A Slice of Americana - Geneva On The Lake and Eddie's Grill

Marilyn and I decided to take a quickie, spur-of-the-moment get-away last week, and we chose the lake resort town of Geneva On The Lake, Ohio, a mere two hour drive away.

We stayed at the Geneva Lodge and Conference Center, a beautiful hotel right on the shore of Lake Erie.  It was opened in 2004, and that edifice is about the only place in GOTL that can be said to have any connection to the 21st century.  And I mean that in a good way.  This year marks the 150th anniversary of the town as a lakefront resort, and much of the charm of the place lies in the fact that little, if anything, has changed over the years.  The place is dotted with old style motels and cottages, and the commercial district, about a six block stretch, consists entirely of local and independently owned stores, restaurants, bars, and souvenir shops.  And a fabulous donut shop called Madsens, which pumps out delicious sinkers from morning 'til night.  There is not a chain store, fast food joint, or convenience store to be found, and no place embodies the zeitgeist of Geneva on the Lake more than this place:

Eddie's Grill opened in 1938 by a guy named, you guessed it, Eddie, and it remains a family owned establishment to this day.  There is a limited menu - hot dogs, burgers, french fries are pretty much the entire bill of fare.  There are juke boxes on the tables, and the place plays pretty much nothing but rock & roll from the fifties and sixties.  They could have filmed "Happy Days" there.  

It was great!!

And the place is always packed, so arrive early unless you want to wait in line for a table to open up.

We only stayed in GOTL for two nights, but we got to see a spectacular sunset over Lake Erie....

Took a short drive over to the charming little town of Ashtabula, where we had some of the best barbecue we ever tasted....

And we had dinner at a great little winery.  Wineries are everywhere in Lake County, Ohio.  We chose this one and were not disappointed.  I had a seafood pizza there that was not to be believed it was so good.

We lucked out on the weather.  It was beautiful for the two days that we were there, and it was great little getaway.

I'm Back!! and a Word or Two on Sleazy Coaches

Yes, I'm back. To those of you curious as to where I was, well, Marilyn and I took a one night getaway to The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake in Ohio. It is kind of spooky to drive through a summer resort town in the middle of January. Everything, and I mean everything, is shut down. The Lodge, however, remains open year round and is a very nice place. We were able to swim in their indoor pool house while looking out at the snowy grounds and a frozen Lake Erie. You could also hear the the ice cracking and shifting if you stood outside. Very cool!


Changing subjects, allow me to pose this questions? Is there anyone, as a group, with less integrity that college football and basketball coaches (and the Universities that hire them)? Pete Carroll leaves USC one step ahead of the NCAA posse, and USC then hires Lane Kiffen away from Tennesse after Kiffen spends ONE YEAR at Tennessee. Kiffen also, allegedly, contacts the kids he recruited for Tennessee and tries to get them to switch to USC. And, of course, any kid who is now at USC or at Tennesse, because the committed to a COACH, can't leave and go elsewhere unless they sit out for a year. What a sewer!

We, of course, have seen this in Pittsburgh, going back to the 1970's when Johnny Majors left Pitt for Tennessee, and Jackie Sherrill left for Texas A&M. More recently, Ben Howland, sowed up his deal with UCLA, all the while swearing his allegiance to Pitt. Fortunately, Pitt hoops has become a program that is a destination, not a stepping stone, so I'm guessing, hoping, that Jamie Dixon will stay for awhile. However, I foresee my own alma mater, Robert Morris, losing Mike Rice if he puts another 20+ win season on the books.

I can't wait for the day when some University President stands up to a coach and says, "No, we are holding you to the contract that you signed." I'm also waiting for that shiny new Lexus to show up in my driveway some day.

Why do Universities allow this to happen? I know, I know - it's all about the money. The Integrity Genie got out of the bottle a long time ago, and he ain't coming back.