Onto South Bass Island

Waking-Up In A Tent

While I’ve come to enjoy sleeping in a tent and feel like I’ve gotten used to it after doing it quite a few times over the past couple of months, it’s still a weird experience to wake-up outside in a tent. Despite getting a few decent bouts of sleep, I still spent a lot of time tossing and turning, especially early on when I heard music booming in the distance, which was either from Put-In-Bay or a boat anchored off shore.

An Early Morning Walk + Roaming Stone Placement

After deciding that I wasn’t going to get any more sleep, I put my shoes on and took a walk, exploring some more of the park around the campsite. It turns-out that the path that connects the campground to the visitor center is actually part of a loop that encircles all of the campsites featuring various informational signs along the way. On the way back from the visitor center, I stopped at the coffee shop in the old grape pressing building near the winery to buy something to drink while talking about the island and the winery with the owner. My final bit of business before returning to camp was finding a place for my Lonz Winery-themed roaming stone, which ended-up at the old Lonz boat shelter. (It was found a couple of days later.)

Passing The Time

The charter to South Bass Island didn’t start running until 11:30 which meant that my brother and I had some time to kill. After breaking-down our tents and packing-up, we got the fire going again and mostly listened to talk radio. Around 10 o’clock we headed back to the coffee shop and we took turns walking to the visitor center to fill-up our water bottles. While hanging-out in the coffee shop, we both got to talking with the owner, telling her about our experiences on the island back in the day and hearing stories about how things have changed from her perspective.

Off To South Bass Island

We walked down to the dock a little after 11 AM so we could be sure to get on the first trip across to Put-In-Bay. This turned-out to be a good idea because, by the time the charter boat arrived, there was a bit of line behind us and only six people could be taken at a time. While the charter couldn’t take as many people as the traditional inter-island ferry, the Sonny S, it was much faster and provided me with a better view of the surroundings. It was also nice to be so close to the water in a boat again. The experience reminded me of how much I loved riding on my grandfather’s boat to go fishing (though, I didn’t love the fishing part so much).

Heavy Packs and Humidity

The short bursts of walking with my heavy pack weren’t that bad when I was familiar with how far and where I was going to be going. Once we got to walking around Put-In-Bay, though, the weight and the humidity quickly began to wear me down. Remembering my planning of the trip, this made me laugh: “It’s only a mile from Put-In-Bay to the campground, that’s nothing!” The walk alone to the visitor center at Perry’s Monument kicked my ass and I knew the day was only beginning. Learning to pack lighter will be a priority in the future.

Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial

The facilities included in the park have changed quite a bit since I last visited the monument. The visitor center is new and features a beautiful view of the monument in the back through a towering wall of windows. When I was a kid, I didn’t care at all about the memorial’s history: I just wanted to go to the top of the monument for the view. On this visit, I made sure to take my time and get into the displays throughout the building.

When I was done with the presentation and had my passport(s) stamped, my brother and I headed to the monument itself. The line wasn’t long but it moved at a snail’s pace, due to the fact only six people could take the elevator at a time and parties couldn’t be combined. It was worth the wait, though, regardless of how many times in the past I’d taken in the view from the observation deck. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful and the views were amazing.

Upon returning to the safety of solid ground, I found a spot for my roaming stone depicting the monument and my brother and I made our way back to Put-In-Bay.

Hey, Taxi!

Luckily, I did my research on the transportation options on SBI because once I began hauling my pack again I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the campground on foot. While the primary option is renting a golf cart, that wasn’t anything I wanted to rely upon because I knew my brother and I would be drinking at some point, so I kept my eyes peeled for one of the taxi/busses that supposedly roamed the area. Before long I noticed one coming our way and after dropping-off a few people the driver told us she could take us to the campground entrance. Though the ride to the campground was short, it still only confirmed my suspicion that I wouldn’t have made it on foot.

South Bass Island State Park

The state park and campground on SBI was a completely different animal than the ones on MBI. This place was hopping. There were dozens and dozens of campsites, as well as a handful of cabins, all of which were relatively close together and lacking any kind of isolation from one another. From our campsite, we had a view of the main beach at the park from which people launched everything from canoes to boats and jet skis. While it wasn’t unpleasant, it was a relative shock from what we’d experienced the night before.

Off To Find Something To Eat

After pitching our tents and stashing our gear, we headed-off to find a place to eat. During the trip on the taxi, both of us had taken note of the places we’d passed, which included a winery (where the crystal cave was located) and a German style beer garden. However, less than a quarter of a mile from our campsite, we arrived at Joe’s Bar and decided to give it a shot. Turns-out we didn’t have to go any further because Joe’s Bar had everything we could have wanted, and after a meal and a couple of beers, we headed back to our campsite.

Joe’s Bar, Take Two

And, then, after about an hour at the campsite, my brother decided he wanted another beer, so we headed back to Joe’s Bar.

Settling Down For The Evening

By the time we got back to camp, it was getting dark, so we set our fire and turned-on the baseball game. The evening was chill, despite all the people, and the game turned-out to be a good one with Cleveland winning in extra innings despite being down by three runs in the 10th. After the fire died-down, we both headed to bed, which was especially nice for me because I had a great view of the lake and the sounds of the water were nice to fall sleep to.