Flashback Friday from the Cottage

Will and Audrey making bubbles in the cottage kitchen sink, around 2006. 

Oakland Beach Dude Ranch

A commenter mentioned spending time at the Oakland Beach Dude Ranch, which reminded me of this old flyer. I'm pretty sure that my mother-in-law, her sister, and cousin are the three girls. A dude ranch at the lake today would be so much fun! Especially at those prices. I'd love to hear more stories about the dude ranch. 

Old Picture of Cottage

I love old pictures. Our cottage is on the right. It looks almost the same today, but the trees and hedges are much larger.

Horses at the Cottage?

Yes, it's true...horses at the cottage! Years ago, though.

In anticipation of our summer at the lake, I was looking through some old pictures I have of the cottage. I adore this picture. That's our cottage on the right.

The horses were kept at a farm maybe a mile away. My mother-in-law tells stories of riding her horse from the barn down to Midway Beach. Before the summer visitors arrived, in fact, she'd even bathe the winter mud and muck from her horse by riding him straight into the lake and washing him off.

Old Oakland Beach Hotel

Years ago, Conneaut Lake was surrounded by lake-front hotels that all overflowed with visitors and entertainers all summer long. Just north of the Midway was the Oakland. The identifying feature of this hotel was the large ship that jutted out over the lake and housed the dance floor. Only one of the old hotels remains today, the hotel at Conneaut Lake Park. The Oakland, like the Midway, was torn down in the late 1960s.

The Oakland Beach Hotel

A postcard from the hotel

New houses sit on the old Oakland Beach Hotel property. We often walk through this area.

Kate with the dogs below