The parking lot at Headlands Beach State Park was situated in a cottonwood grove. The snow-like seeds were falling everywhere and piling up on the ground in drifts. Occasionally a gust of wind would swirl a clump of it up in the air in a small tornado. In places, the beach seemed to be crawling as the seeds were blown along the surface. We met some locals who said they’d never seen it like this.
On a warm and buggy Sunday morning, we drove to Headlands Beach State Park so my wife could see Lake Erie for the first time. I warned her that it wasn’t all that special — the last time I was there, a green scum covered the water and the lake reeked.
This time the water was fine. It was the air that was unbearable. It was packed with gnats — giant clouds of them that got in our mouths and noses and hair. It was miserable. I wanted to see the Fairport Harbor West Breakwater Light, so we took a half-mile long trail through trees and grass where the bugs almost drove us nuts. Things got a little better once we made it to the beach.
I walked out onto the breakwater and took these photos of the light. It was build in 1925 and replaced the Grand River Lighthouse which is now a maritime museum. Notice the bugs hovering in some of these photos. By the breakwater, there was a second, larger type that was swarming everywhere.
Here’s a shot of the breakwater light from the hill by the Grand River Light. The light still functions as a navigation aid, but the building is privately owned by somebody who wants to turn it into a vacation home.
There’s another short pier head light on the Grand River, but I couldn’t find any information about it online. Note the cottonwood seeds drifting out over the water.
We wanted no part of the trail on our way back to the car, so we walked along the beach, interrupting a photo shoot on the way.
We spent the night in Mentor, Ohio in order to visit the James Garfield sites on Sunday. We started the morning at a local donut place — Spudnuts — which turned out to be excellent.
After seeing what there was to see, we headed down to Akron for a late lunch at Swensons Drive-In.
Their specialty was something called the Galley Boy, a delicious double cheeseburger with two special sauces (which I’m pretty sure were mayonnaise and chili). The chocolate shake was also very tasty.
We drove across town to Strickland’s Frozen Custard. It looked scary when we arrived because there was a huge gang of people in identical shirts from some local church. But they were all being served out a side window while the front window was open for other customers so we got our ice cream almost immediately. I got an M&M blizzard with chocolate ice cream.
The custard was great, but I was most excited about the view. Right across the road was the Goodyear Airdock, where blimps and airships were built from 1929 to 1960. (More photos here.)
Back in 2006, while eating at the Dog n Suds in Richmond, Illinois, I struck up a conversation with the owner. He told me there were 14 restaurants remaining from the almost 600 that existed across the country in the 1970s. I decided it would be fun to visit all of them. A few disappeared before I could visit, and a few others opened, which I added to the list.
With our visit to the Dog n Suds in Elyria, Ohio, I have completed the original list. A new one just opened in 2015 in Rapid City, South Dakota, which I have not visited. If I get back to that city sometime, I will. But for now I consider my quest complete.
The owner of this one is 83. She bought it in 1958, the year I was born, and she still comes to work every day.
I ordered a Texas Burger with onion rings and root beer. This is a true Dog n Suds, unlike some of the newer ones I’ve visited. The root beer was served in a frosted mug without crushed ice and was excellent. The burger and onion rings were awesome.
Fort Miamis was built by the British in 1794 to block General Wayne’s route to Fort Detroit. When Wayne campaigned against the Indians, the British offered no help as Wayne defeated the Indians at nearby Fallen Timbers. The fort was turned over to the Americans in 1796 but reoccupied by the British in 1812 as a supply depot for their attacks on Fort Meigs.
All that’s left of the original fort is some of the ditches. They are located in a small park on a bluff above the Maumee River, a mile or so downstream from Fort Meigs.
