If you are a first time visitor to Erie, you may find it a bit odd. Odd in the fact that everyone that you meet here will share a feeling of impending doom. It's just the way we are - the promise of doom is our daily alarm clock. Perhaps it's because we live on the southern shore of the smallest of the Great Lakes and every day we watch that Great Lake roll by and spill over Niagara Falls. So far the other Great Lakes have done a fine job of replenishing Erie, but then you never know, stinginess is the first lesson we learned in the Garden of Eden.

400 years ago, Erie was the Garden of Eden. We were tan and naked. No fishing limits. We called ourselves the Cat People. Then the French came. They taught us table manners, how to make wine, and smugness. They also renamed us. They called us the Eriez. They renamed the lake too – they called it Erie. Then they chased us to Ohio and wrote songs and stories of how brave the French were to chase the naked tan Cat People to Ohio. Meow became me-out.

The next to arrive were the English. They brought winter and George Washington. The French “pantsed” Major Washington and built a statue to honor the moment. “Pantsed” Majors in the British Army quickly became angry Majors in the British Army. So Washington chased the French to Canada and built a small fort about the size of a phone booth. Small Fort Presque Isle kept the French in Canada – and we suspect that they are still there today.

That young Major in the British Army soon became a General in the new American Army and he “pantsed” a lot of British Majors and a few British Generals. Washington made us laugh and we elected him President. But as we all know “Pantsed” Majors in the British Army quickly became angry Majors in the British Army and the British came back and burned the city named after our funny first president. The Americans were on the run – until a young doom and gloom businessman from Erie, named Dan Dobbins had a bright idea. “Let’s end this fighting with one great battle!” President Madison loved the idea and gave Dobbins a couple of hundred bucks to build a great naval fleet on Lake Erie and to fight the unfunny British. Dobbins built the fleet, but needed so many people, he also built a town. Erie was built in the winter. Sigh. There goes that lake again...over Niagara Falls.

If you can avoid asking people from Erie about the weather, you’ll enjoy your visit. I know you will, I have for 32 years.
Tom

Top 10 Things to Experience in Erie

1.] Visit the Erie Zoo.

2.] Stroll along the beaches of Presque Isle. Beach 10 is where The Road was filmed and where Viggo Mortensen went swimming nude.

3.] Eat a Chicken Wing – they were invented here. Well the wing anyway. I think the wingless chicken was invented in Ridgway.

4.] Have a bottle of local beer. Try the Steam Ale at the Brewerie or an Erie Brewing Railbender. If you find yourself at Oscar's have the Sprague Hell Bender - yummy.

5.] Visit Jerry Uht Park.

6.] Visit the Tom Ridge Center and climb the tower – it's the best view of the Lake. You can watch it roll over Niagara Falls.

7.] Ride the Ravine Flyer II Coaster. Up, up, up, "Hey that's Canada!" Down, down, down.

8.] Visit three churches:  St. Pat's to see the Stations of the Cross, the Assumption Greek Orthodox to see the iconography, and the Russian Orthodox Old Rite Church of the Nativity - no pews - three hour service.
 
9.] Go to a free Tuesday night concert in Liberty Park

10.] Find the New Family Brick on the Public Dock - here's a hint - it's orange.