Erie PA | The Beauty Around Us

A Day in Erie

We spent the day Saturday, July 30, in Erie with my brother Jim, our sister-in-law Judy, and their dogs Piper and Ru. Jim and Judy arrived in Erie on Friday and spent two nights there. We met around 10:45 am near Sara’s Restaurant, along the road to Presque Isle State Park. We drove around Presque Isle, making a few photo stops.

Our first stop was at the Perry Monument. I didn’t take any pictures during our walk at Perry Monument.

Our second stop was at the North Pier Lighthouse and then the houseboats on our way back out to the main park road.

We walked first to the beach side of North Pier Lighthouse.

We then walked the North Pier to the lighthouse.

This houseboat, with a lighthouse, on Horseshoe Pond is my favorite.
According to this article, there are 24 houseboats on Horseshoe Pond.

Our third stop was at the Presque Isle Lighthouse.

We browsed the various artists’ wares for sale, but didn’t buy anything.

There is a fence surrounding the lighthouse property. The beach is behind me. There was a gate to the beach; however, it was locked. We tried to walk on the beach to where the gate is located. The beach is badly eroded.

Judy walking on a trail on a sand dune at Presque Isle Lighthouse beach. Some of the sand let go, and Judy slid down the dune. She had some difficulty getting back up, as the sand kept giving way. I didn’t go any farther on the trail, than where I am standing taking the picture!

While Judy, Jim and Bob attempted to make their way to the beach side of the lighthouse, I photographed the beach itself. By the way they didn’t make it to the lighthouse.

I believe if we had driven past the lighthouse a short way that we may have been able to walk back to the lighthouse.

From the lighthouse we drove to Smugglers Wharf, near Dobbins Landing, where we ate a late lunch / early dinner.

Smugglers Wharf Restaurant
Photo obtained from Library of Congress

It was the first time that any of us had eaten at this restaurant. We were not able to get patio seating. We were seated inside the restaurant with a view of Presque Isle Bay. We requested a table with a view, so that Jim and Judy could keep an eye on their dogs, who stayed in the car with all windows down. With the exception of Jim, we ordered seafood. Jim ordered chicken. Our food was good. The service was OK. Our waiter didn’t ask if we wanted anything other than water to drink or if we wanted any dessert. He saved us money because we didn’t order any drinks or dessert!

After lunch/dinner we walked around Dobbins Landing.

We enjoyed seeing an old pirate ship. The pirate was squirting water at those passing by. He didn’t squirt water at us.

The pirate on the old ship attacked the Skallywags Pirate Ship. There was ship-to-ship water cannon battles. It was a bonus that we were able to see the show unfold at Dobbins Landing.

Scallywags and Old Pirate Ship near Dobbins Landing

We parted ways at Dobbins Landing. We are very glad that we were able to meet up with Jim and Judy and spend the day with them. I can count on one hand the number of times we have spent the day together in Erie.

Day Trip to Erie

Yesterday we drove to Erie.

In Erie Our first destination was Presque Isle State Park, where we drove around the peninsula. We saw Canada Geese, ducks and a Great Blue Heron.

We ate lunch at Underground BBQ. Bob had a chopped brisket sandwich; I had a pulled pork sandwich. As a side dish, we both got macaroni and cheese. Lunch was good.

After lunch we drove to the nearby Giant Eagle, where Bob got his first shingles vaccine. Bob’s health insurance pays 100% of the vaccine cost. He will need a second vaccine in 2-6 months. I want to get a shingles vaccine as well. My health insurance doesn’t cover the vaccine shot. It appears that my prescription plan will cover a small percentage of the cost. I checked the vaccine cost at Good RX. It is the least expensive option. I will get my first Shingles vaccine this week or early next week.

Our next stop was Sam’s Club, where we filled up our fuel tank and added to our pantry. We paid $3.64/gallon for fuel, which was less expensive than $3.75 at Sheetz. I checked fuel prices today online. Sam’s Club is now charging $3.69/gallon, and Sheetz is charging $3.89/gallon. Imam glad that our car is fuel efficient.

Our next stop was at PetSmart to buy cat litter.

We left Erie from PetSmart, en route home. We stopped at Save a Lot in Corry to buy a few more groceries. Then we stopped at Tim Hortons for dessert – tea for me and coffee for Bob with a Boston Creme donut for me and an oatmeal raisin cookie for Bob.

Overnight Getaway

We returned home late this morning from an overnight getaway. We spent the night at Best Western in Erie PA, using a $25 gift certificate that expires later this month as partial payment. We earned the gift certificate from a prior stay at a Best Western hotel. I believe we will earn another $25 gift certificate from this stay.

We departed Warren shortly after 9:00 am yesterday and arrived at our hotel around 2:45 pm. We made a few stops en route the hotel.

Before leaving Warren we stopped at Tim Hortons, where Bob purchased a cup of coffee.

Our second stop was in Findley Lake NY. We saw nothing of interest and moved on.

Upon arriving in Erie we drove the perimeter of Presque Isle, stopping briefly to capture photographs of ducks and Canadian geese in a swamp area.

Pair of Mallard Ducks at Presque Isle State Park (Erie, PA)

Pair of Canadian Geese at Presque Isle State Park (Erie, PA)

That goose on the left was very noisy! Two Canadian Geese, equally noisy, flew overhead just moments after I had returned to our car.

We ate lunch at Cheddars Scratch Kitchen in Erie. Bob ordered Creamy Garlic Tilapia & Shrimp over rice, with broccoli cheese casserole and southern green beans. I ordered a chicken tender platter, with salad and French fries. Both meals were delicious.

Our final stop before going to the hotel was at the Erie Zoo. When the zoo reopened last year during the COVID pandemic, timed tickets were required for entry. Timed tickets are required again this year, but NOT for the month of March. We used our membership card to enter the zoo. We went for a stroll through the zoo. I didn’t take too many pictures. The majority of my pictures were of an orangutan family.

Erie Zoo Wild Asia entrance

Erie Zoo Bornean Orangutans

Erie Zoo Bornean Orangutan

We had considered taking our granddaughters to the zoo, if Stacey’s employer had her scheduled to work in Erie on Monday. We could have driven the girls to Erie, and Stacey could have taken them back home. I am glad, though, that I did not approach Stacey with my idea. The majority of the animals were quiet or not visible. The merry-go-round, playground and train ride were closed, as were all the food vendors. We will take the girls to the zoo in April, when it is warmer (and hopefully more of the zoo will be open). Our present zoo membership expires on 30 April. I have not yet decided, if we will renew the membership.

As I wrote earlier, we arrived at the hotel around 2:45 pm. We checked into room 408, a two queen bed suite. We had eaten a late lunch and knew we wouldn’t be hungry for dinner. Other than Bob driving to a nearby fuel station to pick up water and snacks, we stayed in for rest of the day. We had a relaxing afternoon and evening watching TV, for the most part. We particularly liked the science fiction movie “Divergent”. This movie is old, having been released in 2014. We had never seen the movie and are interested in watching the next two sequels, “Insurgent” and “Allegiant”.

Now for the next day …

We were showered, dressed and had eaten breakfast by 8:00 am this morning. Rather than grab a “grab n go” breakfast at the hotel, we ate breakfast at the nearby Cracker Barrel. Bob ordered a double meat breakfast; I ordered Grandma’s Sampler. Breakfast was delicious and filling.

After breakfast, we began our drive back home. We drove home via Route 5, along the shores of Lake Erie. We made three photo stops.

Our first stop was next door to North East Marina in North East, PA.

This lighthouse-shaped building is near the North East Marina in North East, PA. The body of water in the background is Lake Erie.

After a quick search, I couldn’t find any information on the Internet about this building. The next time we are in this area we plan to stop at North East Marina and make some inquiries.

Our second stop was at Barcelona Harbor in Westfield NY, where we saw more seagulls.

Seagull in Flight

This is the same Seagull in flight.

Two Seagulls

Several Seagulls

Our third stop was at Bournes Creek Falls, located a couple miles from Barcelona Harbor.

We saw Bournes Creek Falls for the first time in January. The waterfall looked a lot different today than it did in January!

We continued on to Dunkirk NY, where we left the shores of Lake Erie and headed south.

We returned home at 11:30 am. Our kitty, Wickett, sure was happy to see us.

Erie Zoo

While in Erie this past Wednesday, in addition to driving around Presque Isle State Park, we visited the Erie Zoo.

Since the Erie Zoo reopened in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, to gain admittance one has had to make an online reservation. No online reservations are required for admittance throughout the month of November. I like being able to go to the zoo on an impromptu basis. When we arrived at the zoo, we learned that admission was free for the day. We have a season pass, so the fact that the zoo was free that day had no bearing. However, we did wonder if the zoo would be busy, given that admission was free. There were very few other people at the zoo.

This is a video that Bob took with our GoPro7 camera during our visit to the Erie Zoo.

I took a few pictures too, which I will share. Some pictures are better than others. I really do not care to take pictures through glass or fences. I have such a difficult time capturing a good picture. I battled with the sun, too, and it played a part in diminishing the quality of the pictures as well.

Patagonian Cavy

Barbados Blackbelly Sheep

Canadian Lynx

Amur Leopard

Warthog

Southern White Rhino

Jaguar

Jaguar

Black-Handed Spider Monkey

Bornean Orangutan

All rides, Gift Shop, and concessions are closed for the season. The zoo will close for the season on November 30th.

Presque Isle State Park

Bob and I drove to Erie PA yesterday morning. While in Erie, we visited Presque Isle State Park. As we drove around Presque Isle, we made a few photo stops.

Our first stop was at the Presque Isle Waterworks Lighthouse.

Waterworks Lighthouse

This “lighthouse” is actually an emergency intake tower. It is often mistaken for a lighthouse. Bob and I have always referred to the tower as a lighthouse.

Our next photo stop was at Perry Monument.

Perry Monument

The Perry Monument commemorates the Battle of Lake Erie, in which Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry earned the Battle of 1812’s greatest naval victory.

Bob and I sat on the wall surrounding Perry Monument for a short while. We enjoyed the bright sunshine and warm temperatures. Boy, though, was the wind strong! I put my hood up to tame my hair that was blowing in the wind.

Bob and I at Perry Monument

Our next stop was at the North Pier Lighthouse.

North Pier Lighthouse

Seagulls were congregated in front of the lighthouse. I am sure that they were enjoying the sunshine too.

All of a sudden several seagulls took flight!

North Pier Lighthouse

Right before taking this photograph, I had changed the settings on my camera to take pictures of birds in flight. I had my camera poised, ready to press the shutter button. A voice behind me said “I don’t mean to be an a$$, but …”, just as I took this photograph.

North Pier Lighthouse

I didn’t mind him being an a$$ at all!

Our last stop was at Horseshoe Pond. There are several houseboats moored at Horseshoe Pond.

Horseshoe Pond Houseboats

Of all the houseboats at Horseshoe Pond, this houseboat with a replica of the North Pier lighthouse is my favorite.

Horseshoe Pond Houseboats

From Presque Isle we drove to the Erie Zoo, the subject of my next blog post.

Presque Isle State Park Day Trip

We left home at 10:00 am on Saturday, January 26th, en route Erie. I did not like traveling on either Follett Run Road or Preston Road, both of which were snow covered and hilly. The road surface for the remainder of our drive to Erie was good. We drove to the following destinations, while in Erie: Presque Isle State Park. Cheddars Scratch Kitchen, Best Buy and Sam’s Club.

Arriving at Presque Isle State Park, we drove around the peninsula, making a few stops along the way.

Soon after entering the park, we noticed the trees were coated with white snow.

The snow-covered trees along Peninsula Drive were gorgeous!

We saw the new emergency intake tower, which often is mistaken for a lighthouse, at the Waterworks area. Bob and I have always referred to the tower as a lighthouse. I told Bob that the lighthouse was in a different spot, when we first saw it. Bob said no it wasn’t. I said yes it is. Well, I am right. I have photographic and written proof!

This was the old Waterworks Lighthouse.

The old Waterworks Lighthouse was removed in late 2017. It is believed that the emergency intake tower was installed in the early 1900s. The valve apparatus has not been operational for decades,

The newly restored and repainted lighthouse was installed in September 2018. It is located to the left of the original lighthouse and quite a bit forward of the sign seen in the photograph displayed above. It was installed on land, not on water. Donations helped to pay for the $80,000 project, with $50,000 coming from the Dan and Sallie Shipley Charitable Fund.

This is the new Waterworks Lighthouse.

Jayme, one of Bob’s coworkers, told Bob that he would be ice fishing on either Misery Bay or Horseshoe Pond. We planned to walk across the ice to where Jayme was fishing. As it turned out, Jayme didn’t go to Presque Isle to ice fish, as he had heard that the ice wasn’t good. There were some ice fishing huts both on Misery Bay and Horseshoe Pond.

Horseshoe Pond Houseboats and Ice Fishing Hut

This houseboat with a replica of the North Pier Lighthouse is my favorite of all the houseboats on Horseshoe Pond.

Panoramic Image of some of the houseboats on Horseshoe Pond and Ice Fishing Huts

Continuing around Presque Isle we stopped at the Waterworks area, located across Peninsula Drive from where we had stopped earlier to admire the new Waterworks Lighthouse. We were on the lake side of the peninsula.

Lake Erie

Today was Snow Day at Presque Isle State Park. At the event, organized by the Presque Isle Partnership, visitors could enjoy everything from dog sled and snow show demonstrations, to outdoor cooking and ice fishing. Our interest in stopping at this event was to see a dog sled demonstration, which we did.

Bob captured video of the dog sled demonstration, while I captured still images. Bob’s video is short, only a little over a minute. So please do click on the play button!

Dog Sled Demo at Presque Isle Snow Day event

Shortly before the dog sled demo we petted one of the Siberian Huskies, a beautiful girl named Meeka. She was really soft! Meeka was the lead dog in the dog sled demonstration that we watched.

From Presque Isle State Park we drove to Cheddars Scratch Kitchen, where we ate lunch. Bob ordered from the “Lighter Side”. The entree Bob chose was bourbon-glazed grilled salmon over seasoned rice, broccoli cheese casserole and a house salad. I ordered from “Comfort Food”. My entree was homemade chicken pot pie with a house salad. We enjoyed both of our meals.

From Cheddars we drove to Best Buy. In June 2017 I purchased a 10.5 in. 256 GB iPad Pro tablet. At the time I was in a quandary. Do I buy the 10.5 in. tablet or the bigger, more expensive 12.9 in. tablet. I chose the 10.5 in. tablet because I thought the larger tablet would be too big for me. In hindsight, I should have purchased the 12.9 in. tablet. Well, today, I purchased a new 12.9 in. 256 GB iPad Pro tablet, along with a Smart Keyboard case and Apple Pencil. The Smart Keyboard case was not in stock. I am expecting delivery of the Smart Keyboard case by Tuesday, Jan. 29th. The new Apple Pencil attaches magnetically to my iPad, a feature that I love. So, I am a happy owner of a new iPad Pro tablet! I plan to sell my 10.5 in. iPad Pro, along with its keyboard and pencil, as a package in the near future.

From Best Buy we drove to Sam’s Club, where we picked up a few groceries. We renewed our Sam’s Club membership in December last year, after allowing the membership to lapse a few months prior when Sam’s Club closed in Jamestown, NY. The Sam’s Club in Erie is farther for us to drive than it was for us to go to Sam’s Club in Jamestown. After several months without a membership, we decided that we go to Erie often enough that a Sam’s Club membership would be worthwhile. Besides I miss some of the foods and paper products that we would buy at Sam’s Club. The reason for driving to Erie on Saturday was to go to Sam’s Club.

From Sam’s Club we made our way back home. I didn’t believe snow was in Saturday’s forecast. Well, it snowed the whole way back home!

Senior Citizen’s Day at the Erie Zoo

Sometime Monday I posted on Facebook that I was planning to go on a photo walk at the Erie Zoo on Wednesday. I asked if anyone would be interested in joining me. A few people showed interest, but they had other plans.

Tuesday afternoon I saw the following Erie Zoo Facebook page post:

“Calling all Senior Citizens! Join us for a fun-filled, free day at the Erie Zoo this Wednesday July 26th from 10am-2pm. On this special day, seniors ages 62 and over and their grandchildren under 18 years old will receive free Zoo admission, free lemonade, free popcorn and a free carousel ride. Thank you to UPMC Health Plan and Northwest Bank for making this day possible.”

I decided at that time NOT to go to the zoo, as I suspected that the zoo would be crowded. I posted on Facebook that I would not be going to the zoo.

Early Wednesday morning I changed my mind and decided to go to the zoo.

I departed home at 8:00 am and arrived at Erie Zoo at 9:15 am, 45 minutes before the zoo opened. There was already a small line forming at the gate! I walked over and got in line. The gate opened at 10:00 am. Here is a Smilebox video of some of the animals and other things that I saw at the zoo.

Free slideshow made with Smilebox

In recognition of the Senior Citizen’s Day event, there were many informational booths in healthcare, wellness, and entertainment scattered throughout the zoo. At these booths were informational brochures and free stuff (e.g. Notepads, Kleenex, bottle openers, measuring tape, pens, etc.)

In addition to it being Senior Citizen’s Day at the zoo, it was Wild Wednesday (the last one this year), when the zoo stays open until 8:00 pm. I am a member of the Erie Zoo. Besides the Senior Citizen’s Day giveaways shown in this picture, as a perk for zoo members on Wild Wednesday, I rode the Wildlife Carousel and Safari Train for free and got a free hot dog and soft drink for lunch.

I am SO glad that I decided to go to the zoo after all. I had a very good time!