Put-in-Bay Island Life-Living in the Lake Erie Islands
If you’ve lived the Put-in-Bay Island Life or on one of the Lake Erie islands for a while, you will develop a few “pet peeves.” They come naturally. For all of the many positive and fun things about Put-in-Bay Island Life, those little things still bother you. As a Put-in-Bay Islander, you get to see the hectic tourist season and the more tranquil off-season. For those of you who work at Put-in-Bay, you get to see more than your fair share of “pet peeves.”
How about all of our tourists who, despite being told there is no reason to bring a car to the island, decide to do so anyway? You’re rushing to get the ferry to Put-in-Bay and miss the boat because a visitor wanted to bring the truck over! Once on the island, they soon find out parking is limited (and in some places non-existent)
To make matters worse, you later see the same truck parked in the grocery store parking lot for hours as they try to enjoy the downtown area! And how about those SUVs decorated with “Last Fling Before The Ring” loaded with Put-in-Bay Bachelorette Party revelers!
And then there are those visitors who wear the wrong island life T-shirts. For example, on the North Bass golf cart trip, one Put-in-Bay lady (we won’t mention any names, but she knows who she is) wore a “Pelee Island” shirt. We often see visitors to Put-in-Bay wearing Kelleys Island shirts, and, God forbid, we even saw someone wearing a Mackinac Island shirt this summer right on Delaware Ave.
Island life Living-Pet Peeves People pushing baby strollers down the middle of the street is another one of our pet peeves. We think busy State Route 357, aka Bayview Ave., along with the waterfront of the harbor and Put-in-Bay docks, should be a target area for child endangerment arrests for all the parents who think the middle of the street is safer than a sidewalk when they bring their infants to Put-in-Bay. Don’t get us wrong; there are many great things to do with kids at Put-in-Bay; this is just NOT one of them!
Regarding cell phone service on the islands, that’s a huge Put-in-Bay Life challenge. Living on South Bass, Middle Bass, or North Bass, you will experience problems. You’ll find that the Verizon reception of tiny Starve Island is excellent, but it requires a Canadian plan if you want service on North Bass. The Lord helps the poor soul on Middle Bass who needs emergency assistance and thinks he will get it by using a cell phone.
Those Put-in-Bay Golf Carts turn signals on golf carts that keep blinking left while the driver supports going straight is another high-priority pet peeve among islanders. Until blinkers automatically shut off in golf carts as in cars, islanders will continue to pet this peeve for years. Speaking of golf carts, everyone has experienced the slow-moving carts whose driver thinks hugging the road’s centerline is his rite to passage (no pun intended).
It’s like those drivers on the mainland who hug the right side of the road when they make a left turn. We like to see the golf carts driving in the bike lane so they can be quickly passed. We hate to tell you this, but that’s the opposite of the law, which says carts aren’t supposed to do that, but everyone does. Oh! And don’t get some islanders started when it comes to kids driving golf carts. We’ve seen people’s blood pressure skyrocket when that’s the topic of island life discussion. Oh well, that’s island life!
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