Ashtabula, OH

The Elks lodge in Astabula, Ohio has 3 electric hookup spaces for travelers and therefore became a destination as we turned east. We are parked approximately 200 yards from the shore of Lake Erie. Someone in the Elk's Lodge last night told us there was nothing to do here but I beg to differ. We were hoping for a rest! There are 14 lighthouses along the shore, 17 wooden bridges on the back roads, and 20 wineries sprinkled throughout the county for starters.

We were even entertained by the raising of the Bascule bridge to allow pleasure boaters out of the harbor.

The town became a major oil and coal port after the harbor was discovered in 1796.
We visited the Ashtabula Marine Museum in the old historic district and learned 16 tons of information about the coal industry. The museum is housed in the 1871 lighthouse keeper's quarters.

They even had a restored steamship pilothouse which offered a spectacular view of Ashtabula Harbor. This conveyor loads the coal into the silos near the dock where the freighters load.


We watched a freighter back into port and load coal while a volunteer explained the process and much more to us. Nearby railroad cars come from many places in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio bringing coal that is dumped at the port. Conveyor belts transport it to waiting freighters. Much of it is shipped across the lake to a nuclear reactor in Canada.

"Mother Hubbard's Cupboard" and "The Great Imporium" were code words for the Hubbard House to slaves following "the drinking gourd," or the big dipper to freedom. In the 1840s brick house, the Hubbard House Underground Railroad Museum, we learned what an important role it played for escaping slaves before the Civil War. The slaves waited there until a ship arrived to take them to Canada. There was a nice display of period furnishings and quite a Civil War collection of artifacts also.

A text from my daughter Kay gave me a heads up that the Razorbacks were playing Georgia. We were off to a sportsbar, the Crow's Nest, to watch the new quarterback. He did ok but the rest of the team has much work to do! This also gave us an opportunity to see the draw bridge bathed in its blue lights.

Oh, did I mention we came here to rest. Now on Sunday will it be a winery tour, lighthouses, or covered bridges? Vote for two!