We left the Youngstown NY area after a great week. The awesome Falls and some delightful towns to explore made it difficult to leave, but it was time to sail back south again. Weather wise it is still too early as there will certainly be some hot weather remaining, but we have some appointments that are driving the schedule.
We drove about 3 hours to the Erie, PA area for a week split between two campgrounds due to site availability. The first was Sparrow Pond Family Campground. Not a bad private campground with swimming pool and other things to do, but the downside was they had too many “seasonals” using most camp sites, so we had to park in a large hay field. Probably would not stay here again.
The next camp was the Erie KOA in McKean, PA. This was a little higher priced but was much more of a pleasant stay. I’ve included a few photos below. While in Erie, we were cautioned to not be in the city after dark as it has a high crime rate. We did make it to two places during the daylight hours.
Erie Maritime Museum
This was an interesting museum with a focus on the War of 1812, due to the US brig Niagara is normally stationed here. Although during our visit, she was sailing the northern Lake Erie waters, so we did not get to see their main attraction. We did get to learn all about the War.
The naval battle against the British fought on Lake Erie was a pivotal event of the was and led to the recapture of Detroit. The US brig Niagara is a two masted square rigged sailing ship and is still used for training purposes. This ship has been sunk, retrieved, and rebuilt a few times. Just a few timbers and interior trim remain original to the first Niagara.
Presque Isle State Park
What a gem this turned out to be. Wow! I had not heard of it until some locals said it is a must see. We went early on a weekday. Spent most all the day with a picnic lunch, a free pontoon boat tour, a light house tour, and walked some beaches. This is an extremely popular park for people from all over the area. One of the most interesting things we discovered was the 24 houseboats all moored in a protected cove. We stopped to take pictures of them when a lady came ashore in a small dinghy from one of the cabins. I asked her a few questions and she gladly shared much info about the boats. She was delightful to chat with for about 1/2 hour.
The boats are all semi-permanently anchored in the cove. They have water and electricity runs to each location and use an incinerating toilet. The park limits the number to 24 boats, so the titles are mostly family held and passed down through generations.
Enjoy the pictures and have a great, blessed day!
The fourth order Fresnel lens
We are currently in Indiana visiting family until Sept 1st then will move on to Illinois.
Cute cabins, interesting tepee’s (did they have a/c?), actual “house” boats, lighthouses, bears, oh, my! Looks like a lovely park. I would love to kayak through the marshland. Enjoy visiting family this week. 🙂
No, the tepees did not have A/C, but I suspect they did include some modern conveniences. I would have liked to look inside one of the not rented units, but never did.