were booked for this weekend, so we opted just to slow down our trip so we can visit that recommended location.
This Wednesday, we visit Cleveland and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Oh boy!!!
Thanks for joining along on our adventure.
Dave, Brenda & Murphy
So very cool to see you catching up with some St Pete buddies. Tiller and Murphy are absolutely adorable together. And hat’s off to Cap’n Dave to navigate you through Lake Erie on a great weather day. Love reading about the history of the areas you’re visiting. Keep on motoring along!