Mahi Mahi- Sat Jul 5th; Cleveland to Vermillion Oh

Well it was hard to beat our visit in Cleveland, but Vermillion Oh is puttin’ in a pretty good case too.

It is really a case of big city – Cleveland vs American Pie – Vermillion.

Vermillion is such a quaint little town, and I never would have thought about staying here if it wasn’t for my old “Dodge Truck, Heavy Duty Ram” boss, Bill Rotramel.

Bill & Linda spend their summers on Catawba Island ( Put- in- Bay) about 30 miles away, and their winters in Punta Gorda Florida. I have stayed in touch with Bill due to our mutual love of boating & our mutual distain of cold weather and snow.

Bill & Linda spend the winter in Punta Gorda Florida & Jonell and I have spent the last 7 years in the Fort Myers/ Cape Coral area.

Bill Rotramel had prepped me for the local museum, the Woodstock Cafe, Chez Francois restaurant, and Rudy’s Bar & Grill. But his best recommendation was the marina – the Vermillion Municipal Docks !!!

It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but this municipal dock was one of the best slips we have had on this trip. We had heard so much about the downtown, and really wanted to see more of it, but the boat watching and people watching from the aft deck of the boat was magical. None of us wanted to leave the stern of the boat.

They’re was a plethora of nautical craft; paddle boards, jet skis, small boats, large boats, wooden boats. And everyone passing by was so friendly – waving, saying hello, seeing our St Clair Shores home port, and asking about our voyage. The “rolling boat show & people watching” was just too addicting to leave for a hot 90 degree walk in the city.

On top of the rolling boat show, the background setting was spectacular. Check out these 2 homes directly across from our slip. The landscaping was beautiful.

After about 3 hours of the “rollng boat show”, it was time to give the Mahi a quick wash down before dinner. We had a special hull cleaner delivered to the Oasis Marina at Cleveland, and this was our 1st opportunity to make the Mahi look beautiful again. Captain Luck would not allow any photos of the Mahi prior to cleaning. When you do “The Loop”, there is a somewhat badge of honor, in the brown mustash that the hull of the boat gets from the tannins in the water during The Loop.

Interestingly enough, I could not find any other images to show you, but it is a well know phenomenon for Looper Boats.

Google did show this verbiage, but no photos. –

Here is a photo of the Mahi, “after cleaning”, Captain Luck did authorize this photo.

After giving the Mahi her bath, we went into town to have dinner at the famed Rudy’s Bar & Grill. The Lake Perch was very good.

After dinner, this darn town of Vermilion – put an Ice Cream Store right on our walk home .

After a Big Dinner & Ice Cream, what else would a guy do but go swimming 😃

Here is the beautiful Vermillion Beach, a five minute walk from the municipal docks.

I had total strangers take the video, they were so nice, and they were intrigued by our voyage.

After swimming, here is the Vermillion Park Adirondack Chair Dry Off Area – if you forgot your towel. I always seem to forget my towel 😃

After swimming & drying off, it was about 8pm, enough time to join Jerry & Deena back at the Mahi, for another couple hours of boat & people watchin’.

Vermillion really deserved at least 3 day stay, maybe next time ( Thx Bill).

Tomorrow (Sunday, 6th) – we’re off to somewhere at the Lake Erie end of the Detroit River, with a Monday afternoon arrival at the Mahi’s new home port of Miller Marina in St Clair Shores Michigan.

Monday will be a special day for a couple reasons –

1. Jonell’s Birthday
2. Deena’s completion of the Great Loop (started in 2018).

We hope you enjoyed this post, the end is near 😢

We’re bummed that we missed the holidays with our friends & family, but there is still a lot of summer left. We look forward to seeing you all.

xoxo,

Mile, Deena, & Jerry

Team Mahi Mahi