- 60.2 miles
- 6 hours 32 minutes
- 9.2 mph average speed
- 4-11 mph winds
It was pretty rough most of the day on Lake Erie as we traveled with Star Dust to Put-In-Bay. Put-In-Bay is a lovely town on South Bass Island. While there are cars on the island, the majority of vehicles used is golf carts. We shared a golf cart with Misty and Darrel and toured the whole island.
A new sign had just been installed a few weeks ago at South Bass Island State Park.
Heineman Winery was founded in 1888 by German immigrant Gustav Heineman and is the oldest family owned and operated winery in Ohio. It is currently run by 3rd, 4th and 5th generation Heinemans. We took a tour of the winery and sampled the wine. Crystal Cave was discovered on the property in 1897 while digging for a well and is the largest geode in the world. During prohibition, when many wineries closed, Heinemann Winery was able to stay in business by providing tours of the cave, producing unfermented grape juice and providing taxi service.
Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial, built in 1915, is part of the National Parks System and honors those who fought in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812 in addition to celebrating the long lasting peace among Great Britain, Canada and the U.S. that followed the war. Three American and three British officers are buried together in the rotunda of the 352 foot column. The memorial is the largest Doric column in the world and is 47 feet higher than the Statue of Liberty and a few feet shorter than the Washington Monument. The Battle of Lake Erie was one of the most decisive naval battles of the war as Perry’s defeat of the British fleet established control of Lake Erie. The views from the top were absolutely gorgeous!
We rode the ferry over to Middle Bass Island and rented a golf cart to tour the island.
Lonz Winery was established in 1884. All that remains now are the wine cellar, the facade and the tower after a terrace collapsed in 2000. Exhibits featuring wine making equipment found on the property are displayed in the wine cellar.
