Easter bunny blue skies and chocolate brown waters. The wind whips the surface of Lake Erie into a swirling pool out of Willy Wonka’s factory. Normally, the peaceful waters are an opaque green. Then the northern winds fetch over the calm freshwater and over mile and miles – create wind waves. The period between these waves is much shorter than the period between ocean waves. While the water being fresh, isn’t as buoyant as saltwater.
When you want to surf, none of that stuff matters, the waves matters. A wave can be a foot or twenty. You make the most with what you got and for 3 years after I learned to surf – I had Lake Erie.
When I come back to north east Ohio – I make a trip up to the lakeshore. To check out the waves. Especially if the winds are out of the north.
The first stop was the Columbia Street beach. Which I nicknamed the “rock beach”. Rock beach is great for skimboarding because it drops off rather quickly in depth and the waves tend to break right on the beach.
To get to the beach, you descend a couple sets of stairs. A path worn through fallen leaves – really caught my eye.
A small creek runs parallel to Columbia road and empties into the lake. Over a set of shale waterfalls.
After spotting these yellow leaves – I had to get a closer look.
From Columbia road it was onto Huntington Beach. Yes, Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach in Bay Village, Ohio.
Huntington Beach is a better surf break. The sand bottom and jetty help to build waves deeper into the water than Columbia Rd’s beach. If you are feeling lazy, you can jump off the jetty and be out right by the start of the break. Which is convenient. Huntington is at the base of a cliff, so part of the fun is hiking down the cliff face through a ravine to the beach.
Its days like these that I wish I had my fun shape in Cleveland instead of out in Los Angeles.
by Will
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