Mike “Mad Dog” Adams performs day before as part of memorable weekend
May 22, 2024
St. Hazard’s Resort Middle Bass Island, Lake Erie
Two standout artists from the global, island music scene are set to drop anchor in the middle of Lake Erie for what is guaranteed to be a sold out audience.
Advanced reservations required for the Peter Mayer show with tickets from ten to thirty dollars. A cover charge and reservations are not required for Saturday’s “Mad Dog” event. Call 419-285-6121 for reservations.
This following, a sweet show with well-known regional comedian and daydreamer, Mike “Mad Dog” Adams. More on that returning act as you read. But first, Peter is a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He has performed for crowds of thousands over the course of three decades with the legend and late, Jimmy Buffet. Brendan, also a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter toured with Buffet in 2014 and performs regularly as a soloist and with his trio.
Here is what attendees, day trippers, islanders, guests, locals, workers, boaters and campers need to know for this show.
There are choices to catch these sweet sounds and treat oneself to this jam session: pay general admission, VIP price or for a table. Tables can accommodate between four to eight people around our fire pits. Here is what they look like. We do need you to call and reserve your pick. 419-285-6121 is the number.
Perfect for an intimate gathering.
Tent camping is available as well as other accommodations. We rent chalets, we have one villa available, as well as the cabins for a comfortable stay equipped with a/c, refrigerators and microwaves. Showers and toilets can be accessed via the on site bathhouse. Vehicles full of gear can be brought across the lake via the Miller Boatline.
Call 419-285-2421 to make a reservation in advance for a vehicle and or a boat. As always, plan ample amount of time to buy tickets, park the vehicle and board the ferry. Ferries to MBI always depart from the docks at the very tip of Catawba Island (the edge of Ohio’s mainland) on time.
Shuttle bus rides are available once one reaches MBI for three dollars per person, per way. This service is always available once vacationers and locals reach our island.
The Sonny-S Boatline will run trips from MBI and The Boardwalk on SBI (South Bass Island) all summer and for this event and weekend as well. Check the schedule and further information about fares here.
As mentioned above, famed entertainer of the Lake Erie Islands, Ohio’s Northcoast, Ohio’s Vacationland and Cleveland, Mike “Mad Dog” Adams will wow the crowd at St. Hazards the Saturday prior, June 22, 2024 starting at around 1:30 pm island time. We are looking forward to this pirate, poet and philosopher sharing his talent with us on stage, next to our tiki bar and, adjacent to our wrap-around porch with more outdoor seating.
“Mad Dog” on stage at St. Hazards, MBI Lake Erie in 2023.
What a weekend! Call to learn more, ask questions and let us assist you and your group as you navigate the hottest spot on the North American continent when the calendar reads “summer”. Yes! We have finally reached season on the Lake Erie Islands and can’t wait to have all guests join us for the adventure, connections, pool time, cocktails, mocktails, Sonny-S rides, food and fun as we move into our twenty-sixth season. Bookings can always be done online. Access the rentals and campsites here.
Josie is an award-winning broadcast journalist with tours at WHIZ, KMEG, KGAN, WTOL, WNWO, WOIO. She’s earned a couple of Tellys, awards from the IBNA, covered the presidential elections and wrote her own paper in Key West while working as a (SCUBA) Dive Reporter. On that island she worked with Hyatt Centric Key West Resort & Spa, Southernmost Beach Resort, The Reach Key West Curio, and the Casa Marina Resort amongst others. She’s covered the Key West Songwriter’s Festival. If you see her working as an enterprise journalist poolside in swimwear you can always say hi; or drop her a note at [email protected].
Summer is well underway and I know we’re all either lovin’ on the summer sunshine if we reside on the North Coast, or trying to escape the tropical heat for a climate more tepid if in the South Florida region. I’ve been out and about and as always unplugged, even forgetting, to bring one of my iPhone 7 Pluses along with me.
But, I did my homework. I shopped. I scoured Dillard’s Department store and am toting around these luxury goods to create a summer full of unparalleled products. Once I release these, I’ll release some social media photos to remind everyone exactly what Paradise is.
This is the caviar of face sunscreens on the market. The Re-Nutriv brand is a brand within the Lauder brand. Introduced in 1956 the line contained (and still does) rare and precious ingredients. At the time those were Turtle and Shark Oil plus Royal Jelly. Though those aren’t any longer politically correct ingredients, here is what the product does contain and why I recommend this to anyone and everyone who needs a face sunscreen.
“Rock of Life” Algae. This ancient life form has survived and thrived for over three billion years. The precious fossils are found in Shark Bay Australia, South Africa’s Umbilo River and the Red Sea. The repair and protective benefits are all yours.
EGT. A supercharged amino acid and anti-oxidant recharges skin’s energy to build on the reserves of vitality.
Silketare. Comes from an incomparable sea plant only harvested a few times per year. This remarkable extract helps skin to restore its natural ability to product energy and encourages optimum cell performance.
This UV Base can be worn daily over a serum and/or moisturizer and under makeup. The soft focus optics produces a luminous look give a burst of glowing vitality.
One ounce sells for seventy-five dollars.
Non-acegenic, this is the one tube to tote all year. I always toss on a Panama Jack hat and my polarized Costa Gannetts for a day at the beach or the pool and that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call face sun protection.
Of course I gave the BAE Neoprene Sperrys for his birthday. How else is he going to navigate two sets of island chains but with shoes built for the boat — designed to get wet.
That was a sweet two days of cake, candles champagne and celebrating.
The Lake Erie Islands, showcasing South Bass, Middle Bass and the famed boardwalk of put-in-Bay are the only place to be when the calender reads “summer.”
The brand Sperry embodies a summer spent on, near and around the water. Even more importantly, Sperry is all about being and looking fuss-free while all the while fashionable onboard the boat.
The construction even makes muah — yes me ladies and gentlemen, look practical.
When the store manager at Dillards gave me access, well to the entire store and a fifty dollar spending limit, my soul sniffed out a Lake Erie lifestyle essential I knew I’d be living in all summer long, a pair of Sperry Haven Chambray Lace Ups.
Deliciously designed with string rawhide laces and a non-marking rubber outsole with (trademark) Razor-cut Wave-Siping to disperse water for the ultimate wet/dry traction, I did not have to search far for why Sperry shoes make the statement “I can navigate an island chain and I’m going to accomplish this via boat.”
Resort owner and developer of the most Lake Erie Island vacation rentals Ed Gudenas put his best foot — and shoe — forward and was wearing a pair along with his logo gear while hosting the ladies from Lake Erie Shores and Islands.
The ladies themselves, took in the Caribbean-style 21-acre resort and lakefront property outfit comfortably in this decadent deck shoe.
The day we boarded the Miller Boatline with Lake Erie’s Lab Pup, stowaway Don Massey had his peds crammed into a pair of Columbia’s…cuz he was only mixing up his footwear. The day before he had on his favorite pair of blue Sperrys and had this to say.
“They fit so nice and they’re comfortable and they got enough arch where my feet don’t get tired after ten hours on this boat with these guys,” Massey made it clear the shoe appeals to all age groups, the guys and the gals, and with that — went in for some affection from our four-legged travel companion.
Want the correct makeup for the islands … simply save the contouring for the city — Rock Everyone’s Boat with the Global Cult Favorite Estee Lauder’s Goddess Collection.
Josie has access to the two hundred style count Sperry Shoe collection at Dillards, the Estee Lauder vault of lux skincare and cosmetics, the two bars of exotic rum on MBI and the island vaction rentals. Call 419-862-7143 on the North Coast to buy and for more information. The South Florida number is 305-395-8890.
Easy breezy summer days are exceptionally serene when approached atop a beach cruiser bicycle. There isn’t any headache over trying to find a place to park and unless earbuds are in and there isn’t a stereo to shake up the placid peace. Again and again bicycling proves to be a Shangri-la mode of transport. To shoot Episode I we ventured onto South Bass Island with a bomber aboard the ferry and headed to the town hall for Hatha Yoga with Kathi Spayde. An effortless cruiser fits every island escape.
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David Stover, the service manager at Fremont Cycle and Fitness readied the ride. “What you did was the basic which was a sixty-five dollar tune. That goes over truing the wheels, checking the shifting, putting the brakes in proper order and a light clean-up on the bike. That’s good for what you’re doing.”
Stover shared this in Josie in Paradise, Episode II about pedaling for a better fettle.
Josie in Paradise can be viewed every Sunday at 9:30 p on AT&T U-Verse from Key West to the Florida Keys, across the nation via ROKU on the Ohio X5 Channel, and here.
There isn’t be a more appropriate holiday to make a mark with meat other than Father’s Day. I already tested this dish twice. I serve up these succulent Hot Tub Beer Brats at a party and then, text my dad’s girlfriend in all caps that I have the BIGGEST SURPRISE.
The surprise: I purchased a meat product and then prepared the delicacy for the grill.
These can be steamed in the oven, too.
Check out my video captured at Marblehead Estates & Yacht Club or follow the simple instructions. If I can wow my own father with this marvel which requires only a few basic ingredients and a bottle or two of favorite brew, anyone can be the star of this supper or lunchtime show.
Steam for twenty minutes and then brown for ten on the grill. Using the oven doubles the steam time. The broiler can be used to crisp the outer shell. Serve with sauerkraut, potato salad, pickles (or dill relish) and spicy brown mustard.
Accessible via ferry, plane, or helicopter Middle Bass Island is the ultimate destination in the Great Lakes Region for a romantic get-away. This eight-hundred acre island delivers just the correct dosage of intrigue to make an intimate adventure memorable. Once travelers and tourists reach the ferry launch on Catawba Island, or one of the runways, all of the amenities of the mainland disappear, opening the door for flirtation on an island. Here are the Top Ten reasons why MBI is the hottest of the string of islands nestled inbetween Ohio to Canada.
10. Remote hiking trails allow time to explore off the beaten path. Wildlife encounters are a definite possibility.
9. The entire island is pet friendly. So, even if Fido is your only friend the two of you are bound to have a ball exploring, dining and swimming in the freshwater.
8. The cozy Camping Cabins at St. Hazards all have private fire pits. Grab a locally made bottle of wine and bag of marshmallows from The MBI General Store and show your flame they set you on fire.
7. Enjoy the private beach adjacent to the MBI Yacht Club Condos at St. Hazards Resort. This condominium has the perfect boutique unit number 106 to suit the needs of a private party of two.
6. All of the luxury condo units at St. Hazards Resort have private balconies overlooking the lake.
5. This island boasts of a resort that stocks over one dozen rums. Travelers can enjoy everything from Mojitos made with organic mint grown on property to Ti Punch made with the superior aged Rhum Clement distilled in the French Caribbean. This drink consists of a muddled lime wedge, shot of homemade simple syrup and Rhum Clement. An order of this cocktail infused with exotic spices, coconut, banana and fruit, is elegant and impressive.
4. Home to the historic Lonz Winery, visitors can day trip and pack a picnic lunch to eat overlooking the lake. The MBI General Store sells bottles of wine with labels from Pelee Island, the Lonz Winery and 19 Crimes. Stuff a picnic basket, grab a bottle and open with a Swiss Army Pocket Knife to keep this getaway real. Explore the old Prohibition era wine runs, caves and wine barrels where the wine has been fermented.
3. An old-fashioned water taxi leaves every hour to take guests island hopping from the MBI ferry docks to the famed and most popular boardwalk of the Great Lakes Region known as Put-in-Bay located ten minutes across Lake Erie on South Bass Island. Head over on the idyllic Sonny S ferry for an enchanting day or evening out. The last ferry leaves SBI at 12:30 am every Friday and Saturday during the height of season.
2. Middle Bass Island is home to an airport, plane and helicopter service. Book a tour through Griffing Flying or Paratus Air (914) FLY-HELI for an enchanting and exciting afternoon seeing the island action and Perry’s Victory Monument from above. This is the perfect place and opportunity to propose.
The number one reason why Middle Bass Island is the hottest and romantic island the Great Lakes has for everyone to experience (besides, we can’t help but note, the pool and hot tub at St. Hazards Resort NEVER CLOSES) is … internet is spotty at best. Here one is off the grid and unreachable. Giving travelers, lovers, and sweethearts the opportunity to make unpostable memories.
Besides my 1st Generation iPad from Holiday 2010, loaded with Kindle and The ChesterJosie Style for the Home faux fireplace, (that story here) there are several fundamentals which have made my holiday on glacial ground splendrous. For the perfect cup of cocoa I am spooning up heaping servings of Godiva Dark. I took off on nearly all of my evening hike’s with a cup. Dark chocolate is a powerful source of antioxidants. Underneath one of four pairs of boots I’m rotating I went with Made in the USA boot socks from Amelia’s Organic Legwear from The Kroger Co. They’re super soft and offer the right amount of added warmth, plus stay up! I picked a pair up in every color.
On my face I have been applying a coat of Sarah McNamara’s Skin Transformer Miracle balm on at night and again in the morning. The soothing scent is described as a warm botanical aroma. When the winds are whipping up I apply another layer of Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream on top; namely as a protective shield on my cheeks.
Note: This ointment is safe to rub on the bottom of your pup’s paws to shield from ice scrapes.
These items keep me healthy and happy when the elements have the potential to wreak havoc on an otherwise healthy system. Plus, I could never wait to get home to curl up under The Chester faux fireplace in layers of down. I added the Pedastal Space Heater by Lasko that provides 1500 watts of comforting warmth.
Yes! Middle Bass Island does have a grocery store.
This little roadside joint stands taller in a community of 50 full time residents than every Giant Eagle in Cleveland’s surrounding area. Constructed in 1987 the Middle Bass Island General Store is a grocery store, yet also boasts a fully-stocked bar, restaurant, hardware section and is most notably known as gathering space for the island’s elite.
A Tourist’s Take
“The Middle Bass General Store is a cute little roadside catchall for groceries, eats, drinks and has all the necessities for dinner,” described Conde Nast’s Cynthia Drescher when asked how she would explain the establishment to travelers.
This accomplished journalist, who hails from a bedroom community of Toledo hopped the Miller Boat Line to neighboring South Bass Island and then ferried over on the Sonny S for a day of visiting her younger brother, a bartender by night at Saint Hazards Waterfront Resort and Brewery and photojournalist by assignment during the day.
“You know when you get somewhere, and you don’t know quite what to expect the first time you’re somewhere, and then you walk in and they have everything? I feel more comfortable seeing this aspect,” Drescher explained her reaction as she chewed a Reuben Sandwich and the logistics of where the day’s adventure had taken her.
She calls New York City home right now and shared this sentiment, “This menu showcases island lunch fare. You only expect so much from an island considering it all has to be shipped in. So, I’m not coming out here expecting gourmet food. You don’t even get that on Put-in-Bay. I’m just happy they have it. This is so very local.”
The Owner and the Logistics of Island Groceries
“This is my hometown,” said owner Eddie Sheller, also our bartender, cook and waiter for the meal .
Sheller lived on the island for the first six years of his life and then once his family crossed the unsalted waters to make a home on the mainland, he ventured back to this remote Lake Erie island playground every weekend. In 1992, his dad purchased the property.
Sheller, who stands well over 6’2″, has dark hair, eyes and complexion is best described as the quintessential Great Lakes guy. He always appears to have just walked off of a football field after practice because he’s always wearing workout apparel and sport shoes. The sport isn’t football but survival and supply on an island that remains largely undeveloped. “The Store” is always hiring but Sheller shares he doesn’t have employees.
“Mike is always in here, he just works for beer. I do have a lot of people who just come in and help me out,” Sheller disclosed of the secrets to running the business.
Sheller also spoke like a true island entrepreneur when he admitted he rarely shuts his eyes.
“I don’t [sleep]. When Peggy (Taylor) comes in on Saturday or Sunday, I’ll go home and take a 20 minute nap,” he admitted.
“The Store” boasts of a frozen food section that includes a section of Toft’s. A representative brings over the frozen dessert packed in dry ice on a 40-minute ferry ride across the lake. A refrigerator section contains fruit and dairy products; there’s an aisle of snack food, one with canned dry goods, and other essentials such as Milk Bone dog biscuits, Hawaiian Tropic suntan lotion, contact lens solution and cotton balls. Sliced bread and buns for those impromptu barbecues share an aisle with wine and spirits. The selection includes bottles of 19 Crimes, other blends from California and more unique, regional bottles from Canada’s Pelee Island and Catawba Island on the mainland.
For Sheller the concept is in the store’s simplicity.
“My Dad originally had it stocked, and you knew what necessities you need. Four or five years ago, a small retail consultant came in and assessed the stock. We’re situated on a 755-acre island. There is zero pressure. The only item we run out of are worms or minnows,” he laughed. “People come in here, and they get what they want and they leave. A wine salesman sets the shelves (of wine). If it doesn’t work we sell something else.”
An aisle of souvenirs impress worldly, well-traveled tourists like Drescher whose next assignment will take her to Cuba. Sweatshirts with Middle Bass Island emblazoned across the chest hang from garment racks, and anyone can blow their allowance on Lake Erie Pancake Syrup or artwork showcasing watercolor depictions of island landmarks from Lake Erie Artist Jim Siemer.
The Locals Watering Hole
Peggy, who pops in to relieve and assist the charming grocer, doubles as the island’s United States Post Office employee situated across the street from the store. The evening we stopped in, she was behind the bar in a decorated ball cap pouring drinks and mingling with fellow islanders.
“The people in the bar are 90 percent locals,” Sheller said.
Several generations of families who live and work on the island at least part time are seen alongside local business leaders and the Who’s Who of Middle Bass Island. Their success and family money is displayed on their wrists via Rolex watches.
Jessica Bartels works at both the Middle Bass Island Yacht Club and “The Store”. She’s lived on the island her entire life, and on this particular Friday night encounter, she was in the company of her parents, boyfriend, brother, grandmothers and her friends sipping a decadent after-dinner drink popular on the Lake Erie Islands, a Brandy Alexander.
“My grandparents used to live here year round. Now they’re only here in the summer, and they vacation in Florida. My parents are building a house here,” the recent Bowling Green State University psych grad explained of The Store’s social scene. “My dad works in technology and travels a lot, so whenever he needs to get off the island, he stays over there on the mainland where we have another house.”
Even on such a tiny plot of land accessible only by boat, plane or helicopter, politics are in play.
“About six years ago, and they started changing [The Store] into a bar and restaurant,” the adorable, 20-something blonde remarked. “Eddie has always been a big islander, and so has his Dad.That’s why it’s always been a big place for islanders to gather.”
The Middle Bass General Store is the last structure in ‘town’ located a little less than one mile from the ferry docks. There’s an adjacent hardware store with an entrance strategically located in between the dairy section and Lake Erie souvenirs. This island-go-to-establishment does seem to have everything except a full-blown organic section complete with coconut milk. A pitstop will pose the question to visitors, “What exactly do I need from a corporate superstore? Where’s the owner to serve an after-dinner drink sprinkled with nutmeg?”
Observed Drescher, “I noticed that “The Store” just isn’t your basic BBQ stuff and food for the weekend. The establishment supports the community.”
“If we don’t have it,” said Sheller, “You don’t need it.”
The Middle Bass General Store, restaurant and bar hours change with the season but is open seven days a week. It’s worth the ferry ride over to check out this local gem of the Great Lakes! (419) 285-2608.
Josie is a former TV anchorwoman and award-winning journalist. She grew up 35 minutes west of the Miller Boat line Ferry launch.
To view my slideshow of The Store just click through the pictures I took.
North Coast: No Sharks provides a conversation piece in the kitchen. When the space is blank and boring add style to the home in 2016 with this Great Lakes blue print of the glacial water system responsible for dramatic climate. Covering the 216 and 305 area codes, this piece is a first edition created in downtown Cleveland and captures the energy of the area. Designed in ball point pen ink. For the luxury home — with a twist.
North Coast: No Sharks Josie, Style for the Home JK PR Sales & Design 216 305
Josie is an award-winning journalist and former TV anchorwoman. She grew up on Coastal Ohio and knows many of the nooks and crannies which make the region so spectacular. Fitness and Design are her passions.
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