Vermilion, Ohio.
It’s known as, “The little town, on a Great Lake;” tucked away as far north as you can go before hitting Lake Erie, you'll find it. During the summer, the little town on that lake turns into a tourist attraction intertwined through boating docks, little shops on Main Street and the summer-time hustle and bustle. Outside of the summer, during the cold winters and the days you feel like you've never been so bored, Vermilion is still home for us.
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Our town is a boating town—always has been, always will be. Anchored by the still vibrant red lighthouse that serves as a "hey, I'm going back to college" Instagram picture, Lake Erie rises and falls as far as the eye can see in the background behind it.
Sure, Vermilion is engulfed in that small town mentality. The, if you speak softly, we’ll still hear you sort of deal, but that’s just Vermilion. It might be drama ridden, and rumors travel far and wide, but we’ve all grown to love it … right?
Sometimes.
Regardless, Vermilion is the place that “no one leaves”, or at least, that’s what we thought in high school. It was the town that you swore you were going to get out of, but in the end, you end up loving it even more once you’ve been gone.
I’ve lived there my entire life and although moments and establishments have come and gone, you’ll always remember what's still standing, or past places that make Vermilion that perfect little town.
Romp’s Water Port/Dairy Dock
Is there even another place to get ice cream in town? Probably, but it's not like we know of it. Sorry, Granny Joe's.
Dairy Dock is the spot where you go after a hot June day, right after you get out of school for the summer.
Walking up the strangely steep pavement, you get slammed by the familiar smell of chocolate/vanilla twists dipped in chocolate and covered in that crunchy goodness ... who even knows what it is?
I still remember running down the little dirt hill in the back (back then it was a mountain), as my brother and sister chased me around the plastic picnic tables under the wooden covering where kids and adults devoured their ice cream until the sting of brain freeze set in.
While eating, you'd probably hear the scream of, "They poop in the ice cream!" Well, they don't, so don't worry.
If ice cream didn’t fill you up enough or that comment grossed you out, you’d take the short walk down the gravel road next to the boat docks to get your second meal in; this one isn't food.
18 holes of Romp's mini golf.
The mini golf course is decked out in Vermilion style monuments -- a small light house, the steel bridge, and even the iconic water tower. By the time you shoot your horrid score, or for some of us, our PGA-esque score, you'd reach hole 18 and the chance to get a free Romp's ice cream token.
And you'd be right back over there, this time enjoying a Cookie Dough Flurry -- extra cookie dough, please.
Romp’s is the place to be in the summer, and it’s one of the locations that makes Vermilion the town that it is.
Big Ed's Main Street Soda Grill
Pulling a classic ice cream shop look out of an old magazine, Big Ed's Main Street Soda Grill sits on the corner of Main Street; how about that?
Walk inside and it’s like a blast from the past. Wooden booths, little trinkets covering the walls, the grill in the back with steam rippling off it and, of course, the ice cream bar with red-topped steel stools.
Inside, you'd take out the blue colored menu from the corner of the booth and marvel at the options.
My recommendation? The Southwestern Burger. Smothered in BBQ sauce and topped with melted pepper-jack cheese and of course, bacon.
Soda grill actually has the best milk shakes in town, that is, if you're not already over endless days of Dairy Dock. If not, their custard is to die for as well.
Soda Grill has always been the spot, and I can even remember when my little league baseball team was sponsored by them.
Time flies.
The Beaches
Now, don’t get too carried away here.
Vermilion’s beaches are about as far away from the word "beach" as you can get, but they're there. If Main Street’s beach isn’t completely covered with sticks and logs from what the lake brought in, then that’s the place you should be at.
The likelihood of that happening? Slim. But hey, I worked for the city of Vermilion in the summer and we try to keep it as clean as possible, until the lake has other ideas.
If that doesn’t do it for you, the hidden beaches of Mini WaWa, and VOL’s beaches should do the trick as well. They’re away from the rush of summer “tourists” and always seem to be open.
What's better than looking out over the lake? There's an entire wooden lookout to do it all ... day ... long.
The Lake
This is pretty self-explanatory.
How wouldn’t you enjoy a day out on the lake with your friends—that is if you can find one with a boat. But if you do, Lake Erie is perfect for all the boating fun. Tubing, rafting or just hanging out in the sun.
Everyone’s been out on the water if you’re from Vermilion. You’ve probably even made the trip to the islands on the other side like Put-In Bay.
The lake is home for us, and it’s once again what makes Vermilion, Vermilion.
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Vermilion is full of different places; I'm sure I've missed a couple but in case I have, here's a little break down of the town as a whole:
Outside of those places, there are other locations to note.
The Lagoons, which is home to the cream of the crop in Vermilion, and where summer homeowners likely have their houses. With river-front-houses, living down here is the spot for those who are fortunate.
Of course the Fish and Woolybear Festivals as well. We're all too old for it now but back in the day when junk food, live music and seeing friends uptown was the thing we looked forward to all year long.
There's tons I'm leaving out about our little town on the lake, but for now I think this will do.
Until then, I'm sure you can hear Mr. German's voice over the loud speaker at Sailor Stadium echoing through the town now as we speak.
