This adventure was to provide Vicki and myself a chance to relax at Geneva State Park with Josh, Juliana and their first time campers Calvin and Mile. The trip to the campground took just over an hour, so it was a very easy trip. The state park has three camping sections with the premium sites right on Lake Erie.
Fortunately we didn’t get those because those sites also didn’t have shade trees. And it was a very hot, humid, sunny week. The site we had was well shaded, so the RV’s AC was able to maintain reasonably refreshing temperatures.
We brought the bikes with us (the new carrier rattled much less than the old bike carrier) and used them to explore the campground and then the beach area.
After the bike ride we drove into Geneva on the Lake (aka GOTL).
We sat outside at the Old Firehouse Winery, listening to music (Tom Todd) and watching the sun set over the lake. Steve enjoyed a burger on a pretzel bun paired with a glass of their Chambourcin (fairly dry and tasty). Vicki had a crabcake sandwich with a glass of their white blend: Reflections of Lake Erie.
We tried to get ice cream at the “Whips and Dips”, but they close at 9pm and we arrived too late.
Wednesday morning Steve took a quick bike ride around the park and into GOTL.
Josh, Juliana, Calvin and Miles arrived just before noon, and all were excited to be at our ‘truck-home’ (this is what Calvin and Miles call the RV). After lunch (Mac and Cheese for all!) we all went to the beach. We eventually got into the water, which was a chilly 70F while the air temperature was close to 90. And we had a bonus treat of flavored ice cones!
Before dinner Joshua set up the tent (because they were going tent camping!) but the top tarp was removed because of the heat.
Dinner was grilled corn, veggie burgers, burgers and beef brats. Watermelon was the appetizer, and Grandma’s potato salad from Giant Eagle completed the dinner. Desert: ice cream sandwiches!
Miles, unfortunately, was too excited about camping and did not want to go to sleep. This meant that he was up until 10pm (and very loud during most of the time.) He did not sleep well, and the J&J family was up for most of the night.
Wednesday morning: playground time for the boys while the girls slept. Technically we did have a girl with us: Lexie joined us. The young boys ran up and down the playground and had a great time.
The grandsons helped Steve make pancakes, mixing the batter together. Surprisingly, the syrup stayed on the pancake/plate (and not on the table or hands or dog.)
After an early lunch we all returned to the beach. There was more wind on Wednesday so the water had more waves. The water babies (Vicki, Juliana, Calvin) spent more time in the water while Miles played in the sand.
Back at the campground Miles took a two hour nap. Which was both too long and too short. So he was vocally upset when he got up. During the nap Joshua took down the tent, they were going to return to Lakewood after dinner so they could get a good night’s sleep in familiar surroundings. (Steve is reminded of the time he took his children camping in Virginia Beach. It was a hot day and still hot at night. But he made his children wear long sleeve shirts because of the mosquitos. It is a wonder that any of them still camp!)
Josh prepared a four bean chili for dinner that night (pre-cooked, the best way to camp) that was delicious.
And for dessert we had s’mores. Instead of a fire for roasting marshmallows, we microwaved them! The marshmallows were very hot and needed time to cool off before we ate them.
Vicki and Steve took it easy Wednesday night, watching Galaxy Quest. We wanted to watch Major League but we didn’t bring the movie with us nor did we want to rent the movie from Prime.
Thursday morning: Another bike ride by Steve, this time going beyond GOTL for a total of 14 miles.
We met Alan and Patti Watson at Ferrante’s Winery for lunch (wow, no pictures with them!). Lunch was lasagna and Capellinni alla Pomodoro. Both were delicious. Afterwards they gave us a tour of their Geneva homestead at Kenisee’s Grand River Camp & Canoe. We were having a great conversation with them when the power in the RV went out, causing us to return to reset the Power Watchdog (our smart surge protector.)
Our surge protector was reporting overcurrent conditions and shutting down throughout the weekend. Steve finally moved from the 30A outlet to the 50A outlet and there were no shutdowns after that.
In the evening Vicki and Steve went back to GOTL after getting ice cream at Whip and Dips. Steven got a Brown Butter Bourbon cone, which was delicious. Vicki got a scoop of Turtles and Mudd and was disappointed because she didn’t taste any caramel. Our trip to GOTL wasn’t as enjoyable as our Monday evening visit. Many places were closed because of the heat, and we couldn’t find any live music that we liked. We returned to the Old Firehouse Winery to watch the sunset.
Friday morning: First a quick trip into GOTL to get some Madsen donuts. We saw people carrying boxes of their donuts around town the evening before, so Steve picked up a half dozen in the morning. There was a line of people waiting outside for the donuts, but the line moved quickly. And the donuts were fresh, they were being fried as I ordered them. They were very light and delicious when eaten for breakfast, similar to new Orleans biegnets. (Sadly they were not as good the next morning.
We packed up and left the campground by 11, so it was a leisurely morning. It was still hot and muggy in the morning. And even hotter when we got back to Seven Hills and unpacked the RV.