There Goes the Neighborhood - Rumors of Celebrities Moving In Nearby

Rumors travel quickly along the shorelines of Lake Erie, especially with “breaking” news about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes real estate shopping nearby. Nothing is very far away if you have a boat. The changes leading up to this potential event have been slow in the making, though.

Early impressions gathered on that first fishing trip with Uncle Bill would never portend of luxuriant wealth or name dropping of potential new neighbors like Tom Cruise or Katie Holmes.  Back in Uncle Bill’s day, the great majority of folks gathered round the water’s edge were there for fishing.

Dusky fisherman cottages spotted along bay shores housed those with the common interest of walleye and perch. The organic scent of a fresh catch wafting through the air goes along with blue skies and a lake fresh breeze.  Tracing peninsula shorelines, Uncle Bill at the helm, I’d often ponder on how Sandusky Bay and the Lake Erie surround is so beautiful yet so roomy still, and undiscovered.

One day, on a cruise with friends to an Irish festival; destination Huron, we all had to stop our boats and gawk at a huge yacht tied off of a colossal break wall.  Jaws dropped when the mere tender boat lowered from the aft moorings cruised on by us.  It was bigger than any of our boats.

Little did we know that this dock, and maybe even the yacht itself, may soon belong to big time, almost fairy story celebrities, of the legendary kind? 

Dry land just to the north side of the yacht offers 161 acres of exquisite surroundings, which include an airplane hanger.  The original owner, Dan Brown, was an ingenious inventor who added uniqueness to the interior of his mansion like push button moveable walls.  Don Brown’s wife, Shirley, didn’t like to back up the car, so he had a turn table garage floor installed for her.

Don Brown, was the inventor of drop ceilings.  He was killed in a plane crash returning from Gainesville, Florida on a visit with his son.  His wife, Shirley was also on the plane.  They were 89 and 87 respectively.  The date of the crash was January 18, 2010.

The sad story may turn into a happy one for movie celebs, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.  And so goes the rumor mill about real estate in the Huron/Vermillion area.  Right now the rumors are overshadowing any local fishing tales. Excited murmurings tie in with imagined higher property values along the coveted waters edge.  A nibble of credibility points northward to Katie Holmes’ home town of Toledo on the north side of Lake Erie.

Some of the dusky little campgrounds are cleared away and replaced with boastful elegant homes and condos.  As a matter of fact, one of the first to go was Uncle Bill’s old campground.  The shoreline view is shifting to a wealthier look, though nowhere near the rumored opulent wealth of the property Tom and Katie are considering. 

Rumors around Lake Erie waters lap onto the shorelines like the rippling waves.  Take a look at the resources that accompany this article, and the credibility of the rumor increases.  Click the hyperlink and see why Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes could easily call this place their Lake Erie home.

Video:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/cleveland/vermilion-mansion-sale-19-5-million-224425891.html

http://www.sothebysrealty.com/eng/sales/detail/180-l-806-4339343/lakefront-panoramic-views-the-waterwood-estate-vermilion-oh-44089

ref
http://www.avonhistory.org/jean/brown10.htm

Mysterious Creature Spotted in Lake Erie

A Good Omen of Cleaner Water

A tall fishing tale of a huge creature living in Lake Erie has been around for ions. So much controversy has gone around about supposed sightings, and whether or not this amphibious creature is real has become something to poke fun at.

A landowner whose property butts up against route #2 actually floated a goofy looking replica of this monster for all passerby drivers to see.

That may be the reason I peered with suspicion at the strange, yet beautifully exotic depiction of an other-worldly looking creature in the local advertising/newspaper flyer. By the greenish tint of the photo, I could tell this was taken my an underwater camera.

Hanging around the mysterious, free-floating object were some friendly blue gills who appeared to be curious about the bulbous underwater creature too. Still, I couldn’t guess what this thing could have been. Anyone who lives around Lake Erie has heard a plethora of fishing stories. I thought I had heard them all.

Fishing Lake Erie throughout the years, I had dropped thirty five feet of fishing line into her mysterious depths. I had snorkeled in the lake, the bay, off of the islands, but this mysterious creature was an unknown entity in my experience. The photo of the colorful, translucent and gelatinous creature had never been portrayed in any of the fishing yarns I’d ever heard of, so I thought it must not be real.

The photo did not look doctored. The lavender colored surface markings reminded me of global continents on the earth. Other smaller red markings dotted the creature’s exterior. Oranges and yellows against a translucent backdrop followed an irregular line suggesting the quivery movement reminiscent of a jelly fish.

“This cannot be,” I remarked. “Jellyfish only live in the ocean.” I showed the picture of the mysterious creature to my husband who then told me of the swimming hole he and his friends visited as a young child. He said there were always two inch jellyfish inhabitants there swimming all around them.

So, I went on to read the article, and sure enough the mysterious creature in the photograph was a freshwater jellyfish! The good news about the mysterious creature is that it’s a sign that Lake Erie is finally getting cleaner water.

Observing the Lake Erie Effect of the Real Estate Kind

Many of the typical real estate axioms aren’t applicable as far as homes for sale located in a recreation area such as Lakeside/Marblehead, Ohio.  Due to unsupervised real estate development from earlier times, you can’t include an evaluation of neighboring homes.  In general, the idea of having a place close to the water supersedes everything else.  Hints of the recession came in the form of a housing bubble that peaked around 2005.

The hodgepodge development that would hopefully add to the charm or quaintness of this area remains part of the real estate scene. 

If you were to think in typical real estate axioms, such as buying into a neighborhood with mobile homes on the same street, you may think the house you’re looking at would have a diminished value – not.  On top of that, with bank owned foreclosure properties, a $70,000 cottage may be located next to a new house worth twice that much.

Lakeside/Marblehead is geographically situated on a peninsula. Any location isn’t far from either Lake Erie or Sandusky Bay.  At one time, bay area real estate carried a stigma, but that idea was vanquished with the construction of beautiful new housing developments along the shoreline.  Little fishing campgrounds still thread into the fabric of the community.  

Nowadays, the newly coveted places to be are in these developments with street names like Marblewood, Water’s Edge, and Commodore. 

What a potential buyer is looking at here is an either/or situation with very little middle ground.  The housing bubble started its upward ascent in Lakeside/Marblehead in the year 2,000.  Mobile homes were selling at an average minimum of thirty thousand.  Tiny vinyl sided cottages with missing floors sold for fifty thousand.  Narrow lots with 60’ x 90’ borders -$100, 000.  At the three-year mark the housing bubble peaked and stalled.

In a gated community with century homes, waterfront houses peaked with asking prices anywhere from one to three million.  This neighborhood is gated behind nothing more than a simple hurricane fence with three entry points. 

Houses are packed so tightly together in this “quaint” fenced in community that many roofs are a meager three feet apart. You might be able to find a deal with something that’s a few blocks from the lake, because the south Lakeside area is yet to be encompassed by the fence.  Once that happens, the newly annexed neighborhood sees the overall value of their homes escalate.  Buying into the south side of the tracks neighborhood before the annexation guarantees a worthwhile return.  But, the question is, would it be worth the wait?

Still, as per usual, the closer to the water the higher the value. To be located within the fenced in community gives exclusivity.  You’d be looking at an average asking price of three to four hundred thousand, because the location is close to the Lake. These are the higher end houses that are selling, according to realtor accounts.  One beautiful, old sandstone house (only a short block from the water) recently sold for a rumored three million.

Drastic cuts in the asking price, and low interest loans will help stimulate sales.  Realtors in the Lakeside/Marblehead area have earned it and deserve to have some steady commissions rolling in for a change.

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Lake Erie Fascinates from Lake to Bay to Beach to Islands

My favorite beach on Lake Erie faces Sandusky Bay. This beach is only a small one, graced with a picnic table, and fantastic view of an Ohio summer sunrise. I like to watch the sunrise colors, wake up slowly, and enjoy a little reverie there. Nearby is a two story hotel with a great restaurant downstairs. My happy little beach is across the street from the restaurant’s viewing deck.

From this little beach picnic table, I can be transported without ever leaving my spot. Simply to be there is recreation for me. But there’s more. From this favorite beach lookout, a silhouette of one of seventeen famous roller coasters, is in clear sight along the other side at the water's edge. Here, for example, on July fourth, a person can see the fireworks displays of three different cities, plus the extremely special pyrotechnics show featured by Cedar Point Amusement Park. All of the starry color bursts are mirrored in the reflections of July’s placid water surface. Just around the bend is a famous lighthouse.

So, on any given visit here, it’s possible to get the best of recreational worlds. Taking a drive along the local “Circle Tour”, a motorist, or cyclist can view several historical sites, enjoy beer at a mini brewery, or grab sinfully delicious ice cream sundries.

Tracing the edge of the bay, following the Circle Tour, a tourist encounters a melting pot of recreational activities before one even gets to the bridge leading off of the peninsula. There are distractions and attractions like ferries to the islands departing from the heart of Marblehead, or from the “Point”, in Catawba. These lead to further merry making activities, and you guessed it, wineries for visitors who prefer the bacchanal type of recreation.

Historical sites of the revolutionary war present the visitor with demonstrations of how the soldiers fought with muzzle loader guns, displaying a sense of nobility in warfare of the olden days. At the same location there’s a huge tower called Perry’s Monument providing a panoramic view displaying miles of Lake Erie. Some destinations are not so bombastic, but rather a place to relax, enjoy a good steak dinner, and forget about the rest of the world for a while.

Oops, did this excursion get sidetracked? Where was I? Oh yes, departing from the Circle Tour, hop on Rt. 269 going out past the fruit tree farms. Head for the bridge over Sandusky Bay, and see what’s happening across the way from the picnic table on the little beach. For those who don’t mind getting sidetracked again, follow Route 2, and watch for well marked exits leading to two other wineries, plus Cold Creek, and Margaritaville. Pick up a fishing pole and fish off the dock around this area where fishing is a popular recreation of Lake Erie.

Although this route is less than twenty miles long, the other side of the bay presents a diverse array of recreation and accommodations. Some of the lodging facilities provide shuttles to one of the world’s largest amusement parks. Now physically located across the bay, this is the place that I view from the small beach with a picnic table.

While touring Sandusky, a stopover at one of the recreation lodges might entail an extra day or two. A choice of indoor water activities provide exercise, fun, and events for kids to enjoy. A stone’s throw from the Route 2 exit, a huge recreation complex offers lodging along with a wide array of interests ranging from water amusement to massage relaxation.

In an imaginary tour from my favorite beach, I can visualize the happy faces I would see on the islands, or the other side of the bay. This truly makes my little beach even more special. Travelers have the best of both worlds as well as I, when I enjoy this quiet little beach that looks onto the bigger beaches. Opportunities for reverie or revelry, are graciously accommodated in these parts around Lake Erie. Depending on which beach is anyone’s favorite, no one can evade having a good time visiting Lake Erie beaches.

For more links to fun places around Lake Erie

go to www.cedarpoint.com where all area attractions within a fifty mile radius are listed.

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