VRBO | Sherry Lachelle Travels

My annual tradition of spending a long weekend somewhere with girlfriends has come around full circle this past weekend, when myself and three friends drove from Cincinnati to Port Clinton, Ohio, and eventually ferried over to Put-in-Bay, where we began the tradition 22 years ago! I don’t remember much about that weekend so many years ago, other than visiting the Marblehead Lighthouse, driving a golf cart around, and listening to a band on a beer splashed floor in a dark bar in the middle of the day. This time was different. We still had fun, in fact, we had more fun this time! Initially we were going to stay on the South Bass Island where the village of Put-in-Bay is located, but with only a couple of months notice for planning the trip (creating a lack of options) and wanting to get some sleep, since many of the hotels are located near loud bars, I booked a condo through Vacation Rental by Owner (VRBO) in Port Clinton, located within walking distance (15 mins.) to the Jet Express for the 25 min. trip over. After settling in and having a delicious lunch prepared by one of the “girls” at the condo, we made a drink and headed down to the pool and hot tub for some relaxation. We couldn’t have asked for better weather…80 degrees and sunny afternoons!

We freshened up and headed out to the Mon Ami Winery, located a short 10-15 min. drive from our condo.

Continue reading →

I arrived in Seacrest Beach, Florida at noon Central Standard Time on the 7th after a 7 hour drive from Savannah. I remembered I had audio books on my I-Pod which made the last couple of hours go by quickly. Seacrest is located in between Destin and Panama City beaches…Rosemary Beach is a few blocks to the East.

I’ve never been to the Panhandle of Florida and am delighted with the area! The sand is soooo white! I called a few Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) properties and negotiated a rate of $350 inclusive of tax and cleaning for a week’s stay! The owner even included use of her bicycle during my stay because I asked.

This isn’t their busy season, but the weather is supposed to be 70-75 degrees during the day and 50-60 degrees at night. Perfect for walking/jogging on the beach and bicycling on the 18 mile stretch between the beach towns.

This is the view from the balcony of my studio condo. The ocean is a couple of blocks away.

There’s a “Murphy bed” (it pulls down from the wall/hidden behind doors during the day) behind where I stood to take the photo.

After I unpacked, the hot tub was calling my name! I basically have the place to myself. I saw one other person walking their dog. I hope I don’t get lonely! 😦

I know…it’s hard to feel sorry for someone in a place like this!

The grocery is located about 5 miles from the condo and I purchased my week’s supply of food. Eggs for omelets–homemade blueberry preserves–fresh strawberries, blueberries and yogurt for smoothies–Boar’s Head Chipotle Chicken lunch meat, cheese, and freshly baked bread Italian 5 grain bread for sandwiches–crisp romaine lettuce, avocado, tomato, red bell pepper, squash, and cucumber for salads–a frozen organic Mediterranean pizza–a frozen lemon & dill wild caught salmon–baby peas–a frozen P.F. Chang’s Shrimp Lo Mein dinner–Crunchy Shrimp Sushi–and Coco Lopez cream of coconut, pineapple pieces and rum for Pina Coladas!

After putting the groceries away, I ate the Sushi for dinner and noticed the sun was getting lower in the sky. I was informed that the beach access was 1 block East and then 1 block South, but I shimmied through the gate of a community right across the street (bad Sherry)!

Here are my photos…