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    Close to Columbus: Weekend Trip to Sandusky

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    Since it had been awhile since we have visited the beauty of Lake Erie, we decided to take a short weekend trip with a couple of friends. Driving up Route 4 can be a bit of a sad drive, we passed so many abandoned buildings, buildings starting to – or completely caved in, towns that have been mostly shuttered up and many graveyards. But when you get to the northern part of Ohio, it doesn’t look to have been hit as hard by economic issues and there are many fun things to do. The lake is very pretty also and it makes for a nice getaway.

    Our first stop was Cedar Point. It had been about six years since any of us had been there and the park has added several new rides since. We were provided some complimentary entry tickets for our visit, which made for a great excuse to give the park another whirl this season.

    “This summer, we introduced WindSeeker, a 30-story swing ride that towers above the Cedar Point Beach,” said Robin Innes, Director of Public Relations when we spoke via email about the park. “We also added Pink’s, a world-renowned hot dog eatery. Both have been popular additions to the park. We also introduced American Portrait, a new nighttime show that featured hi def images, patriotic music and pyrotechnics.”

    We took our kids on a few of the family rides, such as the carousels and the giant Ferris wheel, and rode some of the more crazy rides by ourselves, including one of our favorites… Millennium Force.

    “It is not too late to visit Cedar Point this summer,” added Robin. “The park’s last weekend of operation is Friday night through Sunday, Oct. 28-30.”

    For dinner that evening we headed to the Cooker Bar & Grille. You may remember them from the location on Lane Avenue before the doors were closed forever in 2004. Steven Schuster, who was a multi-unit manager for the Cooker Bar & Grille in the 90’s and Paul Baerenstcher, another former multi-unit manager bought the brand name and recipes in 2007 with plans to re-ignite the brand. In November of 2010, their plans were realized when Steven had a completed restaurant in a remodeled building in his hometown of Sandusky with no plans for it yet. And the Cooker Bar & Grille was reborn!

    The pair kept much of the menu the same with a few new updates. I thought that the space is very modern and nice, but feels much cooler than I remember the Lane Avenue location being. Much more gray and silver and diner style. I could be mis-remembering, but I thought the Lane Avenue restaurant was decorated with more reds and orange hues with a more cozy feeling. Regardless, it is still good food.

    On the way to our table, we noticed that they have fruit infused waters. We tried the strawberry. It was a very cool and tasty drink. We also had some Long Island Iced Teas ($4 each) which were a tasty blend and not overpowering with alcohol. For an appetizer we ordered the Fried Green Tomatoes ($6). I love fried green tomatoes and these were good, but the spicy Dijon sauce wasn’t a great pairing for me.

    I got so excited about the fried green tomatoes that I ordered the Fried Green Tomato burger. (Most of their Two-Fisted sandwiches are priced at about $8). It was delicious, but the extra hamburger patty was too much for me.

    Walker ordered the Fried Walleye dish and chose Baked Squash Casserole and Green Beans for his sides. The local fish was lightly breaded and delicious and served over top of a bed of homemade kettle chips. The baked squash was a great side, but it was half cold, which was a bit odd. Otherwise, a very solid meal.

    For our kids, we ordered a Meatloaf ($4) and a Kids Mac & Cheese ($4). The meatloaf had a flavor profile close to stuffed green peppers and it was tasty. The Mac & Cheese was also of the thicker, creamier homemade variety and prepared well.

    Our friends shared an order of Slow Cooked Pot Roast ($9) that came with mushroom gravy and roasted vegetables. They said that they enjoyed it.

    For dessert we split a Brownie Decadence ($4) which was served with vanilla ice cream and raspberry and fudge sauces. It was warm and gooey and delicious. We also split a Key Lime Pie. This was actually more of an ice cream consistency and among the four of us, we agreed that it was the tartest dessert any of us had ever eaten. Well, we didn’t eat much of it. Our waitress assured us that that was the way it was supposed to taste, and that many people do order it and love it, but none of us enjoyed it much. The brownie was much better.

    If you are heading to the Lake Erie area and enjoyed the Cooker in Columbus, you should stop in here and check it out. I think you will enjoy what you find. Steven provided us with a complimentary gift card in advance that covered most of our bill, but even without it we found the prices overall to be quite inexpensive. I would love to have seen the menu feature more local produce, but overall there was a nice assortment of items to order from. Steven and Paul have future plans to bring the restaurant back into other markets, so perhaps we will be enjoying it in Columbus again soon.

    Sandusky can be a difficult place to find last minute lodging. Time had gotten away from us and we were trying to find a place to stay on a Wednesday for that Saturday night. After calling around to several hotels that said they were “always busy this time of year,” I came across the Plantation Motel. Located about 25 minutes east of Sandusky in the town of Huron, the Plantation Motel is a nicely kept property that has about 10 different kinds of units available. Hotel rooms, suites, cottages, RV pads and a house, all available for renting for short term and longer term stays. The property also includes a clear heated pool that we did not have time to enjoy. Although we did take the time to walk through the tall trees to the rocky beach against Lake Erie. Beautiful views and a peaceful area awaited us on the crisp morning. There is a bonfire pit along the waterfront if you’d like to enjoy that (they provide firewood and will even set up your fire).

    We stayed in Suite 122 for $169 (plus taxes). It was about three rooms, 1 bedroom with two double beds with its own bathroom, another bedroom with a double bed, a living room, a full kitchen, another bathroom and a rollaway bed. The living room had a couch and a dining table. Cable TV and free wireless internet was nice. Breakfast was not offered, but there was coffee available in the office.

    Todd Anderson and his wife have owned the property for 28 years. They were very nice to work with over the phone (even agreeing to allow us to have the suite for one night). The Plantation Motel is pet friendly and also had a swingset for children.

    The next morning we headed to a Perkins Restaurant and Bakery in Sandusky for breakfast. It had been a long time since any of us had dined at a Perkins; this one is also owned by Steven Schuster, who surprised us with another gift card for breakfast, so we took him up on the offer to try it out. The restaurant has raised thousands of dollars for the Give Kids the World Village, a charity based in Florida that provides children with life-threatening illnesses a fantasy vacation.

    Heading there for breakfast on a Sunday with a party of 4 adults and 2 kids meant we in for a bit of a wait. Even though the restaurant is pretty large, we waited about 25 minutes before we were seated on the outdoor patio. On our walk to the patio, we passed the bakery case with its temptations! Once our waitress came over to take our drink orders, we quickly ordered a cinnamon roll and a pecan roll. They were both delicious. Unfortunately, these are items that are just made for the day, so if they run out you are out of luck.

    Walker decided to order the Southern Fried Chicken Biscuit Platter (pictured below, left). Hailed has “Two fresh-baked biscuits filled with a fried chicken fillet and American cheese, topped with cream gravy. Served with two large eggs cooked to order, two smoked bacon strips and choice of hash browns or breakfast potatoes,” this very American breakfast clocks in at 1860 calories. But you better believe it is delicious. Would be a good meal to share.

    I ordered a Strawberry Bliss Pancakes, “five buttermilk pancakes with strawberry topping, powdered sugar and whipped topping.” This was 940 calories, so a bit more reasonable, but still five pancakes was too much for me in one sitting. It was a nice dish to split up with our kids. Our friends ordered a Berry Blueberry Pancakes, which is also five pancakes stuffed with blueberries, covered in blueberries and powdered sugar and whipped topping.

    We had originally planned to go to the African Safari Wildlife Park, a drive-thru safari park in Port Clinton. But torrential downpours put a damper on that idea. On our way to the park, we noticed signs for Firelands Winery. A frequent participant of the North Market Food and Ohio Wine Festival, Firelands Winery is located just off OH-2 and is easy to find. They have a large gift area and a bar where you can taste wines and they also have an eat-in bistro with live entertainment. Our friends sampled a flight of the sweeter wines, which included a new raspberry riesling, Le Vele. Walker and I purchased a few bottles averaging about $6.99 each, and I had a sample of their delicious Ice Wine for $2 ($29.99 a bottle).

    Firelands is currently the largest winery in Ohio, being the parent company of the Dover, Mantey, Lonz Winery and Mon Ami varieties as well. They grow some of their grapes on Lake Erie islands – Isle St. George and North Bass Island. These islands have special qualities that allow the harvesting of grapes nearly six weeks later than the US Mainland. It’s definitely worth a stop if you enjoy wines!

    All in all, this was a great quick trip. We were only gone about a day and a half and we already have plans to go back. The Lake Erie islands provide a nice change of scenery. We probably won’t be returning to Cedar Point until everyone in our party is at least 48″ tall. Although we found plenty of things to do at the park for little ones, we enjoy the roller coasters and that was about the allowed height for quite a few of them. On our return trip, we plan to visit the Safari Park, check out the Marblehead Lighthouse, the Merry-Go-Round Museum and seek out a few different spots to eat.

    Click here if you’d like to read another recap of a recent Lake Erie Island trip.

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    Anne Evans
    Anne Evanshttps://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-evans/
    Anne Evans is the Co-Founder and Director of Operations for The Metropreneur and Columbus Underground. She regularly contributes feature stories on both sites, as well as Mega Weekend each week. She has started and grown businesses, created experiences, forged community partnerships, and worked to create opportunities for others. She loves meeting new neighbors and those making an impact in our community. Want to connect?
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