Return to Snake Island-Cedar Point 2015

Last week, we got to go on a little family getaway to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio.

A few years ago, we met up with my brother and his family there, and this year, we decided to do it again — this time also meeting up with our dear friend Vikki and her family.

June 29th was the day I said we could spend the whole day at Cedar Point. It was a Monday, but thankfully it worked for everyone involved — and a big thank you to everyone who worked around my husband’s crazy schedule!

It wasn’t until a week before the trip that Vikki told me June 29th wasn’t just any Monday — it would have been her brother David’s 55th birthday.

David passed away from cancer in October 2013, just two years ago.

(Photo of Vikki with her brother, David)

Vikki with her brother, David.

It hit me right where my heart and my stomach meet.

It wasn’t an accident that we picked this date.
This date picked us.

We arrived safely at our little cabin on Lake Erie and met up with my brother and his family.

Yay!! Let’s go to the pool!! When it’s only 73 degrees outside!! OKAY!!!

The husbands were gracious (and slightly insane) enough to go in with the kids — which turned out to be a good thing, because the pool water was a brisk 65 degrees.

Looking at our new pet snakes

When we got back from the pool, we learned that the teenagers had planned to swim in the lake… but were stopped.

Something was moving in the rocks.

Snakes.

It turns out we had a snake problem.

Or, more accurately — they had a human problem.

That snake? Just one of many living in the rocks a literal stone’s throw from our cabin.

So allow me to introduce the Lake Erie water snake — say hello.

They like to sprawl out on the rocks and sun themselves all day like they own the place.

That was just one.

By our final count, there were eleven snakes at our cabin.
On one particular afternoon.
JUST OUR CABIN.

Not the other cabins. Just ours.

I do recall plenty of mentions of “bug problems” in the TripAdvisor reviews for these cabins right on Lake Erie.

But strangely, no one mentioned a “snake problem.”

Probably because the person who did… woke up to a box of snakes on their front porch three days later.

Our cabin was beautiful. Peaceful, even — if you looked beyond the snakes.

Oh, and apparently these snakes are known for keeping the bugs away.

We still had bugs.

THEY WEREN’T EVEN DOING THEIR JOB.

Oh — and the snakes swim, too.

On our first night, my sister-in-law and I were sitting on the deck when I said, “Umm, Kristy… is that a snake swimming?”
Yes. Yes, it was.

It was like we were in Hell.

If my grandmother were still alive, she would’ve never left the car.

So if you’re thinking about swimming at the beach here?
Just know you’ll have company.

Little snakes.
Wearing tiny life jackets.

We woke up to find the snakes poking their little heads out of the rocks.

Why?

Because we had donuts.

Apparently, snakes love donuts!

I even said good morning to them.

They were… growing on me.

Vikki’s dad, Jack, holds a special place in my heart.

As I mentioned earlier, this day was David’s birthday.

I thought about him often throughout the day and would occasionally give Vikki or her dad a hug.
I know it had to be a hard one for him, too.

Jack rode somewhere between 8 and 10 roller coasters that day.

He also quietly mentioned that he might be “slowing down a little.”

I WANT TO BE HIM WHEN I GROW UP.

Every time I look at this picture, I laugh out loud.

Ella was obsessed with these little cars and wanted to ride them over and over again.

Vikki’s daughter, Beth, is in the passenger seat, with her sweet friend Emily riding in the back.

The best part?

These two teenagers were just as excited to ride with Ella as she was to ride with them.

At the end of the night, my daughter Anna and her friend Abby — along with Beth and her friend Emily — ran from ride to ride in Camp Snoopy with my nephew and my youngest daughter, who squealed with glee.

Those two kids will never forget that night.

And I’ll never stop being grateful for teenagers who do things like that — small, generous deeds that make magic out of a Monday.

Ella spent nearly the entire day by Jack’s side — or “Grampa,” as she called him.

She told him long stories, pushed him lovingly in his wheelchair, and simply enjoyed being near him.

I think it was good for both of them to have this day together.

I had never heard of these before — or maybe I was completely oblivious — but the moment I spotted the cart, I heard angels singing and the clouds parted.

No, seriously. The clouds parted and it stopped raining.

My all-time favorite part of Cedar Point has always been the older Frontier section.

It was bittersweet to say goodbye to our family, friends, and Cedar Point, but we decided this needs to become an annual tradition.

Spending the day with our loved ones in such a fun place was pure joy.

We got to talk, hold hands, and make so many wonderful memories together.

On our way out of town, we always stop at our favorite lighthouse in Marblehead.

I didn’t have the heart to tell the girls that the snakes swim.

So back to that lighthouse:

So, the lighthouse was open to the public — which is very rare.

I can do roller coasters, no problem. But Ferris wheels? Fire towers in state parks? Lighthouses along the Great Lakes? No thank you.

I don’t know what we were thinking. Maybe we were riding a Cedar Point high or something. But on this day, we decided to go all in and climb to the top of the Marblehead lighthouse.

Anna and her friend took the lead, skipping up the narrow, winding staircase two steps at a time.

Then came Mike, Ella in the middle, me, and a lady behind me — probably in her late sixties — who made me laugh so hard I was thankful she was with us in the lighthouse of death.

I named her Barbara.

Barbara behind me was panicking, whispering things like, “Oh my goodness, this is horrible, this is awful, I don’t know if I can do this… that’s a long way down… oh dear heavens… oh my goodness, we just keep getting higher and higher… look how far down the bottom is… no, don’t look, keep looking straight ahead… yeah, that’s better.”

Her running commentary is the reason I’m still alive today, ladies and gentlemen.

I’m seriously thinking about renaming this blog A Barbara Life because, God bless her soul, she saved me that day.

When we reached the top, Mike and I literally clung to the wall for five seconds, gasped for air like we were giving birth, then threw ourselves back down the stairwell.

Barbara? She never made it out of the stairwell.

Barbara might still be there.

On the way home, we stopped at a place that’s become somewhat of a tradition: Cheesehaven.

We used to come here when we were kids.

I’m sure a lot of kids get upset when their parents pull over at a metal building filled with cheese and smoked meat on the way to Cedar Point — because let’s be honest, that’s probably the last place you want to be as a kid.

But as an adult? That’s exactly the first place you want to go.

On the way home, we made a stop at Notre Dame. None of us had ever seen the campus before, and we thought it would be a nice way to break up the trip.