How To Vacation Like Your Grandmother

We just had two days of Indian Summer, and now it’s cold, rainy and windy again. So when I noticed I never posted the pictures from Kelleys Island … well, what better way to start the weekend?

That shot up top is actually from Bergman Orchards in Port Clinton, before hopping on the ferry to the island. We always stop for produce for the week, but now they’ve got this guy doing barbecued pork. And I totally want to steal his rig.

He’s got multiple trays rotating in there holding a ridiculous amount of pork loins.

Good to see he cooks by temperature.

He told me he uses the loin because it’s boneless, so it’s easier to prepare on-site. And if you cook it right, it’s just as flavorful as shoulder. (Though you end up with chunks instead of pulled pork.)

He also had the potatoes and corn on the same trailer.

(By the way, click on any of the photos for a larger version.)

Ana wanted the pork, Winnie wanted ice cream. But Ana let her have a sample.

She seemed to like it pretty well.

I went outside to get some veggies while she finished up.

Came back to find her still working on it.

They finally finished up and we went to Cheesehaven, just up the road. They’ve got the longest cheese counter I’ve ever seen.

I always sample the 30-year aged extra-sharp cheddar … then buy the smoked cheddar.

Before you think that the whole trip is about nothing but food, we also sight-see the gulls on the ferry.

And we draw them in for closeups by … feeding them bread. (Dammit, the whole trip is about food.)

I’m sure we ate something the first night there, but I didn’t take any more pictures until the next morning, when we had the apple bread.

And the next morning we broke out the black raspberry preserves.

Both the bread and the preserves came from Bergman. They’ve got some great local suppliers.

While we were on the island, we checked out some of the livestock.

No, we didn’t try to eat the donkeys.

The venison on the other hand … if we wanted to we could have almost grabbed them from the van.

They mostly ignored us, though usually at least one of them kept an eye on us.

Until they got a little farther away.

(Don’t forget, click the photos for larger versions.)

It’s scenes like this one — the sun going down behind Put-in-Bay — that makes us seriously consider moving there.

If only there were some land for … waitaminnit.

Or perhaps we could buy an existing place. Like this one, which displays some … interesting design choices.

So back at our room, the girls wanted to set the table.

They went “fancy”, with the forks standing at attention (kinda), the knives wrapped in the napkins, and a shell for a napkin holder.

The rest of the shells made up the centerpiece.

And how does a 9-year-old know about centerpieces, anyway?

Believe it or not, these shells were collected in the woods, at one of the higher points on the island.

Proof that water once covered the whole island. Neat.
 
 
 

Well, it’s still cold and rainy out. And now I’m wishing it were August again. Yep, this was a great idea. [sigh]