h.o.m.E.s.

On occasion I’ll post something about my life to entertain someone, even if it’s just myself reading these. Let me tell you a little about where I grew up. I am from right on the coast of Lake Erie, Vermilion, Ohio. The Small Town on a Great Lake, home of THE Festival of the Fish, and the north coast famous, Woolly Bear Festival. Where many come in the summer months to enjoy the freshwater views, and dabble in water sports. Smack in between Cedar Point and Cleveland. A place where the people I grew up with mostly hate to love. There’s something about this place that keeps people coming back, whether they are just visiting or they’ve grown up here, moved away and still come back. Yes, there are the exceptional few that cannot stand it in Vermilion, but the people that do love it, far out-way the ones that don’t.

Some of you may be asking, what is a woolly bear? Woolly bears are a caterpillar, about the size of any caterpillar, covered in orange and black fur. What makes the woolly bear so famous, is similar to that of the groundhog on Groundhog’s day. The woolly bear is supposed to predict whether the upcoming winter season will be mild or severe.Living in northern Ohio, we NEED all the help we can get to prepare for whatever apocalyptic ice age is on its way. Last winter, we had temperatures as low at -40° Fahrenheit. In Vermilion, the moderately small town of 10,000, brings over 100,000 people to town for the 1 day festival in September celebrating….a caterpillar. The Festival of the Fish however, is a more relaxed, 3 day festival over Father’s Day weekend. I don’t know why this is a celebration of perch, but there is no better place to get yellow perch than on the north coast of Ohio. They’ve recently started doing fireworks on the Friday night, the town gathers to the local public beach and awe at the luminous explosions reflecting off the still lake. Saturday nights are dedicated to the lighted boat parade on the Vermilion River. Locals dress their boats in all their glorious Christmas lights and head down the river, entertaining everyone.

The Fish festival marks the beginning of the summer, and the Woolybear Festival the end. So what goes on in between is nice. Not only is there access to the lake, but we also have the Vermilion River that runs through town. We are lucky enough to have the Vermilion River Reservation at Mill Hollow. A beautiful park right on the river where many go to see the sky-scraping shale cliffs. And the river is shallow enough in this area you can get right up next to them (although I wouldn’t suggest it because you know, falling rocks). Vermilion is fairly laid back, the long summer nights give way to social gatherings at the local bars or coming together around a toasty fire on the beach. On the Fourth of July, spectators all along the coast marvel at something spectacular. Firework displays all around the coast of Lake Erie, as far as the eye can see, light up the night sky. There is nothing better than setting off fireworks on the beach, and having the opportunity to view the various shows skirting the shores of Lake Erie.

I have much pride for living in a town that is lakeside, how many people can say they have Lake Erie in their back yard? I’ve got one parent that lives lakeside, and I can honestly say I never get tired of watching the sun set on those warm summer nights, listening to the waves slowly calm down to a rest as the day comes to an end. Any pictures I upload, I guarantee most will be pictures of the Great Lake Erie. The few in this post were taken this past summer, from my Galaxy S6, which hardly does these sunsets justice of their jaw-dropping beauty.  The picture by the dock was taken on Christmas day (which was unusually warm for the end of December); my grandparent’s live on Cedar Point Road in Sandusky, with the Sandusky Bay in their backyard and Lake Erie across the street. I feel truly blessed to have grown up in a town where everything is within walking distance, where I can go jet-skiing in the morning, enjoy lunch and a milkshake at the old-timey soda fountain restaurant Soda Grill, and end the night around the fire with family and friends. Where I can sit on the beach and watch a summer squall roar in from the west, and bathe in the sun on the weekends. Everyone who grows up in Ohio claims they’ll leave when they grow up, but once they’ve grown up they couldn’t imagine living anywhere else, despite the absolutely bitter cold winters, and the weather, where we can experience four seasons in five days. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else than the north coast of Ohio. This is home.

|Hannah|