Motoring through Ohio...

{Dates of visit Aug 26-Sep 5, 2013}

Like most RV Nomads we left our hometown and hit the road like a couple of tourists eager to see everything, eat at every restaurant and fill our blog with exciting adventures in great locations. What really happened was we found out that there are often lulls in this lifestyle...as there are in all lifestyles. Not every day can be full of rainbows and butterflies and not everywhere can be amazing National Parks or secret (but spectacular) dive bars...and certainly not every town has even one restaurant worth eating at...trust me on that one.

And every once in a while we get burned out. As much as we love travel and the challenges we face with the constant change in scenery, people, cultures and weather it can be draining. This was especially true when we first started on the road and lasted up until we finally succumbed to the Millenicom bug (an on-board mifi hot spot). Locating campgrounds, grocery stores, places of interest, restaurants, coffee shops and laundromats can make a long travel day a little more stressful. I'm not complaining exactly, but there are challenges that can sometimes feel like...work.

Farmland and yoga...Ohio proved to be a nice spot to relax and recharge.
This is why we took some down time on our way to Upstate New York to visit my sister. Our first stop was to take advantage of 4 half-priced nights, courtesy of our Passport America membership, at Sunny's Campground in Wauseon, Ohio. This is a HUGE campground that is designed mostly for seasonal campers. However, it was so well maintained and the "overnighter" section was really nice (unlike some campgrounds where you feel you're given the leftovers). All of the seasonal 'residents' had lovely spaces that felt more like a yacht club and nothing like a 'trailer park'. Tons of fishing, swimming and playgrounds...

Never one to follow the rules...
Our next layover was Woodside Lake Park in Streetsboro, Ohio. We had every intention of going to the  Pro Football Hall of Fame in Akron but we were still in decompression mode and did absolutely nothing but walk around the park. This was another mostly seasonal campground that's very well kept but the overnight sites were (unfortunately) in the middle of the seasonal sites which normally isn't a problem except...it was.

That's the Mutiny in the middle...the people with the white car on the left (immediately behind us) felt it appropriate to walk through our site (I'm talking inches from our steps and front door) to visit their friends (where the blue car is on the left) no less than 2 dozen times in one day. As you can see, there is a completely open space on the other side of our RV that they could have used as a path.
Apparently the people in the row behind us we friends of the people in the row in front of us and decided it was better to cut through our site instead of walking 8 feet "out-of-the-way" go around our driver's side (non-door side of the RV) where there was an open field...see picture above.

Our site at Woodside...dag nabbit, I think I see a whipper-snapper getting ready to walk through our campsite!!
Now, normally we aren't too concerned with such trivial matters. I mean, there are starving people in the world and whales that need saving. But, we were paying full price to stay here (not cheap!) and we had a dog and Clark likes to sit outside all day and night. Hell, we probably wouldn't have even minded having people cutting through occasionally except there was a HUGE open space right next to our site that they could have walked through that didn't violate the sacred, but unspoken, "get out of my yard you damn kids" rule us grumpy "old" people hold dear to our hearts.

All in all it was a nice campground but it totally catered to the seasonal residents. Unbeknownst to us there was a dance with live music one night and a "shot" scavenger hunt (as in shots of alcohol) the next night but we never got the 'memo' {and we hadn't even complained or yelled or anything!}. I will say, our cut-through neighbors were nice enough to offer us some of their jello shots as a peace offering, or maybe a permission slip since they never did stop using our site as their shortcut.

 Our next couple of nights were spent at Sara's Campground in Erie, Pennsylivania (also a Passport America campground). When you go to the website you'll see amazing RV and tent sites right on the beach. But when you pull in to your assigned spot don't be surprised if this is your view:

Sometimes you get the beach views and sometimes you don't.
On the plus side our site was level and surprisingly quiet. There was an opening in the fence that led to a great little 50's style diner where Clark could get his fill on all of the "bad" things we don't normally have on the Mutiny...milkshakes and cheeseburgers and endless fries. It's also in very close proximity to Presque Isle State Park.


We enjoyed a bike ride through the park and spent some time hanging out along the 12 miles of beach. 
 
Loaded down with picnic supplies...

Last of the Great Lakes...we saw them all. =)


Stunning beaches.
Sunset yoga.
Happy feet.

 I would definitely go back to Sara's (especially at the Passport rate of $17.50 per night) and spend more time at Presque. It was so lovely we never did see what the town of Erie had to offer.


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