Day 1: And We're Off

 June 26, 2021

Vanlog, East Harbor SP, Sandusky OH

I left Lancaster this morning at 6:45 AM for a 44-day roadtrip across the country. For the first three weeks, I will be alone (which I hate) and then Jessica and Rachel will fly out to SFO on July 17 and join me in the van. After a week in Yosemite, Rachel will fly home and Jessica will spend the next two weeks driving back east with me. 

I drove four hours west to McConnells Mill State Park. I had never been. The road in was potholed and had very steep turns. I almost got into a sticky situation in a small filled parking lot and had to cross over hte covered bridge, make a three-point turn, and then recross the covered bridge before finding a suitable parking area. The old mill was built by Daniel Kennedy in 1852 and burned down and then rebuilt in 1868. Today, the water still turns the machinery inside and you can take a self-guided tour of three stories of the mill. Right behind the mill is a large dam breast and it overlooks the McConnells Mill Covered Bridge, built in 1874 using the Howe truss design. While in the park, I also hiked to Kildoo Falls and had a picnic lunch. 

Then it was back on the road again for three hours until I reached East Harbor State Park near Sandusky, OH. I checked into the campground there and drove to the beach area. It was a hot 82 degrees so I changed into my suit and jumped in the lake to cool off. After drying off, I lit a charcoal fire right there by Lake Erie and cooked a tin foil meal for dinner. 

Then I drove 5 mi to Marblehead Lighthouse State Park. The lighthouse was built by William Kelly in 1821 and stands 50 ft high. 

I returned to East Harbor State Park and sat by the bay watching a heron in the trees just offshore in the bay as the sun set. It was a quality first day.