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The northern
border of Ohio is one of the Great Lakes: Lake Erie. In 2011, Michael and
Vivian spent two days visiting America's beautiful "northern coast."
Our destination
was Lakeside, a quiet, historic community on Lake Erie, near
Sandusky. This montage of photos gives a wide view of the lake from in
front of the
Lakeside hotel. It was early summer, so the beach was empty, but many
canoes are lined up on the far left, waiting the busy summer season. |
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Here is the view from the end of the Lakeside dock, looking
back at the pavilion and hotel (to the right). |
Michael looks out over Lake Erie at sunset, gazing over a
small boat at Lakeside's beach. |
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I like the contrasts shown in these photos. Lakeside has
many beautiful flowers, giving the area a delicate look, but Lake Erie is
also a major waterway, where large ships carry important cargo to and from
all over the world. And the lake can be a dangerous place, for many ships
have sunk in terrible weather. The lake is also frozen solid in the
winter. Finally, lighthouses like this Huron Light have long been
important to guide ships to safe harbor. A lot of the work previously done
by lighthouses is now done electronically (GPS, radio, radar), but we
enjoyed seeing the remaining lighthouses on our sightseeing adventure.
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This pretty
scene of canal-front homes was in Vermillion, Ohio. I can't imagine the
high costs of these homes and yachts, but I know it is more than we will
ever have! This photo was taken a short walk from the lighthouse. |
The
Vermillion lighthouse (actually a reconstruction of the 1877
lighthouse) is attached to the Inland Seas Maritime Museum. We enjoyed
visiting the museum, but were told that it would soon relocate to another
city. |
(Left) Vivian and Michael pose in front of the
Marblehead lighthouse, which is surrounded by a small park, the
lighthouse keeper's house (museum), and a picnic ground (middle photo).
Behind the picnic tables, the onion domes of an Orthodox Christian
church remind us of the international heritage of America. When people
moved here from various countries in Europe, they brought different sects
or denominations of the Christian faith, such as Greek and Russian
Orthodox, Roman Catholic, German Lutheran, and British Methodism. By
emphasizing different aspects of their strong faith, their new country
developed a culture of mutual respect that was very different from the
"fighting" between countries in Europe, often (falsely) in the name of
religion. Working together, these immigrants built the foundation for
America's international success.
(Right) I liked
the light on this American flag, flapping in Lakeside's strong
winds. Below this, the Vermillion lighthouse looks out over Lake
Erie. To me, the flag was a reminder of the bright promise that has risen
from common hopes and dreams that reshaped people from many shores into
"Americans." |
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The Lorain
lighthouse is rather far from the shore, so it is hard to get a good
photo. But this shot turned out nice, looking through busy bird houses on
a public beach. |
Finally, I'll
close with another photo of the Marblehead lighthouse, proudly
overlooking beautiful Lake Erie. |
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In the summer of 2013, we
got to see these Tall Ships in Cleveland. They were sailing from port to
port in the Great Lakes in commemoration of the anniversary of the War of
1812. |
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