If you're looking for a great, but down-to-earth foodie experience and are intrigued by Mediterranean foods, you will *love* Vine & Olive! ​

After all of our exploration and activities on Put-in-Bay, we were quite hungry and wanted to grab a bite before turning in for the night. Casa Las Palmas Mexican Restaurant in Port Clinton was open and seemed like a good choice. We sauntered in and the place was 95% empty. Sharing an order of fajitas and getting a margarita is always a default at a mexican restaurant when I'm not in the mood for decision-making. haha!! *sad but true* But the choice was not sad, it was muy, muy feliz! I enjoyed the background noise of the employees chatting as they cleaned up for the night. I crunched down my chips and salsa and as usual, couldn't finish the fajitas anyways. Good thing the hotel had a fridge! ;) 

Gracias, Casa Las Palmas: Me gustó mucho la comida!

After some wine and meat sticks at Heineman's Winery, it felt like time for a coffee. We stopped in at The South Bend Chocolate Company's Chocolate Cafe.  Apparently these guy's make over 100 types of chocolate and travel around the country during the winter selling their chocolates. Now I wish I had gotten some actual chocolate here! -_- There's also a little chocolate museum on site here!

If you always dreamed visiting the oldest family-owned and operated winery in Ohio, then you have come to the right place: Heineman's Winery! They, too, have a cave (different kind, though) that you can tour like Perry's Cave. Their Crystal Cave and Winery tour takes about 30 minutes and costs $8. The Cave is the word's largest Geode! COOL! 

After visiting the Village Bakery & Cafe for a breakfast of champions, we sauntered over to the Depot to investigate the Tour Train. A train was already loading to leave at the time, and we weren't sure if we were ready to hop on it or not, which meant we would have to wait for a subsequent train. (Obviously) We were still hungry for "real food" so we decided to opt for a later train and do some walking around the main town area and find something to eat before we got on the train to see the island, do some wineries, and Perry's activities.

The drive from Pittsburgh to the Sandusky area of Lake Erie is around 3 hours, making it a great destination for a close-to-home weekend getaway. Traveling on I-80 is smooth and quick and once you're in Ohio you are going to have access to the awesome Service Plazas on the Ohio Turnpike. They are convenient because they are on the Turnpike, meaning you don't have to exit the Turnpike and pay a toll to use the bathroom or get a snack and then get back on.  The set up saves you money and time. They also look similar. I think that's nice because you feel comfortable entering them, knowing what to expect. ​

A close-to-home getaway can be just what the doctor ordered whether to celebrate a special occasion or to break up the monotony of your daily routine. Here's one way to spend time around Lake Erie's Shores & Islands:

Stop back for blog posts on each bullet point! :) 

Visit the fabulous Shores & Islands website for tons of great info!

You may remember reading my post about being famished and excitedly picking up some Vietnamese food in Fort Myers on the way to our Homaway/VRBO Pool House. 

Did it sound delicious to you? I bet it did!