Bikes, Boats, Beers & Ducks

Erin and I loaded up our bikes Saturday afternoon and spent a few days in the Sandusky area. We stayed in a cabin at Camp Sandusky which served as a great home base for exploring. The first day we rode into Downton Sandusky for dinner, the second we rode down Catawba and hopped the Ferry to Put-In-Bay, and the last day we checked out an awesome brewery/farm market and went for a dip in Lake Erie. It was a nice, short get away and we were very lucky with some great weather too. 

I brought my Roger Riviere so I would have the rear rack to put my camera in. I did another "one lens trip" - but instead of my 50mm that I brought on my bike-packing trip I brought my Canon 16-35mm L f/2.8. Weight wasn't going to be an issue this time and shooting an ultra-wide-angle lens is fun when traveling.

We ate dinner in Sandusky at Small City Taphouse. It is actually a place we found out about while having a beer at Magic City Brewing from another customer. They had 84 beers on tap - but unlike a lot of places that like to boast tons of taps these were heavily curated and mostly from Ohio. Some of the beers were even special one-offs made specifically for the restaurant.

Appetizer

After dinner we decided to walk down by the water - we had no idea that Sandusky's Festival of Sail was going on. Here is the "World's Largest Rubber Duck".

Making duck posts.

Sail Boats

Sail & Sunset

Cooking sausages from the Farmer's Rail for breakfast the next morning.

Our Cabin. We really like finding cabin's like this to stay in. They are one step above tent camping - but if it rains it is nice to have a solid structure to shelter the bikes and camera gear(and also being able to lock them up).



Camp Cook


After breakfast and coffee we cycled down Catawba Island(which is actually a peninsula) and rode the ferry over to South Bass Island.

When I was kid my parents would take us on Miller Ferry to Put-In-Bay to ride bikes. I loved riding the ferry then and I still do now.

Photo-op





Lake Spray




We cruised the island then stopped in Put-In-Bay Brewing for a beer just in time to see France win the World Cup.



We also split one of their housemade spirits - this was the white rum.

Last time I was in Put-In-Bay this spot was recommended to me for lunch - they will actually cook the fish you caught for you. We didn't fish but had their fantastic perch sandwich.


Our bikes leaning against Perry's Monument.

Resting


Back at the cabin.

So apparently there is a micro-climate on Catawba that allows for the growing of apricots.

So we stopped and bought some items from this farm market and then went to their amazing brewery in the back.


The market is along the road and the brewery sits on the grounds behind.

In the Orchard


Erin was wandering around on a work call - and I was following and grabbing some shots.

Peach Trees.



The goal of the brewery is to be "farm to fermenter" - a pretty neat concept.

"Twin Oast" - Erin asked what an "oast" is. It is a specific kind of English silo that creates an airflow to dry hops. Here one was an outdoor bar and the other a seating area.


Oast Roof

In an oast

The brewery has only been open since Memorial Day - there were workers putting some finishing touches on the outdoor space.

A solid IPA.

Our lunch was really good too.

The grounds are pretty amazing - one of the prettiest breweries I have ever been to.
Before heading home we drove over to East Harbor State Park and went for a swim. I didn't take any photos because I didn't want to leave my camera out but East Harbor is a great spot for hiking, biking and swimming. We actually looked into staying here but it was booked.