May 31, 2025

East Shores Expedition

We have unofficially kicked off summer in our favorite nearby Lake Erie Shores & Islands. This year, we decided to check out more things to do around Sandusky, Ohio, and the area's east side, which includes Milan, Huron, and Berlin Heights! Whether you take a week, a long weekend, or a day trip, you will find something fun in our itinerary below!

Where to stay

When you need a little space to spread out or entertain up to 6 friends or family members, look no further than Bayfront Resort at Cross View.

Their luxury cottages offer comfortable, modern accommodations with a full kitchen, laundry, tub/shower combo in the bathroom, living room with fireplace and TV, bunk beds, and a loft with a queen mattress! The private bedroom also offers a queen bed, TV, dresser and a spacious closet to unpack and stay awhile!

While not inside the cottage, sit on the deck, look out over Sandusky Bay, or dip in the accessible outdoor pool. Then unwind at night with a fireside dinner just outside the cottage! Located just minutes from Cedar Point and Downtown Sandusky, Bayfront Resort at Cross View is where we will return again and again!

What to see

Cedar Point

• While known for several record-breaking roller coasters, this amusement park on a peninsula of Sandusky, Ohio, on Lake Erie, offers amazing thrills, live shows, music, and phenomenal landscaping for any garden lover!
• Walk around, get on a ride if you’re curious, or people-watch. There is so much to do here, so be sure to appreciate all the details we often miss if we don’t take a moment to take it in!

Downtown Sandusky Cedar Point Historical Museum

• Step back in time and see Cedar Point’s 150+ years of memorabilia as you browse the Merry-Go-Round Museum collections.
• Happiness and nostalgia often come to mind when we think of what amusement park fun was like in past eras.
• Be sure to also take a ride on the carousel afterward!

Lake Erie Arms

• Going to a shooting range wasn’t on our bingo card for 2025, but here we are.
• The world-class indoor complex includes classrooms, meeting space, a lounge, restaurant, and bar for members, a cafe for visitors, and one of the country's only indoor clay shooting houses.
• Learning about the safety and education Lake Erie Arms stands for is so important in our society right now. We hope more people can benefit from their services and programs.

Where to eat + drink

Cedar Point Grand Pavilion & Bar

• Take a stroll along The Boardwalk, a recently reimagined area of the park along Cedar Point Beach. Here, you’ll find the stunning Grand Pavilion, which evokes a historic side of Cedar Point—when it was a dance hall and gaming center that entertained folks more than 150 years ago!
• The restaurant offers plated meals in a quick service format. Our favorites include the chicken drumsticks and the cheesy potatoes.
• Enjoy your meal downstairs with views of Lake Erie or the park, then go upstairs for a drink from the bar!

Quarry Hill Winery

• Owners Ben and Brooke Gammie met in college as engineering majors and are now the third generation of the business. Ben’s dad, Bill Gammie, still works on the farm!
• Quarry Hill offers guests the opportunity to meet the farmers as part of their experience. For more information about their team, please visit their website here.
• Events at the winery include book clubs, food trucks, and other seasonal celebrations. For instance, this spring, they hosted an egg hunt that was a hit for the whole family!
• When you visit, stop by the Market Barn for fresh produce from late June through harvest time. Enjoy a scoop of real fruit ice cream at Quarry Cones! Consider extending your day and heading out to Huron's nature preserve and beaches, such as Nickel Plate Beach.

Where to shop?

Beagle Bay Knot Works

• Owners Chris and Randy are entertaining; she actually got him into boating!
• Randy loved the line work of a boat next to them in a marina, and the captain of that boat showed him a few things!
• Then, in the 1980s, they made sailor bracelets, which started to gain popularity. Randy made Chris one she could take off.
• We learned how to crown! We each made a keychain. Crowning is used on bell handles, fenders, etc.
• Beagle Bay can host workshops for up to 10 participants at the store in Huron or travel to events, shows, and other venues.

Big Ship Salvage

• Lake life brought us together from our early days of dating, when we lived in Madison, Wisconsin.
• Jim Unger buys salvage goods from shipwrecks and other nautical goods.
• Big Ship Salvage has supplied movie studios, and its pieces are featured in Top Gun: Maverick and at properties like JW Marriott in Marco Island. Jim also goes to America’s Oldest Flea Market annually in Brimfield, Massachusetts.
• We chose a polished brass convoy sconce light, perfect for our outdoor living area. We love the significance that “lake life” brings to our lives, dating back to our early days in Madison, Wisconsin.
• Jim and the team are excited to open a second store, Nautical Trading Co., in Port Clinton, OH. The store is in Harbor Light Landing, across from the Shores & Islands Welcome Center - West!