There are many items I can’t seem to live without here in the nation’s Great Lakes Region this December. Now that the mercury has plummeted and the terrain has turned to tundra number one is fur. Whether worn or used to fashion the home, real or simulated to save the animals, I can’t surround myself or drape myself with enough of the everlasting look, luxury and warmth.
The Vintage Sage Fox Fur coat is available online and sets the tone for stepping out in the glacial domain. The worn-before garment is priced anywhere between one hundred and twelve hundred dollars depending which style and company is chosen. Splurge to stay sizzling when everyone else suffers slightly in a polyester wool blend.
This year I dressed up the mantle and tree in faux fur to compliment a “Let it Snow” holiday decor theme to celebrate Christmas on the River. There are two options which can’t lead the home stylist off-target. Components from Michaels Shimmer Noel Collection or invest in Nicole Miller white soft luxury. I mixed up the two labels throughout the home for a pleasurable experience.
Especially at a time when the outside elements are clearly not so pleasurable these tricks show the North Pole-like climate is conquerable and also one to celebrate.
Josie is spending Holiday 2016 at the family home located on the Coastal Ohio Trail where temperatures are barely hovering in the double-digits. The land, and river, is frozen.
The mercury will barely be in the double-digit range today across Coastal Ohio and the Lake Erie Islands. There is a wind advisory and the sun is shining! Cold weather and ice doesn’t have to equate to all out inquietude. Find glee in the gear. Here’s what I can’t live without for these next couple of weeks starting with my first generation iPad.
The iPad was given to me as a Holiday 2010 gift. I use as a Kindle for reading. I just downloaded three new books last night including Settle for More by Fox anchorwoman Megyn Kelly. $9.99 gives readers a month of unlimited downloads.
Snuggle up and read or rest on a feather top mattress topper. This one is from LL Bean. The added warmth and fluffy feather fill keep feelings of being frigid at bay. Cover with more down for added icing of comfort.
Next to the bed I have a Josie Style for the Home white faux fireplace. Here the hearth not only emits ambiance, the furniture acts as a bookcase, and this time of year is appropriate for knitted stockings (twenty-year vintage Macy’s). (Stocking holders are vintage Kroger Co.) Originally designed for space in Chester Avenue Lofts in downtown Cleveland to fill in blank space, this home element, The Chester Fireplace equals upscale Ohio.
The Fall Fashion item is the new Sperry Saltwater Duck Boot showcasing vintage style. A pair of poorly constructed shoes will derail owners trying to take on the Lake Erie and the Ohio coastline elements.
“With our weather, where this week alone the mercury goes from 80 degrees down to 54 degrees so you kind of don’t know what you’re going to get into. Its nice to have a good pair of boots on your side,” advises Anne-Marie Burlingame a sales associate at Newport Clothing and Gear in the West Marine shopping plaza on Catawba Island.
Fall style on the Coastal Ohio Trail and Lake Erie Island System, whether for a man, or a woman, calls for Sperry. Keeping those tootsies toasty isn’t high-living but a sine qua non.
Burlingame emphasizes. “That’s the fun thing about Newport is we bring the beauty to the necessity. You don’t have to have clunky, ugly rubber boots, you can have pretty ones and (this is) where the wellies come in and the Sperrys.”
The $120 price tag is worth every penny for two reasons; shoppers are buying from a thirty-year old locally-owned, family store, and these kicks can take on Ohio’s North Coast elements.
Josie is an award-winning journalist, former TV Anchorwoman, Mutli-Media Specialist and mom to Bosco Ohio’s Lab Pup.
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.
Time to ditch the Bugaboots for a sea-worthy pair of Sperry Shoes. Or at the very least pack them away in a dark closet with your parka. The snow has melted, the rivers have swelled and everyone will be making a break for Lake Erie vacation land within the next two weeks. The Lakefront and Lake Erie Islands will be poppin’ until school starts and Labor Day wraps up.
The ferry systems have already started taking passengers around the glacial waters. $495 buys an individual all-season passport to take the Jet Express to Kelley’s Island or Put-In-Bay allowing travelers access from either of the launches in Sandusky and Port Clinton. Miller Boat Line one-way fares are just seven dollars. To catch this ferry, drive to Catawba Island to the end of Route 53 North and hop on the cargo cruiser with the essentials. The Miller Boat Line also makes trips to summertime’s party central, Put-In-Bay (South Bass Island) and the eight hundred and five-acre Middle Bass Island where the historic Lonz Winery awaits. I’ll have more on Pelee island, the largest island in Lake Erie and southernmost habited point of Canada a little later in the season.
Access Kelley’s Island via the Kelley’s Island Ferry stationed in Marblehead. This island is so laid back, old Umbro shorts from the 90s are perfectly acceptable attire to don while driving a golf cart to take in the glacial grooves or play some putt-putt.
These hidden gems of The Great Lakes region are that laid back.
So, as to not stick out like a lighthouse here are the items to snag from in Spring 2016 that define Coastal Ohio living.
At Skipper Bud’s Marina Del Isle in Marblehead crew is on deck ready to help anyone develop their dream. The belief for Spring 2016 is that equates to this 48 Cantius Cruiser Yacht. Navigate the entire Great Lakes System in this 435 HP IPS 600 Volva Penta engine masterpiece. The craft has a Helm Companion Lounge, kitchen, two queen-size bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a wet bar and is nicely equipped with a 10-speaker sound-system and jack for an iPod. The price right around $1.3M. DJ and drinks are not included.
On over to Lakeside… Whether visiting the community for band camp, or looking for an oasis on Lake Erie to play endless games of shuffleboard, this charming community is so nostalgic all days and dreams are filled with ice cream cones and beach cruiser bicycles. This $324,00 property at 657 Maple includes a three bedroom home and two-story guest cottage with an additional two bedrooms. Call Lakeside Chautauqua Realty 419-341-0142 to take a peek inside.
Cottage Cove lakefront development in Marblehead has some lots for sale. A 50x 85′ lot in this community is priced at $82,000. There are about twelve cookie-cutter modern cottages making up this development which lies a stones throw away from the lighthouse. Perfect for a retiree, weekend retreat, or any couple or family looking to escape mainstream America. Call John at 419-504-8601 to take a look at Lot Number Nine (No. 9).
Matthew Jarrell with Welch’s Golf Carts on HWY 20 west of Perrysburg shows the EZ Go Express S4 priced an an easy $8595. The shredded tires and adjustable rear seat take this six-passenger ride from the course, to camping, to the street. The model is featured in flame red and is gas powered with an ability to reach speeds of 21 mph. This versatile ride is the perfect toy for under $10,000 especially for nearby village residents where golf carts have been made street legal.
Kayak any of the rivers, harbours or use this Saba fourteen-foot, sit-in kayak by West Marine in the Bay. This craft, shown off by Laurie Cooper at the Catawba Island West Marine boasts of versatility to take recreational enthusiasts anywhere in and around Lake Erie. This adjustable two-seater comes equipped with a live well. From kayakers to advanced fishermen everyone can enjoy the low $699 price tag. Add another $100 for paddles and $200 for life vests.
Guiseppe’s Wine Cellar on Main Street in Amherst stocks Veuve Clicquot. For just $65.99 per bottle. This sparkling spirit is the creme de la creme of quality champagnes and one of the best selling in the world. Buy an entire case of twelve at Guiseppe’s and receive 10 percent off. $791.88 (plus Ohio tax) the price tag for a Spring Soiree! Private social calendars determine whether one case is enough to last one party, through Memorial Weekend or all the way to August 1. Either way, drink champagne and save water.
Josie Style for the Home 18×24 “Love the Great Lakes” is a hand drawn ink blueprint of the entire region. Bring the energy of the outside in and fill in less than interesting, unoccupied space with a sophisticated twist. Ultra-posh framing is also available. Call for pricing 305-395-8890. Additional blue print information with depths and temperatures is also available. Design a Life you Love, Love the Life you Live!
After the sun dips down turn the heat on in the outdoors. These commercial patio heaters from Kroger Marketplace are less than a hotel room at Put-In-Bay. For just $189 guests will appreciate the added warmth this spring. Until the mercury begins to move during heated summer months make this a buy for the backyard.
Sperry and Jaws are about to “pair” up to produce some jaw-dropping boat shoes for summer. The Spring 2016 collection still has plenty of styles and colors to choose from. These two pairs can be found at Newport Clothing and Gear on Catawba Island. Mention seeing this reminder to take on spring in Sperrys here, and the store will give you twenty percent off of the $110 price tag. Step into spring with sea-side style.
Crabby or cute! Either way this printed Spring 2016 collection by Lighthouse Apparel can be found at Newport Clothing on Catawba Island. Priced from $25 – $59.50 for a 1/4 zip sweater the patterns are sure to cheer even on cloudy days. Accessorize with Bella Shoulder Bag by Spartina for $155 and $28 Seaside Wristlet. Photo courtesy: Newport Clothing and Gear
Brooks Running has brought out the new colors for Spring 2016 and The Ghost Model 8
shows competitors at the start a metallic charcoal lime punch. The shoe sports a wider toe and is lighter. Runners need new shoes every 300 – 500 miles so run on over. Available for purchase at Dave’s Running Shop in Perrysburg for $119.95. Styles for ladies are even more sleek.
Perfect to wear playing in the rain, planting tomatoes and strawberries in the garden, or even hiking the wet Coastal Ohio Trail. These Women’s Rain Boots are by Joules. Playful puppies are the print this style flaunts. Found at Target wallets won’t dry up at $74.99 per pair. Striking stripes and polka dot patterns are also available.
Once the salt is off the roads the season turns to “race season” in Coastal Ohio. This is Ford Motor Country and a straight shot down from Motor City. Drive anything that can burn and turn on the scenic highways and byways along the lake. These Skechers Sport showcase an ultra-thick sole with memory foam. This style slips on and is shaped to feel the gas and brake pedals perfectly under the pads of feet. They can be found at any Kohl’s for $64.99.
Jim Siemer’s watercolors certainly capture the splendor of Spring. He is an artist from the state capitol and his parents built a home on Middle Bass Island back in the 80s. Lake Erie Art and Ohio Artwork celebrates a 10-year anniversary in 2016. Shown is Lonz Winery priced between $3 – $60. The inviting depiction of Lonz Winery would show off the state anywhere the owners decide to place the piece. Head on over to ohioartwork.com to see his collection.
“We have over 14,000 hanging right now today.”
The hallmark of Bench’s flowers are their 14,000 seasonal hanging baskets. Jill Bench shows off the Glossy Grape made of purple Petunias and Labularias. For $34.99 buy two to show guests your attention to annuals. The hanging baskets are all planted by hand and cost between $15.99 – $49.99. Bench’s is located one mile west of Elmore on Scenic Route 105.
Mary Roehl at Angel 101 on Louisiana Avenue in Perrysburg has a plush collection to showcase love and life on the lake. She shows us the pillow collection made by “Go Jump ” with pricing ranging from $35 – $55. The slogans, sewn in a sturdy, carpet-like material will take any inside design scheme from winter to spring and well into summer. Pick one up during the Perrysburg Farmer’s Market scheduled for every Thursday starting May 5 and ending October 13, 2016.
Have zero fears if a case of Veuve Clicquot isn’t in the budget for Spring 2016. Nothing is more festive than a $9.50 bottle of White Walleye from the Mon Ami Wine Wine Shop in Port Clinton. Or, pay $102.60 for the entire case. Shouldn’t be any surprise how well this dry wine with notes of banana and apples pairs with a Walleye dinner. Life is on the lake savor the local goods around us. Serve chilled.
Elyria’s Andrea Vecchio has written a book with bounce. Pick up “Live Your Playlist” to place in your beach or weekend tote. The pages flip fast and reads as if the former WKYC Italian-beauty talk show host is talking to the reader. Perfectly organized reading this is like taking in an electronic blog; but better because, this is a book by an accomplished, local author.
Joseph Koler from the Florida Keys watches a Polar Bear at the Toledo Zoo. Admission for him is $16 for 2016. $19 for adults. Such experiences pave the way to a viewing expedition in their natural habitat when they’re older. Add a chicken strip lunch to this excursion complete with Jell-O, whipped cream and a gummy bear on top and bingo youngsters from around the globe are in heaven on the Anthony Wayne Trail for less than $30.
In Westlake pop in to Cleveland’s Number One Skin Care Specialist for a facial and leave with Gabriel Correctives SPF 30. This product offered at Westshore Skin & Health Center is paba and oil free and does not clog pores. Aestheticians can also mix the formula with custom foundation. Soak up the sun just reflect any damaging rays. A 4 ounce bottle is $16.75. The owners have a home in Key West and know how damaging the sun can be.
Grab a bottle of Method’s All-Purpose Pink Grapefruit Cleaner to leave the cabin, cabana, every nook and cranny sparkling and smelling as fresh as fruit. Priced around $3.59 – $4.59 depending on where this is purchased the effects give everyone the sense the maid just came through. Take the daunting task of spring cleaning, and at the very least, make the chore chemical-free.
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. Her passions: fitness and design.
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