Exploring Lakeside, Ohio
To start off our first full day in Lakeside, Ohio… we tried to fit in as much as we possibly could! It was such a fun day. I’d relive it over again if I could! So we woke up at our hotel at Fountain Inn and walked over to The Patio because we heard rave reviews of their homemade doughnuts and had to try them! So we ordered a small breakfast and each had a warm cinnamon sugar doughnut, which was so good! After that, we grabbed coffees (soy chai for me, please!) at Coffee & Cream and decided to walk around a bit to take in some of the sights. Their little “downtown” area is so cute. So many places to shop — gift stores, book stores, art shops. Plus, I loved just walking around looking at all of the cute cottages and landscaping! Everything was just so picturesque.
This trip was sponsored by Lakeside Chautauqua. All opinions are my own!
After walking for a bit — we decided we wanted to see more of the town. It’s definitely walkable, but Eric was on a mission because there was really good Pokémon GO hunting. 🤣 So we decided to rent a golf cart from Sypherd Cycles — which honestly ended up being some of the most fun we had on the trip. Most people get around by walking, biking or golf cart, so it’s so fun to just cruise around on the streets in a golf cart without dealing with a lot of cars. It was the best way for us to have freedom to get around, catch a bunch of Pokémons (for Eric, lol) and to make sure we saw everything we possibly could during the short time we were there!
One of our first stops was to the The Memorial Garden at Chautauqua Park! It was peaceful — quiet, beautiful landscaping, trails you could walk on, only a few people around just taking in the sights. The vision for this garden is that the cremated remains of loved ones are placed in the ground, in a biodegradable container, to become part of the soil. So it’s a final resting place for Lakesiders, where loved ones can be remembered. After that, we headed over to Perry Park to park our golf cart and stroll along Ohio’s Most Beautiful Mile, which is a gorgeous lakefront path right on Lake Erie. Wildflowers, rocks, boats cruising past, the lake breeze — all so lovely for taking a walk!
After a bit of exploring, we checked out Ooh La La! for a light lunch. A small, quaint location — but they offer tons of options from unique salads, sandwiches and baked treats! They also include frozen specialty beverages and authentic Italian Gelato. Eric and I shared a BLT on croissant, kettle chips, and each had a frozen fruit smoothie — the strawberry banana one was delicious! You can also order boxed lunch picnics to-go, which would be perfect to enjoy somewhere else as well. There are so many pretty views and locations for picnics within the community.
Our last little day adventure was to check out the Grindley Aquatic Wellness Campus pool. This was such a fun part of our day — a perfect way to relax, cool down, and have some fun too! We snagged a table, relaxed for a bit, people-watched. And every 15 minutes on the hour, they offer up “adult swim” where all of the kiddos have to get out of the pool so the adults can enjoy a few minutes to themselves. That was so awesome! Eric and I rode down the slide probably 10 times in a row during those 15 minutes. Hahaha. It was super fun. But yeah, after hanging out at the pool for a bit, we headed back to our hotel to freshen up, change, and head out for dinner! I’ll be back with more posts from our night in Lakeside, so stay tuned!
