Family Travels: Favorite Destination – Erie, PA

Summer time comes and all I do is dream of the beach. I want to feel the salty spray on my face and the seawater smell in the air. I’ve read recently that saltwater and the ocean is something that humans crave, something our minds need to help regulate our body and it’s energy. Perhaps any body of water will do, any place where you can feel calm and serenity on a beach of sand no matter how large that is. At least that is what I always tell myself when the ocean is calling my name, but I can’t answer.

I have found enjoyment ever since my husband and I started dating, 10 years ago, in the Erie, PA shoreline. We have gone to the area as a date, as a married couple and now as a family to have fun at it’s different attractions, beaches and wineries. When we were younger we would travel there to find fun at the beaches. We took our engagement pictures there, on a very rainy and windy day at the beach. We have explored the area and created many happy memories during our visits.

Michelle and her husband at the beach on Lake Erie taking engagement pictures

I enjoy driving along beautiful Presque Isle to find the best places to camp out with a picnic and wade in the water. The waters are fairly warm during the later summer months and on most days are very calm; it makes it easier for those who like the beach but are not the best wave riders. There are lifeguards at most beaches and if you watch the guides on your way in, you will know which beaches have lifeguards and which are open to go to. The sand is a little rocky, but makes for great sandcastle building just like any beach along the coast.

Along Presque Isle, there are also many different things to do. You can ride bikes, surreys and Segways on the trails across the park. However, to reminisce on some of my memories of our trips to the area, my husband and I rented the surreys and then found them to not find it as easy as it looked. It is a true test of a relationship to take a surrey and try to guide it a long narrow trails with your significant other. And I would say, and my husband has said as well, that this is the best advice to others for couples considering marriage… you don’t need to go to a retreat to find if that is the person you are destined to be with, just ride a surrey with them along the beach and see how much you love them afterwards.

There are other fun favorite things to do along Erie, food is definitely one of them. If you travel there, and especially to Presque Isle, make sure to stop at Sara & Sally’s before going into the park! Such a quaint little area with nice diner food and fantastic ice cream. Erie also has a great, little zoo and children’s museum. We had a fun adventure to these two places when we’ve visited with our daughter. She was 1 ½ years old at the time and enjoyed playing at both places with activities at the museum and seeing the animals at the zoo.

Family time at the beach in Lake Erie

Traveling over the years with my husband, and even with my girlfriends, included many trips to the wine country near Erie, PA. We would go to the different wineries, taste the different wines, and take home a bunch in return. There are beautiful B&B’s in the area that allow for lots of trips to the wineries while giving you the comforts of home. The wineries each have their own style and wonderful types of wine. I know my favorite (that my husband knows to keep stocked) is Penn Shore’s Pink Catawba. A lot of the wineries have a flair for beautiful areas with views of the lake. And, of course, backdrops of the vineyards are wonderful for pictures!

vineyards near Erie, PA

Between beaches, zoos, and wineries, there is a lot to do in Erie, PA. Our visits happen throughout every season and there isn’t any specific season better than the other. It is beautiful to see the area with its’ crazy amounts of snow, the beautiful changes of foliage in the fall, and how green it is in the spring and summer. Just like most of Western Pennsylvania, Erie is a beautiful area and a picturesque landscape for traveling. I’ll be back soon to the area to find more fun things to do, and of course for more wine and food!