St. Patricks day weekend we headed to Erie Pa for a gig with one of my favorite bands -The Tradesman, at 9th and State Beer.  What a fun bar/beer store.  We really enjoyed ourselves and I may have partaken a green beer or two and a slice of reuben pizza.  After the show we stopped down the road to see another friend at Scotty’s Martini Lounge then thought we would head home.
Although the week before had been a bit mild we certainly didn’t luck out on temps this particular evening.  We weren’t on the road very long and decided we needed to find a place to sleep-we tucked into a truck stop and crawled under the blankets……man was it cold!  We both woke up early and decided we would make a few stops on the way first -breakfast.  We stopped in at Mary’s Diner in Geneva Ohio and filled our bellies with a hot breakfast and coffee.  It was just what we needed to start the day.
From there we headed back to the same areas I had photographed just three weeks before.  I was curious to see how much our ice dunes had melted.  Wow what a drastic change as you can see in the images.  The railing I photographed this time was completely buried under the ice dunes before.  There was also a lot of visible water on the lake, a sure sign that spring was right around the corner. 
The day was warming up and the sun was bright.  Next and final stop was the Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio near University Circle.  The Lakeview Cemetery is known for it’s beautiful stone sculptures, President Garfield’s monument, Alan Freed’s headstone, Elliot Ness’ burial spot and The Haserot Angel.  While it was all very beautiful, I was mesmerized by the Haserot Angel, it was if her eyes followed me wherever I went.  considered to be the angel of death, she holds in her hand a torch turned upside down to represent the extinguishment of life.  The cemetery itself has beautiful grounds.  I look forward to going back on a warmer day once the foliage starts to come out a bit more and explore more of the stone work and visit the Angel again.

A few weeks ago Mr. Trent and I took time to head up to Lake Erie so I could photograph the ice dunes.  We had a pretty severe wind storm in northeast Ohio and the result was an ice tsunami on February 25th 2019.  The very strong, some hurricane strength winds pushed the ice waves-some over 30 feet against the shores.  Knowing this was not an everyday occurrence I wanted to get images of these. 
Far too often lately I have been putting off my little photo adventures to deal with the day to day.  I made the decision that March 2 would be the day.  It was going to be cold, March came in like a lion if you are basing it on temperatures.   So, I packed up all my gear and warm clothes-we hopped in the van and headed toward the northern shores! 
As I checked out some places to have breakfast on the way I realized we were at the beginning of the maple syrup season.  The sap is flowing.  What better than stopping on the way to the shores then to have a delicious Belgian waffle with Geuga county maple syrup in front of a big open fireplace-romantic and delicious.  We went to the Sno-Chalet at Punderson State Park.  We each had a Belgian sugar waffle and an order of hash browns which were also cooked on the waffle maker with a delightful cheese and bacon mix.  What a way to start the day.  As we sat in front of the fire we planned our route to the shore via the Maple Madness Tour.
The Maple Madness Tour takes one around to a lot of the sugar houses in the area.  You can take part in many activities and see how maple syrup is made.  This part of our little adventure was pretty sweet.  The tour spots can be a bit busy and crazy, but it is a must see in Ohio.
After visiting a couple of stops we headed on up to Fairport Harbor to see the lighthouse.  I am sure you all are aware of my obsession for lighthouses so any trip to any shore includes at least one.  The ice in Fairport Harbor was not what I expected but that did not keep me from snapping a couple hundred images.  There were some very big logs washed ashore there.  From there we headed up the coast toward the east and stopped in Geneva, Ohio.
In Geneva the ice was more impressive, so I busily snapped away in the cold winds.  My Nikon tolerated it like a trooper!  My hands and face might have been numb, but I did not care!  The brisk air felt good after being indoors with the crust crud the week before.  Something about cold fresh air after a bodies been sick is good for the soul.  Mr. Trent suggested our next stop to be in Geneva.
 
We stopped at the township park in Geneva-on-the-lake-this was by far my favorite spot.  The ice dunes here were massive-my images do not do justice to the size!  We carefully walked around watching for fissures-mind you the lake in this area was still very frozen at this time.  Safety first (well most of the time).  I was running out of daylight and pretty tired, enough adventure for one day. we decided to get dinner and head home with one final stop at Walnut Beach Park in Ashtabula. The ice dunes were impressive here also.  The sun was setting it was a nice end to a beautiful day.