Presque Isle, Pa., Ashtabula and Chagrin River, Ohio

• We arrived at Erie Yacht Club late in the afternoon. We docked, tied-up, hooked up the electric, registered and Mike was just about to open his first beer..NO...we have to let customs know we are back in the USA. You must go to the U.S. customs service's private boat reporting system at a state park and use a video phone. It was starting to get real nasty out; the wind was blowing and the bay was getting choppy. We got in the dingy and started our half hour ride. There shouldn't have been any problems; after all we have our decal number, our documentation number and our passports. I think it was easier to get a mortgage on our house then it was to get back into the country. Name, repeat that please? Address, repeat that please, how many on the boat, their names, name of boat, size, the U.S. marina you will be arriving at and the total of all purchased from Canada. Finally, we were able to relax, we were not going to be shot.
• Now, the half hour ride that turned into an hour and a half - We had to " GO FOR IT". We were soaked to the bone. The water was so rough I thought we made a wrong turn and entered one of the shows where they put their traps out for king crabs in the Bering Sea. Turns out the name of the bay was Misery Bay. Perfect name.
• The next day we took our bikes to Wolverine country. At the waterfront you can tour the floating maritime museum featuring the U.S.S. Wolverine, the first iron-hulled steamship. Mike loves history; learning about Admiral Perry was a bonus for him. At the park there's a bike trail that takes you all around Presque Isle. It is similar to our Wantagh Parkway path, but this one is all shaded. There's also an ecological preserve.
• After dinner, the club we were at had a bagpipe group, a band and a great fireworks display. We had a good time dancing.
• In Astrabula, the waterfront is not that inviting. The first thing you see is coal, coal and more coal. We stayed at the Ashtabula Yacht Club. There we met Chris and Rich who invited us to spend a few days with them at the Chagrin Lagoon Yacht Club. We really like to avoid big cities, like Cleveland and this was just before that port.
• For Father's Day the kids gave Mike a Stow N' Go propane barbeque. The regulator broke. We knew it was purchased at West Marine and there was one in the next town. Chris and Rich offered to drive us there. It's about 4:45 and it takes 20 minutes to get there. You realize it's the start of rush hour and the freeway has heavy traffic. Bad news - when we arrive, they don't have the part. Good news - they will be happy to exchange the barbeque. Bad news - it's 5:15 and they close at 6:00. We get in the car and race back to the boat. Rich said, "O.K. we can do this." We start back to the store and we get stuck at a traffic light that only lets 2 cars pass before it changes. After 4 lights we get through, it's 5.45. Rich puts the pedal to the metal and we get back to the store at 5:58. We made it! Again, you meet the best people on boats. By the way, we were too tired to cook...we ordered PIZZA!
• The next day we took the dinghy to the beach. You have to wear water shoes, there's just too many rocks.