Day 33 East Coast trip Sat. Oct 21, 2023 At Jefferson OH

 Day 33, East Coast trip, Sat Oct. 21,2023 At Thousand Trails RV NY

It was a lighthouse day, covering three lighthouses located on Lake Erie. The first one was at Ashtabula and what was called a pier light as it is out in the bay at the end of a long dike or breakwater. The other two were at a small town called Fairport Harbor about 30 miles farther down the coast.

As usual, we took the “back way” so we could be on the rural roads and maybe spot some color or some barns or unusual sites. We did just that. Some of these roads pass by some beautiful homes and some very old barns built in the 1800s. There also were an assortment of skeletons all prepared for Halloween and I'll put it in a few pictures of them. Ruth is keeping a list of the positions that the skeletons are in. Some hanging from roofs, climbing walls, sitting in wheelbarrows or on tractors. But you get the idea.

Fairport Harbor old light (not used today)

MORE PHOTOS LATER TODAY

When we arrived in Ashtabula we were really impressed with the waterfront and the history that the city has as a port in days gone by. It was the third most active port in United States at one time in the early 1900s. Those days are gone but it still maintains much trade from ships that come in to bring coal and to take out many different types of gravel. One key item that covers the horizon as you drive downtown is the old coal conveyor belt that no longer used and that the city struggles to have maintained as an icon of the city's history. It spans the channel for the ships coming in.

In 1876, just after the Civil War, a train that was traveling over the large  RR. trestle in town was the victim of a collapse of that trestle. There were 159 passengers that went down into the gulley with the train. 92 were killed and 64 were injured. That left three who had no injuries or death. One of the US’s worst train disasters.

We took photos of the lighthouse from three different places. It was out in the bay and it was tough to get a good shot. After visiting two beaches and one angle from the museum behind the lighthouse we had some pretty good pictures. Taking photos at a half mile or more away is difficult at best. It was a windy day at 20 mph from the north west which may the air feel 10° cooler then the 53°F that it was. This was the first day we got Ruth’s winter coat out as the wind was fierce.

The hiding place for slaves before and during the Civil War

A conveyor belt (not used now) that  Ashtabuka wants to memorialize.

The west Pier Light at Fairport Harbor OH

In Fairport Harbor, some 30 miles down the coast, and on the same street, Walnut, as the lighthouse, was the house (Hubbard House)  that was used as an Underground Railroad safety house both before and after the Civil War. Those slaves would stay in the house during the daytime and then go down to the harbor at night too catch a boat to Canada. This went on for many years. Mr. Hubbard was an officer in the Civil War and in active leader in both the emancipation of slaves and their freedom.

The lighthouse in Fairport Harbor stands on a very high Bluff overlooking the harbor. This is made of Stone, perhaps granite, and stands about 120 feet tall. It is a grand building, and although it is no longer in use it is a momento  of day's gone .

Again a that lighthouse  on the pier is a similar lighthouse to the one in Ashtabula. Although the one in Ashtabula was struck by ships more than five times this one in Fairport Harbor has escaped any crashes. We tried to get an angled shot of it from further on down the beach and did succeed in getting the lighthouse as a background to the splashing waves off the rocks  along the beach.

Lke Erie at Ashtabula Pier Lighthouse

 

The wind whipping the waves and crashing on the rocks was a splendid scene to watch if you didn't get too close. I got soaked when one wave washed over-the-top of me.

Again we took the back way back, some grapevines that Ruth wanted to photograph and while we were doing that on this totally cloudy day when we had not seen the sun all day a miracle happened. There was a wonderful woods with brilliant color but  in the shade of the clouds. When I looked up I saw in the distance some  sunlight on some trees in the distance and it was moving our way. I told Ruth to wait a minute and she might get some light. It was true. All of a sudden that beautiful scene was in brilliant sunlight. What a difference that made in the colors.

We finished the “back road ride” coming home and relaxing before our supper of John Wayne casserole over cornbread. It was the perfect meal for a rather cool evening.

Then a surprise happened as we got a phone call from one of the girls who works in the campground and wanted to know if we were really interested in selling our trailer. We were, and   invited them to come over in the evening to look it over. She and her husband came over and looked at the trailer over and we're truly interested. So that sale is pending and may take place in the next few days. We may stay over a day in order to confirm the deal. Say a prayer!

Thanks for reading and either way we still have a couple of days to go me. —Jim