Put In Bay!

During our girls weekend in Frankenmuth, while we were all sipping smoothies and eating guacamole between our shopping marathon, someone brought up Put in Bay and when the "Pepsi Day" would take place.  That's the same deal we took advantage of on Will's 4th birthday a couple years ago.  It's always one Wednesday in June, when they offer a $5 ride on the Jet Express (kids are free) to get to Put in Bay.  So we looked it up right then and there and decided that we would all try to go together with the kids.  It took a little juggling of my patients at work for me to get the day off, but I managed it with my boss's approval.  And it turned out to be THE MOST PERFECT WEATHER we could ask for!

There was a slight glitch in departure times.  What we were told when we called ahead turned out not to be correct and we had to wait about an hour and a half after our arrival time until the next departure.  But it wasn't bad at all.  The kids and I walked around Port Clinton while we waited and sat in a coffee shop with the others for awhile.  Our group included my kids & me, Casey & her girls, my mom & Aunt Shirley, Brittany & her daughter Reese, plus two more friends and two more kids. 

Time to board!

Sailing through Lake Erie on board the Jet Express.

Arriving on Put in Bay.

Our first stop was the huge, awesome playground right near the Jet's dock.  I never noticed before that it is called Will's Playground!!  :)

I was watching my daughter too.  LOL  I just didn't get any good pictures of her on the playground.

Heading over to the Perry Monument.  

(It was under construction/renovation in 2011 and we weren't able to visit then.)

From Wikipedia:

Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial commemorates the Battle of Lake Erie, near Ohio's South Bass Island, in which Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry led a fleet to victory in one of the most significant naval battles to occur in the War of 1812. The memorial also celebrates the lasting peace between Britain, Canada, and the United States that followed the war.

On the steps of the monument, trying to coax Sophie into coming over for a picture:

And he's off!

Mya, Stella & Payne (the other little friend that came along).  Payne is in preschool with our girls.

Mom and the kids and I took the elevator to the top of the monument.  We were the only ones that wanted to, but I didn't want to miss it!  It was a little chilly and windy up there but the view was beautiful.

After our visit to the monument, we decided to have lunch at the famous Boardwalk restaurant right on the water's edge.  So pretty and soooo good!

The kids were surprisingly well behaved.  There had been some miscommunication about what our lunch plans were going to be for the kids before we left today, and I'd packed lunch for my kids.  But on the way to Port Clinton, we decided to just eat in a restaurant.  So I brought the fruit, veggies and cheese sticks anyway and left the pb&j sandwiches in the car.  Sophie NEVER eats well in a restaurant, so besides some French fries, the things I brought along were her only food consumed.  That girl... 

Sophie adores Brittany and Reese.

Smoothies were a big hit with the kids. 

Watching Payne play a game on someone's phone.

All of the kids' meals were served on parchment paper lined Frisbees, so the Frisbees were a fun souvenir!

After lunch, we rented golf carts and drove around for awhile.  It was a novelty in itself to ride in the cart and the island is so scenic and pretty.

My silly girl.

One of our stops was the Butterfly House, which I'd never been to before.

Pointing to his favorite.

Reese turned one in February!

Time out?  Nope.  Just chillin'.

Love this.  And I love Mya's & Stella's shirts.  They remind me of something Casey and I would wear as kids.  So cute.

Not sure what's going on with Soph here, but look at cutie Mya peeking around from behind her.  :)

Sorry to post a picture of your behind, Britt, but there was a butterfly on it!!  Everyone was hoping to have a butterfly land on them and I think this was the only one that did.

It's hard to see clearly in this picture, but I found Will sitting like this on the ledge.  I watched him for a minute and at first I thought there was something wrong with his wrist or something.  But he told me he was sitting like that child figurine nearby (in the exact same pose) because he wanted a butterfly to land on him like the fake one on the figurine.  Haha!

Each of the grandkids got to take turns riding up front with Nana.  We'd drive for awhile and then stop and every kids would change seats.  It was kind of a big deal.  :)

Will wanted to stop at the Crystal Cave/Heineman Winery that we went to on his birthday to look at some of the crystals in the gift shop.  But otherwise, we just drove around and saw the sights.

Nearly to the end of our trip, my camera battery died and I could only take a few pics on my phone.  We stopped for ice cream after returning the golf carts and then made our way back to the Jet docks.  It was a long and beautiful day!  We decided to skip swim lessons and just eat a light dinner and wash up for bed.  Both kids crashed immediately, as expected.  :)

So glad this spontaneous trip came together!  We had a blast!