Just returned from a great weekend in Put-in-Bay with some of my best girlfriends from UC. It was really enjoyable to get away and relax for a few days - it was a blessing and a curse that I didn't have reception on my BlackBerry or iPhone all weekend. It's nice to be off the grid but it's also a little frustrating since I'm so used to being able to check emails, the weather or shoot a text to someone. But I think it really forced me to live in the moment and appreciate the company I had. Like Becca's mom said, it may be one of the last trips the girls can take together as we've started our careers, getting married, buying houses and planning to have families.
I was stoked that our first meal was at Pita Pit at BGSU - seriously, when is Cincinnati getting one of these?! It was my favorite spot for post-bar grub whenever I visited friends at OSU. The ferry ride over was a very wet and wild start to the trip... the boat rocked roughly and we got hit with some pretty big waves. Every splash made us scream and laugh and we got a little damp - but it was fine because we had cold beer in our coozies!
We began with a wine tasting at the Put-in-Bay Winery at the Doller Estate. We tried a variety of different wines and shared all around. It was beautiful in the little gazebo on the lawn - a random couple bought us a few glasses of chocolate wine which was sort of like alcoholic chocolate milk - glad I tried it but not likely to ever order it.... After our tasting we walked to the Boardwalk then had dinner at a cute little Italian restaurant called Pasquales Café. The food was really tasty classic Italian but I was so STUFFED! We had a few beverages in our room and then went to the Beer Barrel, home of the "world's longest bar" - 405 feet long. The Menus, a rockin band from Cincinnati, was playing - they change into crazy outfits and put on a great show. We agreed we'll have to go see them back home. After their set we went next door to Mr. Ed's and the lead singer Tim came up and chatted with us. He's good people. He recognized us from dinner and we promised to come see them again the next night. The band at Mr. Ed's was less than entertaining but the crowd was buck -- a woman older than and much larger than my mom was flashing her chest as she danced - we were all shocked and grossed out. And her friend had her pants around her knees as they applied a fake tramp stamp to her back. Security just looked over and said "That's nasty." In Cincy, ole gal would be in the back of a cop cruiser! Just not right. We would have been drinking for free all weekend if we got a dollar for each time someone asked if we were a bachelorette party. We said we should have brought the stuff from Lindsay's in Louisville and faked it LOL
Friday morning the weather was less than desirable. It was cold and drizzly and Lori, Lindsay & I walked to the new PIBeanery for a cup of coffee... we had to form a game plan to enjoy the day despite the crummy cold rain. We went to Rita's Margarita's on the Boardwalk overlooking the bay and Lori and I introduced the group to their first bloody mary's. I loved them - the mix had crab and shrimp chunks and the right amount of spice and garnishes. I think they prefer mimosas but I'm excited they got to give it a shot. Julie had researched the island activities and had coupons to ride the train around the island - it was a really good time. We learned so much about the tiny community - there's no doctor or hospital; only 2 restaurants stay open in the winter and only 400 residents stay year-round; groceries and RX are flown in by plane. We stopped at Heinenman's Winery, the original vineyard on the island, and did a tasting. I've found that most small midwest wineries have very similar wines - most are quite young and sweet which isn't my preferred taste but the group really liked it so it was nice. We walked over to the Boardwalk to see the pirates arrive since it was Pirate's Weekend - whatever that meant. A few actors came over on two small boats and shot some cannons... a bit underwhelming but I'm sure it's pretty neat for kids to see.
Had a blast having happy hour in our room and walked to dinner at Goat, which we'd heard great things about. I love the perch tacos - local Lake Erie fish. There was a chocolate shop and museum downstairs so we stopped in for dessert. We went to see The Menus again then saw The Webster's, another Cincinnati band whose lead singer works at the radio stations with Julie, at Round House. It was a really neat bar with a huge rotunda and the band plays up behind the bar. I ran into Calvin & Haver and was bummed that I couldn't call to meet up the next day w/o phone service.
Saturday we had gorgeous weather - finally! And the population on the island practically triples for the weekend. We walked to a different little coffee shop that was also an incredible bakery then it was a full out pool day at Mist - the pool with waterfall and swim-up bar at our hotel. It was straight out of MTV Spring Break 2003. We had a damn good time people watching - it reminded us a bit of a reality show with the ultra-blonde girls and bikinis in heels and muscly guys gyrating all over the place. The DJ was good and we met some fun strangers... we laid out almost until dinner time. Becca & I had both been really stoked to swim up to the bar and I'm glad we braved the cold water to hang out for a bit. The drinks were surprisingly cheap, too! A ton of people had big plastic Ohio State O's with long islands from Mr. Ed's and they were happy to share :)
For dinner we went to the Upper Deck which was a nice restaurant overlooking the bay. Matt's friend Sean's friend Doug's parents (uh, yeah) had raved about this place and their lobster mac & cheese at Sean's med school graduation in May so I had to try it - it was delicious. Julie, Becca & I walked to the little ice cream shop and had some really tasty key lime pie with graham cracker hunks. We'd also wanted to ride the little carousel all weekend but didn't have the chance. We were all fairly tired from the sun and didn't want to be hung over in the car so we popped into this tiki bar with near swings and a sand floor then the Put-in-Bay Brewery which I believe was just a bar, not really a brew house and headed home to rest. Exhausting fun weekend.
The one major issue was the disgusting mayflies! They were EVERYWHERE and latched on to everything. They flew around like the Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" and the girls would scream and swat at them lol I think everyone would have enjoyed a bug-free environment much much better - none of us are sure if we'd ever go back but it definitely would not be at this time of year. Since there isn't a beach area, it's easy to do all you'd want to do over a long weekend but it would be best in late July or August when the weather is warmer and more predictable.
I'm really happy to have had the opportunity to finally visit this island that so many Ohioans speak of and to relax and catch up with the girls... it's always fun to see how much more you learn about people you're already close with when you travel. And I can knock one more place off my bucket list :)
