day trip to geneva on the lake
Ahhh, I had such a great weekend! I’m all about that “balance” and the past few days were a perfect mix of relaxing and crazy with lots of friend and family time! On Friday, I surprised my best friend with a day trip to Geneva on the Lake. I’m so mad that I’ve gone 29 years without venturing to this magical place! We kept saying we felt like we were on a true vacation and not in Ohio!
We started by exploring the Lodge just to check it out in case we ever come back and want to stay overnight. The property sits right on the lake and is beautiful! It looks like there is plenty to do there – bikes, a fire pit, ziplining, a pool, walking paths, etc. On this particular trip, though, we were there for the vino! I booked a wine shuttle through the Lodge (our awesome driver was Randy – if you ever go, see if you can request him!) that took us around to 4 of the different wineries in the area. We stopped at Kosicek Vineyards, South River Vineyard, Ferrante Winery and Laurello Vineyards. You get at least an hour at each winery so you really get to sit and relax at each one. It’s also nice to have some time to pace yourself with some water or food inbetween drinks! Most have wine tastings, wines by the glass and food to order. We loved the pizza at Kosicek and the cheese plate at Laurello. We didn’t eat at Ferrante but we heard the food there was great!
Our favorite winery was South River Vineyard or the “church winery.” I could have spent the entire day there! It’s an old church that was relocated to Harpersfield and converted into a winery – church pews and all! The inside is awesome but the outside is where it’s at – one of the best views ever! We felt like we were in Italy or something. I mean, look at it…
For dinner, we had reservations at Crosswinds Grille at the Lakehouse Inn (which would be another cool place to look into staying!) but our tour ran a bit over so we missed our reservation inside. They were super accommodating and sat us outside instead where they have a more limited menu (salads and wraps vs. full entrees). We sat right on the lake and enjoyed the view and the sunset. This is definitely somewhere that you can go and hang out with a drink – they have adirondack chairs on the porch and the beach!
I’m so lucky to have had the same best friend since the 4th grade and the best part of the day was spending SO much time with her. As we’ve gotten older, obviously that’s been able to happen less and less. If you’re looking for a fun day or weekend trip, I can’t recommend Geneva on the Lake enough!