OH! Ohio
August 26, 2024I woke up Sunday around 7:30am ready to hit the open road and start my adventure properly. I spent about 30 minutes trying to decide which route to take East. I found several worthwhile sights to focus on and was ready to start traveling.
I stopped in Oak Harbor, OH for fuel and let Brook out for a good stretch and bladder evacuation. While I was pumping my gas I decided to strike up a conversation with the woman filling up behind me to see if anything “beautiful” near the station to photograph. We chatted while filling out tanks and she suggested I check out the Port Clinton Lighthouse in Port Clinton, OH.
I decided to take her up on this suggestion and drove to visit this lighthouse. She wasn’t wrong, this place was wonderful. Right on the beach of Lake Erie stood atop large rocks was this quaint little lighthouse. People enjoyed the beach swimming, many eating lunch at the park area nearby and several people looking and taking pictures with the lighthouse.
This was the second lighthouse build at the Portage River in Port Clinton, the first was constructed in 1833 to guide ships in this commercial fishing location. The lighthouse was rebuilt in 1896 and stayed active for more than 30 years. This location has some interesting stories if you stop in the gift shop and have a chat with the great man working there.
I spent about an hour playing on the beach with Brook, we ran around, chased some seagulls and made a great afternoon of it. He wanted to have a drink of the lake water, but each time the tide came in he panicked and ran from the moving water. It was hilarious.
After we got some water and climbed back into the motor-home we ventured back out looking for more great things to see. I decided to continue east and head to Elyria, OH. Searching Google Maps I found there are two waterfalls in that area which we had to check out.
Unfortunately the first was harder to find since Google Maps took me into a neighborhood saying you have arrived your destination is on the right, it was most definitely not!
I did drive through the neighborhood and asked in the station on the corner if they would tell me how to find the falls. Funny thing is I had past the entrance to get to the station, 3 blocks from where “I arrived”. I visited West Falls of Cascade first since it was closest to where I was.
The hike was a fun, an uphill climb on a paved walkway that ended on an overlook platform giving a wonderful view of the falls. The water was low so the falls weren’t as impressive and I imagined, but they were great.
Brook and I walked around along the river for awhile exploring to see if we count find something more to photograph, we didn’t. We crossed over rocks that are normally underwater to get to areas not normally traveled but still we found nothing impressive to see.
We stopped and cleaned up to get slime and mud off of Brooks backside and made our way on after chatting and meeting a handful of more people who wanted to pet Brook.
We ventured on after cleaning up and headed out towards East Falls Overlook. On the way I needed something cold to drink and stopped in a party store for something with caffeine. After leaving I saw a food truck in the parking lot and had to check out the menu. I am so happy I did.
The woman cooking suggested the “Polish Boy” and I had to ask what that was exactly. Turns out it is a polish sausage topped with french fries, coleslaw and barbecue sauce. This sandwich was so delicious I scarfed it down lok Brook at his food bowl. SO GOOD! I strongly suggest if you are in the area to stop in and give this place a try. Everything from BBQ Ribs, Fried Lake Erie Perch and more.
After stuffing my face with polish sausage it was time to push on and continue with the day. Just up the street was East Falls River-walk which was the destination. Along the parking is a bi-level walkway overlooking the river and the falls. This was a much more what I had expected.
After walking along the walkway overlook for awhile we headed back towards the motor-home. Along the way we talked to a nice couple who suggested a few Ohio waterfall location as well and some fun conversation about college football.
After our visit to Elyria, OH we continued East to find more waterfalls in Ohio. Since it was under an hour drive we made our way to the outskirts of Cleveland to visit Mill Creek Falls. This location was interesting to get to since it was a busier area with a lot more traffic.
If visiting Mill Creek Falls I do not suggest doing so in a large vehicle, once you drive down to where the falls are located there isn’t much room for bigger vehicles. I had to make a very delicate 4 point turn to get where i can turn around and find a place to park. Luckily the road in has a wide road at the bottom and I was able to park along side of it.
At Mill Creek Falls there is a nice wrap around walkway overlook where you can see the falls from several angles through trees. There is a path that leads to the bottom of the falls but it wasn’t something I felt safe walking down with Brook so we passed and headed back to the motor-home.
Once back on the road we continued East to check out the waterfall the couple suggested while at East Falls Riverwalk. about 40 minutes later we arrived at Chagrin Falls. This was the hardest waterfall to gain access to following Google Maps directions. Narrow roads without a shoulder made the drive tricky in such a big vehicle.
The waterfall location was great, smack dab in the middle of a cute little town was a pathway leading down to the overlook. The water passed under the road downtown to give this waterfall several viewing locations.
The image above is from the overlook platform near the falls. Brook and I are not shy from going off the beaten path so we went off the platform and made our way down the old steps and rocks to get to the bottom of the falls for another viewpoint.
I decided it getting close to time to find somewhere to get food and find a place to sleep for the night. We drove south into Aurora, OH where there was a Wal-Mart and public Library where I can use the internet.
Overall it was an exciting and wonderful day full of beautiful sights. I can’t wait to see what happens today.
