Ron and I went out on the boat Saturday, just the two of us! This might be the last decent weekend before the boat comes out of the water, and we didn't want to waste the opportunity.
We decided against trying to fish as the word on the water has been that the fish are mysteriously missing. The strange weather patterns we've had have made the perch disappear as well as the walleye. The boat that docks next to Ron is owned by two brothers. They go out each weekend early, fish until they catch their limit of perch and are back in. Saturday they left early in the morning, were gone all day until almost dinner time and still only caught 42 out of the 60 perch they were allowed. And, they went almost to Canada to find that much! So, we decided to just enjoy a ride.
I packed a couple of sweatshirts just in case and some Diet Pepsi and Fresca in a cooler on ice! Sweet deal, huh?
Ron's boat is docked in Vermilion, so we headed east back to Lorain. Our goal was to actually travel UP the Black River! Hey, we needed a destination, and this was it.
While the sky and the weather was just beautiful, the water was muddy. It was such a strange color, but at least the waters were relatively calm. (I still took my Dramamine, just in case!)
We weren't the only boat out there enjoying the day! I'm not good with action shots, but I think this one came out.
I've said before, it's strange to see familiar sights from a different perspective. We couldn't tell where the heck we were! We picked out Lakeview Park three times before we got it right! We finally made it to the light house and took a right up into the channel.
Here we are coming up to the Bascule Bridge which is the drawbridge on East Erie Avenue. Actually, I thought the name of the bridge was the Bascule Bridge, but in doing a google search to make sure I spelled it right, Bascule IS a mechanical bridge that is also referred to as a drawbridge. This particular bridge is properly named The Charles Berry Bascule Bridge. So there!
Going under the bridge was awesome! I wanted to try to get a shot of cars actually going over the bridge but I didn't do so good at that! It's still a pretty awesome sight under there.
Going farther up the river, geese were relaxing on the gentle current of the river. I couldn't even count how many we came across floating on the river! For real, they look at you like THEY have the right of way! They would eventually move out of the way, but reluctantly. It's a good thing we were just idling on through the river!
Moving farther up the river, we came across the bridge on SR611, the Lofton Henderson Bridge. This bridge has scared the living crap out of me since I've moved here! The first time I had to drive over it alone, I did it at 60 mph in a 35 mph zone! I knew that was only going to get me ticketed or killed so I have gotten better about it but I don't have to like it. I still white knuckle it, but at a slower speed. One thing I was surprised at was this bridge didn't seem to high from underneath it.
Another way it differs being below it than driving across it, it's much more beautiful up close! It always looked so dirty whenever I dared to look over the edge. But here is what we saw once we passed under the bridge.
Another thing I learned is what this contraption is! I've seen it since but could never really figure out what it was.
Another mechanical bridge but this time for trains! When we went up the river, the bridge was up. We went up to the steel mill (I think!) but then the water started getting shallower and we weren't sure how shallow it was going to get. That's where we turned around and started heading back down the river.
When we were going up, this bridge was up but I could see the railroad tracks on the sides. That's one mystery solved! When we were coming back, the bridge was down and I was really hoping to see a train passing while we were floating under it, but that wasn't to be.
One final story from our day. Coming back down the river, I really had to pee. I've had a couple of cups of coffee at home and one can of Diet Pepsi on board, so by now I really really have to go. I'm not going to make it back to the marina! There is a head (bathroom) on board, but I've really been hoping to avoid using it. Yeah, well, so much for a plan! I thought if I was going to do this, I needed to do it while the boat was in the calm river waters before he opened the engines back up on the open water. No use risking fate with my klutziness.
I told Ron I was heading down into the cabin to pee. He told me where the flush button was (I never would have found that on my own!) and down I went. I got in ok and even peed ok. Hey, don't be too surprised, I've been peeing on my own for about 45 years now! But, I digress. My problem came when I was done peeing. I couldn't get out of the head! For real!
I found the door handle, I pushed, pulled, twisted and banged on the door! Nothing. I'm not overly claustrophobic, but I'm telling you it was getting serious in there! I was not happy! Ron couldn't hear me yelling and the door was not freakin' budging. I finally thought to pull the cell phone out of my pocket and call Ron and hope he heard his phone ringing!
As soon as the call went through, I found the button on the door to open it from the inside. Yeah, the heck with flushing! Tell me how to get OUT of the head! No day is complete without one panic attack!
Back up on deck, life was good. We made it all the way back to the marina without incident. He got the covers back on the boat, snapped it up and we went for Mexican food.
Now that was a damn good day.
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