We love Kelleys Island. We fell in love with the Lake Erie Island
last year when we visited. We made plans to move there immediately and have a
wee toyshop on the island. We may have been drinking some beers and watching
the moon late at night, but we were serious at least for that night. It's a
vacation paradise just a couple hours from Columbus, Ohio. We were super
excited when
Lake Erie Shores
& Islands asked us to come and visit again.
Our schedules were pretty full this summer, so we decided on an autumn
escape. We took the boys out of school for a few days of nature school and
island living. We wanted to make it an affordable trip so that other Ohio
families could be inspired to check it out. We were hosted two of our three
nights by
Bag the Moon
Condos and given ferry rides and tickets to the local
Cedar Point amusement park, but we tried to be as frugal as possible by bringing groceries and doing
a lot of educational activities like hiking and geology lessons and playing
outside. It was truly an affordable mini vacation for our family.
The greatest thing about the island is the fact that it's a village as well
as a vacation destination. Over 350 people live on Kelleys Island all year round!
We were there off-season and it was very slow and low key. We felt like the
island was ours! The boys were so interested in the people. They loved that school
kids had to take an airplane to school! We met some amazing and friendly folks there. I loved
the tiny Post Office and the fudge-making lady from the
Island Fudge Shoppe. (Amazing!!!)
We loved the breakfast over at the
Kelleys
Island Brew Pub and the pizza from the
Buckeye Bar was
fantastic and the bartender won our hearts by letting the kids play putt putt
golf and teaching them island games. We were made to feel very special
everywhere we went and the kids loved it. We returned to the
Village Pump for CRAZY good Perch dinners
and the server remembered us from last year. It was a great night of food and
good energy in the restaurant. Our condo was right downtown and we walked most
places. It was clean and spacious and perfect for our family of five. I would
stay there again for the location. The owner has a pub,
Bag the Moon, that
serves a mean breakfast and they sell handmade island jams and jelly. Love!
Our favorite adventure was playing on the shore and watching the boats and
birds, but I have to say the geology lesson on The Glacial Grooves is what has
stuck with the boys. The Glacial Grooves on Kelley's Island are the largest,
most accessible grooves in the world. The island offers information and on the
site there are lots of boards and signs where you can teach your children [or
yourself] about the amazing history.
And of course,
Cedar Point. You know they loved it. I forget about how exciting it can be there. One of the greatest things about parenting is reliving moments you remember too. I know the feeling of riding a rollercoaster for the first time and our 8 year old now does too. I liked sharing the place I had come as a child with my children. The park is just the same as I remember. Magical.
Lake Erie Shores & Island are rock stars and can help you plan an
amazing escape too.
Just contact
them! We felt recharged and nature filled when we returned to the big city.
Nice. We still dream of owning a golf cart and living on the island. Still.
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| All of our opinions are ours. We were not paid to talk about this post. We love this island and are happy to share. |