6/26/15 - Lakeside-Marblehead, OH

After breakfast we drove to the ferry and went across to Bass Island and the village of Put-in-Bay.  After getting off the ferry we walked to a nearby lighthouse.  Then we walked to town. The island is about 3 miles long.  Along the way we ate cherries and mulberries off of trees near the road.  Everyone else took a bus, rented a golf cart or rented bikes to get to town.  We needed the steps so we walked - over 8 miles today.

Our first stop was Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial. This monument celebrates the great victory of the U.S. Navy over the British navy in the bloody Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.  During this battle Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry captured the entire British squadron and raised the famous “DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP” flag onboard his ship the Niagara. After the battle he wrote to his commander “We have met the enemy and they are ours”.  This victory secured Lake Erie and the northwest territory for the United States.

We saw a movie at the visitor’s center then took the elevator up to the top of the monument.  From there you can see Canada.  After leaving the National Memorial we walked through town and looked in a few shops.  Then had lunch at Put-in-Bay Brewing and Distilling Co.  We walked around town a little more and saw a memorial at the site where the six officers who died in the battle on Lake Erie were originally buried. They were dug up and placed in the rotunda of the National Memorial when it was being built.  Three officers were American and three were British.  Our last stop was at the Historic Round House Bar.  We had another beer and listened to a very entertaining singer and jokester, Mike “Mad Dog” Adams.  He has been an institution at this place for over 36 years.