Celebrations are Becoming Very Common at The Lakehouse Inn

Earlier in the evening I heard a few guests talking about the fact that they see more and more birthday cakes being served at The Lakehouse Inn & Winery. I then saw Andrea serving one on the winery deck. I didn't think much of the conversation until a few hours later when I was getting a few sunset shots and saw this family celebrating a birthday.

In order to better serve our guests, we made a change this summer to offer reservations at Crosswinds Grille (we do this in the non-summer season in order to get an idea what our volume will be). We really were not sure how it would go. Well, we are asking ourselves, Why did we not do it sooner? Now I am sure the fact that we more than doubled our outside seating capacity and Mother Nature has been VERY accommodating with wonderful weather this season has aided in the consistent volume.

What we have found is, the evenings go so much smoother and there is less chaos, which is a very good thing for our staff and of course our dining guests. Don't get me wrong, we still get the influx of visitors wanting to have dinner, however we have a much better idea of what we are expecting for the evening. Then there are the occasional no-shows, which for us is very infrequent. We have not yet had to take credit card numbers to hold reservations, thank goodness.



We do have the ability to send visitors to the winery, however their kitchen staff, in turn, gets bombarded with orders, which results in longer than we would like delays. Actually Andrea posted signage this weekend to alert guests that when there is an influx of guests/orders, there will be delays. As any of you know who have eaten here, everything we prepare is made to order. We would hope that our guests will be patient and just enjoy Mother Nature at her finest, while we are preparing their food. We have wonderful, dedicated staff who take great pride in their work and want our guests to enjoy their experiences while visiting us.


So what draws guests to The Lakehouse Inn? As I always say, Mother Nature is the foundation. We provide a very relaxing setting to take in all aspects of Nature: Lake Erie, the flower gardens, the wine Lance and Sam produce from local grapes, the food our staff diligently prepares and of course the daily Sunsets.

We have guests capture pictures of Mother Nature on a very regular basis. Have you captured a shot you would like to share.? Send it to us and we will post it for others to get a glimpse of what keeps bringing you back to Lake Erie.

Interesting South Sky at Sunset on July 24th

If I didn't know better this could be a shot of the sun setting in the background. The interesting part of this is that it was taken from the southwest sky. Below is the actual sunset from the northwest.

The Saturday evening sky was incredible to say the least. As you can see our patios were filled with guests. The restaurant was quite steady all evening although the temperatures remained high. Obviously people were looking to get some reprieve from the steamy weather by being by the lake and catching a little breeze.
This is a shot of our staff seating and serving our last guests of the evening around 9pm. Doubling the size of the patio this Spring sure has been a Godsend for our staff and guests.

Sunrise from the Lake Erie Shore

I had just taken a call from work early Saturday morning and looked outside to see the sun's reflection off the Beach House east window. Since I have not been able to capture a sunrise so far this year, I rushed outside with my camera and this is what I saw.

Here is a shot from the beach. As you can see there was much cloud cover that morning.

Evening Lake Erie Entertainment

As I was shooting this sunset last evening, the boat in the right of the picture caught my eye. It was a group enjoying the wonderful summer evening water skiing. They had a "newbie" on board who was trying very hard to master staying on top of the water.

Here he is up...
...and immediately down.

I was not the only person fascinated by the diligence of this group. I watched them try at least a dozen times without success. It brought back painful memories of trying this sport myself. I just could not get up. The friends we were with were SO patient with me. I finally gave up. The next morning I had huge bruises on both thighs. Needless to say I have not tried it since.

Daises are Blooming at The Lakehouse Inn

The summer gardens are filling in very nicely and the daises are becoming quite plentiful along the stone walkways leading the the beach.

Here is a shot of the sun setting as a backdrop to the daisy garden...

...and then another. Yes, this is a shot from the winery deck of the Lakehouse Inn.

Lakehouse Inn Guests Enjoy Lake Erie Sunsets

Sunset time is one of the most popular moments on the grounds of The Lakehouse Inn. Guests just love to watch Mother Nature at Her finest.