Circumnavigate Lake Erie

[DanB]

For your enjoyment, consider yourself invited to join in a quest to seek adventure, share goodwill, and complete exploration. In 2011, an armada of land yachts will assemble in Marblehead, Ohio. From this port, we will travel for one week circumnavigatingLake Erie.


Our journey will take us through two countries, five states, numerous historical and entertaining areas, and one natural wonder of our world. Although our voyage may be swift, it promises to be fulfilling.



This adventure is organized and supported by Units of the Wally Byam Caravaan Club International. All WBCCI members are welcome to participate. Current non-member Airstream owners are encouraged to consider joining to become eligible.






Voyage Itinerary

Friday, Optional Arrival

Day 1, Saturday Marblehead, Ohio --- Arrival, Welcome Revelry, & Outfitting

Day 2, Sunday Marblehead, Ohio --- Blessing of the Fleet, Exploration

Day 3, Monday Presque Island, Pennslyvania --- Exploration with lunch layover in Cleveland, 180 Miles

Day 4, Tuesday Niagra Falls, Ontario, Canada --- Exploration, 120 Miles

Day 5, Wendsday Niagra Falls, Ontario, Canada --- Day in Port, Dinner with the Captain

Day 6, Thursday Long Point, Ontario, Canada ---- Exploration, 95 Miles

Day 7, Friday Windsor, Ontario, Canada --- Exploration with Lunch Layover at Point Pelee, 168 Miles

Day 8, Saturday Marblehead, Ohio ---- Admiral Perry Circumnavigation Award Celebration, Departure, 111 Miles

Sunday, Optional Departurer


Ports of Call & Areas of Interest



Marblehead, Ohio USA
Incorporated in 1891 and embraced by the rocky limestone coast of the great Lake Erie, Marblehead is a thriving small town characteristic of true Americana. It is rich in history with a strong, diverse Eastern European culture. Marblehead’s picturesque setting, friendly people, quaint shops and restful nature beckons travelers seeking to escape the chaos of big cities and bright lights.




Lake Erie Islands
Islands have always been an appealing escape, and Ohio’s Lake Erie Islands are no exception. Middle Bass Island has a tranquil atmosphere and refreshing natural landscape that lures visitors to its shore for carefree, relaxing getaways; conversely, South Bass Island, often referred to by its village name Put-in-Bay, offers unparalleled adventure around every corner. Kelleys Island, the largest of the three, offers a combination of the exquisite natural beauty with a milder blend of adventure and attractions




Cedar Point
Cedar Point amusement park offers more rides and roller coasters than any other park on the planet, and has been voted "Best Amusement Park in the World" for ten years in a row by Amusement Today readers. Besides exhilarating rides, Cedar Point provides quality family entertainment including live shows, and PEANUTSTM characters on ice,. Often overlooked though, is Cedar Point's differentiating feature of being located on a peninsula surrounded by beautiful Lake Erie. From the incredible coastal scenery at 420 feet in the sky to the pristine sandy beach, Lake Erie truly does offer MORE to Cedar Point's guests





Cleveland, Ohio (Layover)
Listening to music, eating, shopping, cheering on sports teams, going to theaters and visiting museums. Cleveland, frankly, may surprise you, Some of the city's top attractions cluster on the lakefront, including Browns Stadium, the Rock Hall, the U.S.S. Cod (a World War II submarine turned museum), the steamship William G. Mather (now another museum), the International Women's Air and Space Museum and the Great Lakes Science Center, all along the North Coast Harbor




Presque Island, PA
Presque Isle is a recurving sand spit jutting into Lake Erie and has the only surf beach in the Commonwealth. Its geological and biological diversity, and its historical significance will spark your interest. The location of the park on Lake Erie makes it a favorite spot for bird migration.
The neck of the peninsula is attached to the mainland four miles west of downtown Erie. The park creates Presque Isle Bay, a wide and deep harbor for the city of Erie. The bay attracts many pleasure boats and worldwide freighters, making Erie an important Great Lakes shipping port.
Presque Isle is a National Natural Landmark. Because of the many unique habitats, Presque Isle contains a greater number of the state's endangered, threatened and rare species than any other area of comparable size in Pennsylvania.





Niagra Falls, Ontario, Canada

Niagara Falls is located on the Niagara River in eastern North America, on the border between the United States and Canada. The name refers to three separate waterfalls: the American Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls, and the Horseshoe Falls (known in Canada as the Canadian Falls). While not exceptionally high, Niagara Falls is very wide, and a large volume of water passes over it. The scenic view attracts millions of visitors, especially in the summertime. The name "Niagara" is said by some to originate from an Iroquois word which can be interpreted as "Thunder of Waters".
The Falls drop about 170 feet although the American Falls have a clear drop of only 70 feet before reaching a jumble of rocks at its base. The American Falls are 1060 feet wide and the Canadian Falls are about 2600 feet wide.

Ships go around Niagara Falls by means of the Welland Canal.

The area immediately around the falls includes the cities of Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York.

On January 2, 1929 Canada and the United States reached an agreement on an action plan to preserve the Falls.




Long Point, Ontario, Canada

Long Point a World Biosphere Reserve located on Lake Erie in Ontario. This park is part of a 40-kilometre-long sandspit in Lake Erie which is recognized as a biosphere reserve by the United Nations. It is a world-renowned refuge Its delicate dunes and marshes also teem with songbirds, spawning fish, turtles and frogs. Long Point is known as the 'graveyard' of the Great Lakes. The sand bars around the point hold hundreds of shipwrecks




Point Pelee, Ontario, Canada (layover)

Point Pelee with its southern point equal in latitude to the northern border of California, contains one of Canada's smallest but most unusual national parks. A thin triangle jutting into Lake Erie at the southernmost point of Canada, boasts a unique blend of vegetation in the marshes, jungle-like Carolinian forest, Savannah grasslands and unpredictable beachfront, supporting a complexity of wildlife.



Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Summer's heat is lengthy and deep in Windsor, Ontario, one of Canada's most southerly towns. Grapes grow easily in the benign climate and wineries scatter the gentle farmland of the region. In Windsor, breweries rely on the high-quality hops and barley from nearby fields to create distinct local brews.

Activities in Windsor include museums, historic home, great nightlife, and wonderful casinos.


Further Information & Details

At this time, NOVA is still determining the best date for this caravan. Preliminary suggestions are pointing towards late June or mid July.

The cost of the caravan will reflect actual costs of campgrounds, a few planned meals, and some small administrative costs. Great care will be taken to keep the cost as low as possible. This effort is to keep the caravan attractive to everyone.

Further details will be posted on this thread. I welcome all comments!

[mcair]

Right after Alumapalooza would be good. Lots of us already in Ohio.

[Aage]

A small point: it's called Presque Isle, and not Presque Island.

It's not an island (or an Isle, for that matter), since it is still connected to land. In French, "presque" means "almost".

[Gatward]

Wow this sound fabulous. We love the itinerary that you have created. We would love to be part of this caravan.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

wow, what a fabulous trip. Wish I could go, but I am not eligible. If it becomes open to any Airstream owner we will sign on.

[Castaway]

Any idea on a date yet?



Gary

[GCinSC2]

Dan,

Not able to particate, SC is a bit of a run to get back to the Buckeye. But having grown up on the south shore of Lake Erie, this sounds like a really neat trip. I have almost made the route on previous runs, Cleveland to Niagara Falls and Cleveland to Tillsonburg via Detroit a bit of a northern route. But that lake holds fond memories. But we did do a N-S S-N crossing of the lake in a 16' outboard using Pelee as a stopover and landmark to Leamington and back in one LONG day way back when.

I bet you will be near Tony Paco's famous hot dog shop somewhere near Toledo and the view for the co-pilots as you navigate Cleveland is pretty neat too. I am still working on my X-Mas gift supply of Great Lakes Breweries finest.

Safe travels to the participants.

[RangerJay]

Dan,

I afraid we won't be going - our loss - but I did want to drop a note to say your information is exceptionally well presented - well done - it sets a great bar for others to follow! It sounds like a great trip!


Jay

[ringme13]

Sounds wonderful! Will be watching for dates to determine if we can participate.

[Cally]

Great looking caravan. We'll be in the area for Alumapalooza, then Spirit of Cleveland Rally. If the dates work, we're in. Thanks for all your work.

[nvestysly]

DanB,

Thanks for working on this. Sounds like a great time. I hope the dates will be defined soon so we can work this into our 2011 vacation plans.

Lucius

[DanB]

Friends,

Please feel free to throw out some suggestions for dates. We are very much still in the planning stages. We are aware of Alumapolaza and Spirit of Cleveland. In fact, I will be attending both!

[nvestysly]

Thought I would throw out a broad range to see what happens.

June, July or August seems like they would work. I know there are other rallies and commitments during that time so we can begin excluding those dates and see where it takes us. Keep in mind Danielle and I may not be able to attend - just want to keep the discussion going.

It seems like May and September are probably out - too cold in early May and late September.

Late May - Memorial Day - would this work or is it too close to Alumapalooza?

Early September interferes with 2011 Airstream in The Wilds!

Hmmm.... if I keep typing maybe I'll come up with dates.....

Late June - early July - probably out due to WBCCI Int'l and other forum rallies.

Somebody else please take over - I'm just SWAGing here.

Lucius

[JStanley]

How about: Starting from Cleveland, Ohio around June 12 or 13, and directly following the "Spirit of Cleveland National Rally."
It could be open to everyone.

[nvestysly]

...Do I hear a second?

DanB, I realize you have your hands full with other NOVA activities and The Wilds Airforums National Rally.... but do you think the Lake Erie caravan still has legs?

June 11 may work for us. We're looking at vacation dates now and want to attend this caravan if possible.

Lucius

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by nvestysly

...Do I hear a second?

DanB, I realize you have your hands full with other NOVA activities and The Wilds Airforums National Rally.... but do you think the Lake Erie caravan still has legs?

June 11 may work for us. We're looking at vacation dates now and want to attend this caravan if possible.

Lucius

Dan and I discussed possible dates a while ago, but Lorrie and I are not sure if we have the time to participate this year. The proposal we discussed was to start the Caravan on Sunday June 12, because Dan (and Lorrie and I) will be at the Spirit of Cleveland Rally that ends on June 12. It would still end the following weekend, thus requiring 5 days of vacation for those of us that still work.

I cannot comment as to whether Dan still intends to go forward with the Caravan, however.

[airstreamhobo]

I would be interested if you leave from the Cleveland rally..It would give us time to the Bash 2 in Slippery Rock,Pa.on June 27..Let me know I want to sign up for Cleveland Rally, this would surely make up my mind!! AirstreamHobo

[gypsygirl1]

WOW What a nice trip you're planning. We live in Windsor Ontario and have a summer place out on Lake Erie near Kingsville. We would love to go on the caravan, but are ineligible. We would be very interested if it became open to all Airstream owners.
The north shore of Lake Erie in our region has many wineries along the route. Lots of events on the weekends at the wineries throught the summer.

We have a couple of suggestions for campgrounds and stuff, however. Don't know if you've planned that far, but here goes:

Sandhill Park Sand Hill Park, large park, lots of trees, right on the shores of Lake Erie, huge sand hill, family owned for 3 generations, good facilities. Just east of Port Burwell, west of Long Point.

Home | Tourism Windsor, Essex, Pelee Island Tourism website for Windsor, Essex, Pelee Island

Canadian Transportation Museum & Heritage Village Canadian Transportation Museum, Essex (town) 30 minutes from Windsor.
Great museum in the country and grounds with historical village and lots of room. Possible layover, boondock style.

Welcome Viewpointe Winery, on the shore of Lake Erie, just outside Harrow, an example of one of the beautiful wineries along the way.

Happy 'Streamin'

[DanB]

Well fellow 'streamers,

I really want to be open with you regarding this. Concern was raised regarding the ability of a new unit with no experience in caravanning to pull this off. Additionally, we truly did have a short time frame to get organized. Finally, willing participants did not exactly come jumping out of the corners when asked if they were interested.

All of this combined led to this event being put "on the back burner". Truly, except for a couple of people, interest just wasn't there.

It is difficult to justify the expenditure of time for a project that members just may not be interested in!

Instead, NOVA will have a presence at various WBCCI and non-wbcci events. We will have a couple of our own campouts this year. We are still working on ideas and dates. Our NOVA "Night of Destruction" rally in Kalamazoo looks to be our signature event for the year. Mike is doing a great job organizing it.

At this time, it does look like we might have interest in the Lake Erie Caravan. In an effort to get "our ducks in a row" and make sure we maintain protocol, I believe postponing the adventure until 2012 is in NOVA's best interest. Alternatively, if some members elected to organize a "scouting mission" for this caravan, I would fully support them.

In doing this, I believe we would be in a much better position to fully advertise this caravan to the entire WBCCI in a more conventional method.

I welcome your thoughts!

GypsyGirl, thank you for that great information! Please know that your "eligability" is only an email away. I don't really want to get "political" about this. NOVA doesn't really operate like that. WBCCI does offer benefits. Part of the organization, planning, communications, and guidelines to operate an event like this is one of them. In fact, caravanning is really the core purpose of this club. I invite you to explore the WBCCI independently.

Have a great day!

[66Overlander]

Dan,
I think this is a prudent plan to try to perhaps delay this caravan to 2012. It is unfortunate that Lorrie and I committed to another caravan (an Ontario Unit Caravan) this year before yours got it's legs and that put our Circumnavigation participation in question (but we had not ruled it out yet - vacation days would just be tight if we fit it in). I think we could plan to support this caravan in 2012, if it firms up before other opportunities surface.

You really do have the makings of a great caravan in the work you had done so far. Let's not let it drop and try to firm things up for 2012.