Zatarra Cruise - Ashtabula

We stayed 3 nights in Ashtabula, 2 rafted off and one in a slip after the Port Stanley boats raced back home. We arrived on Friday and there was a Pork Roast planned for Saturday which was also the Fourth of July.

The bank across the river from the club is being rehabilitated as much of the area
was industrial in the past.

Herons regularly fished on the opposite bank. Ducks and of course Canada Geese visited looking for a handout. Osprey and Bald Eagles flew overhead. We saw what we think was a Muskrat swimming across the river.

A short walk from the AYC is a lovely old downtown. It is a about a block and a half
of old stores, restaurants and bars. Many of them have the original tin ceilings and one even had
tin wall cladding. The first night we ate at a very good and very busy seafood restaurant at the
 top of the main street.

A classic old bank building, The Marine National Bank.

I sat and sketched this row of stores, without includung  the road closed section!

While Paul, Sharon and Chelsey had lunch with friends downtown, I explored the town a little, walking up to Park Point.

The area beside downtown was obviously quite affluent when Ashtabula was in it's
hay day. Beautiful big, old, clapboard houses on large lots. A few have been kept up
but most have been divided into multiple units and have peeling paint and rotting
fascia.

We had commented that there was very little in the way of July 4th decoration in the
downtown area but in the residential area there were lots of flags and parties going on.

View of the Bascule Bridge from Point Park. We were docked around the
bend to the right.

One of my favorite things, historic information. Its the only bridge, of its kind,
still in active use in Ohio.

Conveyor and harbour from Park Point.

Park Point also has a Merchant Marine Memorial and

a Marine and Transportation Museum, but it was closed for the holiday.

I saw about 6 houses with these "whirligigs" in the gardens (one house had 4 of them,
all slightly different). When the wind blew, the sails filled and the boats went round.

We ate at the Pig Roast that was put on for the race and then went back to the boat when the speeches and awards started.

Although Ashtabula itself didn't have a fireworks display there were enough private ones around
that we watched from the boat and they were still going when we went to bed.