Kelley's Island....Round 2....Holiday with Family

Back in January 2021 I wrote this post about my solo 2020 visit to Kelley's Island, Ohio to visit with family. My grandma had passed away in early 2020 and as many as could, decided to meet on the island in June to be together and to remember her. While I was there, I really had a desire to come with my hubby and girls. I thought they would love the island life. So we made a plan to visit this year. We just got back a week ago. 

Kelley's Island is the second largest of Lake Eries islands and is a 20 minute ferry ride from Marblehead, Ohio. As kids our family's vacationed there from time to time, whether for a weekend or even just a day. One of my great aunts had a cottage on the lake that we visited. Now my moms youngest sister lives on the island with her husband and they have a vineyard and wine tasting room called Crooked Tree Vineyard. They grow, process and bottle their own wine. It's pretty awesome. The island has 2 other wineries on it and they are all unique. Earlier this year, my other two aunts moved from Florida back to Ohio and live across the lake on the mainland in Marblehead. My uncle also relocated back to that area from Las Vegas. It's the first time in over 40 years that they've all been back living in the same area. There is a lot of history in this area. If you have time here are a few sites that might interest you. Chamber, historical society and Kelley's Island story. At one time the island was very popular for its limestone and its wineries. Its climate was ideal for growing grapes. My aunt told stories of wagons pulled by horses, hauling wine barrels across the frozen lake...sadly some broke through the ice and perished. One of the winery ruins and the winery that sits there now are rumored to be haunted. Here is an interesting article with some You Tube videos about this and other strange occurances. 

The original plan was to all fly together but then airline fares started sky rocketing and my oldest needed to use airline points, so her family was going to fly Alaska, but then her hubby decided not to go because of how much it would cost and she felt more inclined to go. I ended up flying with her and the grandkids but tickets were so spendy that my hubby decided to fly separately and on a different airline. My youngest decided to take a red eye flight and get in the next morning, though on the flight home, she, her friend and my hubby were all on the same flight. It felt very chaotic to me and I knew I would't fully relax until we were all there. Then there was the worry if the flights would be delayed or canceled, because we were hearing that had been happening especially with Alaska. Thankfully they weren't. The grandkids did really good and all the flight attendants were great. It was a bit difficult navigating 2 carseats, a stroller and 2 little ones (ages 4 and 11/2) but we managed. Of course there were a few meltdowns, but hey, we all survived so that's a win. The day we flew home seemed so long and tiring for everyone, but the kids were troopers and slept 2 1/2 hours of our 5 hour flight. We only ran into a few snags but they were solved easily. The first was that my daughter and I with two kids were all on the same row flying from Seattle to Cleveland. However, when she checked in and put a lap child, it moved her further back in the plane. Thankfully it allowed me to sit with Indiana but we weren't with her. It worked out okay. Apparently you cannot have a lap sitter in a row behind the exit row. Did you also know that there cannot be two lap sitters in an entire row? Apparently there are not enough oxygen masks for everyone including flight attendants. Or something like that. The next issue was a glitch in the system that did not check me in correctly and didn't have a seat assigned to me, for either leg of the flight. I was scrambling on the day we flew back home trying to get this taken care of. I finally called and the person on the computer assured me that I was checked in and had a seat, however on our second flight from Seattle to Portland, it was a seat ahead of my daughter and kids. Thankfully the guy who was sitting in the aisle seat with them, was willing to switch me seats. 

Because I was going to fly with my daughter in order to help her, I decided to forgo any luggage. My hubby and I packed one suitcase and he took it with him. I've learned that I rarely wear all the clothes I pack, and tend to just re-wear certain things...I packed minimally but still could've packed less especially because we had a washer and dryer at our disposal. Anyways, I traveled with only my backpack which left me available to help more with kids. That was a good move. We considered renting car seats and a stroller (there's a site that lets you do that) when we got there, but it didn't seem practical or cost effective as it was already an expensive vacation and I couldn't find anything close to where we were going to be.

It honestly ended up being a fairly expensive vacation, which is always something to consider when planning a trip, but we all felt like it was worth it to see family. I'm not sure if everyone will go again, but I will try to go again at least every other year. Because we live on the opposite coast, plane tickets were very expensive, though I think that was mainly due to the times we are in at the moment more than anything else. Then we needed to rent a car because there were so many of us. We were a bit torn on this because often, on the island, you can mostly get around on a golf cart, but most golf carts are only 4 person and there were 5 of us plus two little ones. So, rent the car we did. We really recommend using Turo. It's a great company and we've always had really good experiences with them and the prices are very competitive. We also needed to find a vacation rental. Yes, it's in Ohio, but it is still a popular destination for vacationers, weekenders, etc. and rentals are expensive. None of my family has a home large enough to accommodate all of us. I sent my aunt a variety of homes we were considering, and one of them happened to be owned by friends of hers. We ended up going with that one and they gave us a "friends and family deal", allowed us to use their personal golf cart, kayaks and linens at no added cost which was huge. Here is that rental. It was still expensive but worth it. The house was large enough with a great yard so that when other family came over, we all gathered there. We joked that whenever there is a family get together, everyone ends up at our rental. I don't mind...we usually rent a house that can adequately be used by all and I love hospitality. My mom comes from a large family and they love getting together. 

Kaitlynn, the kids and I arrived about an hour after my hubby at the airport. He had already gotten his luggage, caught an Uber to go pick up the rental car they are often unable to accommodate airports) and came back to the airport to get us. We stopped part way to get some food, then headed to my aunts house. They live about and hour and a half from the airport. It was fun recognizing names of places from when I was little. We moved from Ohio to Washington when I was in the 4th grade. We got to my aunts house in Marblehead, gave hugs, grabbed groceries (I'll get to that in a minute), chatted a bit, and then headed off to the ferry. We caught the 9:00 ferry (the last one) heading over to the island. Once across, my aunt who lives on the island met us and we followed her to our rental. We gave some quick hugs, unloaded and off to bed after chatting for a few minutes. 

She's an amazing mama! I will also say the PDX airport is one of the best and easiest to navigate.

A few thoughts: Often when we vacation locally we stay in airbnb's. We are usually driving, and so I will do some grocery shopping before we go and then the rest when we reach our destination. Because we were traveling across country, and staying on a small island, I decided to do a grocery order at Walmart and have one of my aunts pick them up and keep them at her house until we arrived. That went pretty smooth. Ferry prices aren't cheap, $22 round trip per person (except little ones), and then $36 round trip per car. We decided we weren't going to leave the island, though it would've been fun to do so. They have a small market on the island but it only has basics and I really wasn't sure what we would find. We ended up getting some things there from time to time and also found a cute produce stand we purchased from. The other thing we had to consider when choosing flights, was arrival times and ferry schedules. The last ferry is at 9:00 at night. The airport is an hour and a half away. We had to take all of that into consideration. When I went in 2020, flights were VERY limited and it was a bit tricky to find one that would get me to the ferry in time. Worse case scenario, I would've stayed in a hotel.

Waiting on the ferry. The ferry line is owned by a local family. Interestingly the owner was tied by local media to the Cleveland Mafia. I don't know if that's true or not. 

This was just off the ferry and we purchased quite a bit of produce. It's on the honor system which was refreshing. Indy had fun picking things out. 

Kristianna, who took the red eye was picked up by my aunt at the airport and then she brought them to the island. We met them at the ferry, stopped at my aunts house, and then brought them back to unload their stuff. Phew. We were finally all there! 

After that it was just a matter of enjoying our time and enjoying the people around us. Traveling with little ones adds a different dynamic but not any less enjoyable. Two of my cousins (one of my aunts kids) came to visit as well. That was a fun treat. It had been since 2018 that we had seen one of them and 2020 since I had seen the other. I was trying to surprise my girls and did really good until the night before when my aunt slipped on one, and then me, thinking she was slipping on the other, gave it away to my girls...lol. We all got a good laugh.

The village is small but gets a lot of visitors once the weekend picks up. 

Island life is laid back, relaxed, a "no agenda" kind of time, especially on an island so small, but on the weekends, there's no lack for a good time. The village and two of the wineries that serve food come to life. My aunts tasting room is open 4 days a week and they never lack for people. There are often concerts in the grass, etc. We spent a lot of time at the lake, and quite a bit of time with my family. We walked around the village shops a few times or just relaxed at home. My hubby had a little bit of work to do but the wifi at our rental was not good so he went to my aunts house for a few hours. We hung out and visited with cousins in between young one's napping. The girls went on a few bike rides and kayaked. I didn't do those two things but now I wish I had. There are several beaches to enjoy and some walking paths. Most of the people get around in golf carts which is fun. Ours only held 4 people so we always had to take the car as well. I was sad that one of the more popular sites, Glacial Grooves was closed for maintenance. It is a national landmark that is 400' long, 35' wide and up to 15' deep and was created by slow moving glacier that created the great lakes and the Lake Erie Islands.

The lake is stunning. Depending on where you are on the island, every shoreline is different. From larger flat rocks, to pebbles and smoother rocks, to sandy shores. 

Morning view from our front porch. We listened to Cicadas and crickets and birds every day, all day. I LOVED it. 

Making Mickey Mouse pancakes in the morning.

They loved playing in the sand and I think would've spent all their time there. 

This shoreline was down the road from our house. The rocks here were large and flat. The island consists mostly of limestone, and for years was home to an active limestone quarry, shipping it off the island. I don't believe they do anymore mining of it. Unfortunately a lot of the shoreline has eroded away over time. 

Photo shoot time on the the rocks. 

Somewhere out in that distance is Canada.

Indy loves to Kayak!

I didn't get a picture of the cardinals, but I did get one of this baby snapping turtle.

It was amazing how far out you could walk in the water. 

Time with family is priceless!

We had two larger family dinners with everyone, one Italian night and one BBQ night, and then the other times we just ate on our own and went out to eat once. My youngest requested the aunts make something Italian...we had meatballs, Italian sausage in red sauce over mini penne pasta, along with salad and garlic bread and we made Pizza Fritte for dessert. Pizza Fritte is fried dough dipped in sugar and sometime jam. So yummy. 

My moms siblings, plus my girls and I and 2 grandkids

I'm thankful for my family! 

These memories are priceless!

While we were there, I attended a book signing event that was being held at my aunts vineyard. It was so fun. The book was called The Suite Spot and was by author Trish Doller. The setting of the book was on Kelley's Island. It was a cute read and fun to recognize some of the areas mentioned. 

When it was time to head home, we all crammed (and I mean crammed) into the van we rented, for the ferry ride back to the mainland. We stopped at a coffee shop for some coffee and breakfast sandwiches, then headed for my aunts house. My hubby dropped Kaitlynn, the kids and I off since we took a later flight. He and the other two girls returned the rental van, and headed to the airport. We visited with my aunts and uncle a little longer and then one aunt took us to the airport. We stopped for lunch, then at Target for snacks on the plane, then off to the airport. We were glad to arrive early, so we could get settled and the kids could run off energy. However, when we arrived, we discovered the ticket counter didn't open for another hour so we were stuck. We managed and after getting checked in, getting through a long TSA line, and finding our gate, we waited to board. It was a hectic afternoon and at that point, we just wanted to get home. The kids did good and slept for 2 1/2 hours, which was nice. They did just fine on the plane rides. Their mama and I were sure tired though. We arrived in Portland about 10:45, got home around 11:30 and I think I was in bed by midnight. The rest of the family was home by 6:00ish. 

They were troopers!!

Too bad we couldn't be this comfortable

Such a great trip and I think we're hoping to be back there in a few years maybe as a family, but I am planning on going back next fall to help with the grape harvest. I think that would be fun. 

If you like history I encourage you to do a google search of the island or check out the links at the beginning of the post or on my post from 2021. There is so much interesting history and stories, I just don't have time to delve into them. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin