The Roughest Launch Ever
by Denise Janus

This morning we drove back to Madison Township Park to put back in.  The waves looked manageable, but the problem was that the boat ramp is right off Lake Erie, and the ramp docks were half submerged. Couple that with strong waves and we had the hardest launch ever! We and the canoe were pounded by waves, and Laura almost got pinned between the dock railing and the canoe. We struggled through it and went off on our way.  Because we were short on land support, we asked Mr. Frisbie to do us the honor of driving the Expedition for us, to which he agreed.  Thank you Mr. Frisbie for your help!  We must have been quite a sight with that ungraceful launch! Check out Mr. Frisbie’s photos in the photo gallery.

We canoed from the park to the Ashtabula Harbor by the Ashtabula Lighthouse.  It just so happens there was a Lighthouse Festival going on www.ashtabulalighthouse.com. After we pulled out of the water, it was off to the junk food tent! Chris and I refrained from eating the goodies but everyone else gorged on donuts and brownies! We have been searching for an elephant ear for quite some time now without success, so until we find a place that sells elephant ears we’ll make up for it by eating lots of ice cream!

Today we were supposed to have moved camp to Virginia’s Beach, but because we are behind in paddling we asked the Phelps’ of Jack’s Marina if we could stay another night instead of moving camp all the way to Erie, which is where our next campsite is.  It would be a long drive to have to deal with back and forth to get our paddling done on Lake Erie.  Not only did the Phelps’ let us stay longer, they bent over backwards to make sure we had enough firewood and anything else we needed!  We thank you so much Ron, John, and Mrs. Phelps, you have been so fantastic!