A Deo et Rege

On Monday, I left for a short vacation to Sandusky, Ohio. I returned yesterday a lot more tired and a lot more tan/burnt.

Sandusky has a lot of tourist related activities, but is primarily known for the Cedar Point amusement park. There’s actually a lot to do in the general area. The first day, we visited Sorrowful Mother Shrine, which is a huge outdoor area devoted to the Blessed Mother. However, this occurred during a terrible heatwave throughout the Midwest, so we couldn’t stay here very long. That same day, we also visited a nice winery. The area of Ohio along Lake Erie is surprisingly full of wineries.

The second day we had freshly caught and cooked seafood and traveled around a few local small towns and hit another winery. This one had a lot of "character" and would be a beautiful place to live. It was a fun day overall, but once again the heat was terrible and certainly hindered some activities.

The third day we went to Soak City, Cedar Point’s water park. We had wanted to go to Cedar Point, but it was just so hot. The park was quite busy and was a blast. It wasn’t too bad being out in the sun either since we were playing in the water all day! However, Cedar Point was all around us and David and I were constantly drawn to it. The park had a "starlight" special so we went to Cedar Point later in the evening. Fortunately, right as
we were getting in line these two girls came up and offered us a coupon for two tickets for the price of one! Girls, wherever you are, God bless you and thanks! Cedar Point was awesome.

The trip back yesterday was uneventful. It was a really fun vacation and some of the little things made it nice. The hotel had free coffee 24/7 and always had a newspaper with the continental breakfast. Also, most of the area was by Lake Erie which, even with some pollution, looks beautiful. This trip was the "last hurrah" of summer for me. So, in spite of being glad to be back home, I am also a little sad. Like coming off of a great roller coaster, I’m bruised, burnt, and exhausted, yet more than ready to go again.

Photos from Sorrowful Mother Shrine and Lake Erie by Jonathan Bennett (click to enlarge)