Two words that you don't usually find in the same sentence are "Pennsylvania" and "beach". Probably the most frequent time you'd see them near one another would be something like "We're from Pennsylvania and we're going to the beach in Florida". Less common would be; "We're from Florida and we're going to the beach in Pennsylvania". We don't always do things the common way, so yes, we're in Pennsylvania and we went to the beach.
Presque Isle State Park was established in 1921. The park now plays host to over four million visitors per year. However, on the first day of September, with school starting back, the crowd was small making social distancing throughout the park an easy task.
Within the park boundaries are 21 miles of roads and 35 miles of trails. We enjoyed touring the park by both car and bicycle (rentals are available within the park). The bicycle rentals will be closing soon for the season and they were selling off some of their bikes in preparation for new ones arriving for 2021. We're now the proud owners of one of those bikes! We have access to another bike through Ben. This will give us an opportunity to explore more of the local trails on both foot and bike over the next few weeks.
Presque Isle also has 13 sandy beaches. Yes, the beaches are not on the ocean or Gulf of Mexico, but when standing on the shoreline looking out over the wide expanse of clear blue water you'd be hard pressed to know the difference. We were so inspired that we hopped in for a refreshing dip in the chilly water (current temperature is around 75 degrees). For me it was 62 years and 245 days before I took my first dip in one of the great lakes. It didn't last too long, about fifteen minutes, but it was fun. It was also Beth's first dip in one of the great lakes. If you want the specifics on how long she roamed the planet before taking the plunge you'll have to ask her.
Just 23 miles across the lake is Long Point, Ontario, Canada. In 1975, a then 17 year old named Pat Bundy who was a Presque Isle lifeguard became the first person to successfully swim across from Canada to the US. I'm not sure what he was thinking about during the twenty six and a half hour swim, but I'm betting it had something to do with not accepting any more challenges from his fellow lifeguards. He not only completed the swim, but went on to medical school and is now a plastic surgeon in Alabama. The beaches of Presque Isle are creatively named Beach 1, Beach 2, Beach 3, etc., except for Beach 10. Beach 10 is also known as Bundy Beach and has a plaque commemorating the swim.
Before heading back to Kennerdell we took a ninety minute boat ride on the Lady Kate. This narrated boat tour took us along the shore, passing many of the beaches as well as several of the lighthouses that have been protecting ships and sailors since the 1870's. The informative narration provided a great deal of history about the area including the role Presque Isle played during the War of 1812. It was here that six of the nine ships used to defeat the British in the Battle of Lake Erie were constructed.
We also learned that the "Lake Erie Quadrangle", a 2,500 square mile area has reported more than 430 maritime disasters. This is 23 times more than what has occurred in the better known Bermuda Triangle. Additionally, the water from the great lakes would cover the entire continental US with over 9 feet of water!
Beaches and Pennsylvania, two words that don't often go together but in the case of Presque Isle State Park they make a nice match!
