Finding Utopia at the Utopia Beach Club, Euclid OH [Lake Erie] (July 3- 7, 2014)

The Occasion

Members of the Smith-Maxwell Clan

Recently our family expanded as our son, Traber, became engaged to be married to Stephanie.  We spent a delightful weekend with the Maxwell’s, our in-laws to-be, at their home in Euclid, Ohio on the shores of Lake Erie.

Traber and Stephanie

The Place

Euclid, Ohio is a town that is part of the urban sprawl around Cleveland.  Even though it is just 15 minutes from downtown, it has managed to keep its own identity.  This is the first time we have encountered “Beach Clubs” as they are understood here.  Residents of a specific set of blocks of streets have the opportunity to join a “Beach Club” contiguous to those blocks.  Our family’s “Beach Club” is aptly named Utopia Beach Club.  The Club, in fact the neighborhood, used to be part of the Utopia vineyard.  The club house building is an historic building that was part of the vineyard complex.  The club has a shady grove of trees with picnic tables, pools and a beach on Lake Erie.  All less than a block’s walk away from home. 

The Adventure

What make the Utopia Beach Club so special is how tightly knit and welcoming the members were.  In the course of the weekend we attended a July 4 BBQ, and a chili hot dog feast.  We felt adopted into the club by everyone that we met.  We played cards and yard games, ate, laughed, talked and drank.  It is a very welcoming place.  The July 4 celebrations included a spectacular sunset, and fireworks over the lake. As should be expected by now, Russ, Traber and Tiki managed to go for a swim. 

 

The Lake

If you are naming the Great Lakes from left to right, Lake Erie is the next to last one on the eastern end.  It is the smallest by volume and the shallowest of the Great Lakes.  It supports the major metropolitan areas of Erie PA, and Cleveland and Toledo OH.  For a while Lake Erie was very polluted with industrial, urban and agricultural runoff.  In recent years, Lake Erie has been cleaned up quite a bit.

Statistics from - http://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/basicinfo.html