I’ll be there for a Thursday/Friday night, Saturday morning in early November. Presque Isle looks really cool. Anything else I need to see/do/eat while I’m there. Is there a nightlife area or funky shopping block?
Thanks for all your help.
Presque Isle is very nice. I always go to the very end of the road in the park, and have spent many nice evenings on the beach there. My favorite part of the park is the stretch from Gull Point to around the Lighthouse. There are lots of places to park and explore the beach. It’s worth it in my opinion to drive to the back side of the park, as a lot of people do not, and the beaches are a little less populated.
It’s not far from Celoron NY where Lucille Ball was born.
I was born there almost 50 years ago.
My brother is a graduate of Gannon University. He always referred to Erie as “dreary Erie, the mistake by the lake”.
Lovely area
I’ve only been in the Erie highway exit area!
if you like beer, there’s a place on the main strip called the Taphouse. I don’t like beer, but I enjoyed stopping there with some friends. You won’t suffer from lack of choices.
There’s the Erie Zoo which I haven’t been to in decades but was good enough of a small zoo that we went several times growing up in Chautauqua. Speaking of which if you do go toward Jamestown you could also check out Panama Rocks, which is like Rock City if you’ve ever been there. Can’t access their website right now but if they’re open this time of year it would promise to be pretty atmospheric with the wind and the fall trees and rocks. ETA there used to be things worth doing in Fredonia and Silver Creek but not any more 
We have a huge indoor water park.
Anyone from Ohio can tell you that Mentor on the Lake is the true “mistake by the lake”.
I suppose if shopping is your thing, the Grove City Outlets are only a short drive South on 79. Maybe a half hour or so drive.
I was in Erie with a friend who booked music acts for a free concert series there. A city councilman was taking us on a little tour. He got somebody to unlock an observation tower and took us up to view Presque Isle from on high.
I thought I saw an ice fisherman fall through the ice, but I was the only one looking in that direction and it was very far off. I convinced myself I was seeing things.
Later that day we were returned to the tower parking lot to pick up our car. There were fire trucks, an ambulance, and rescue workers. I felt like an idiot for not believing what I saw. We hung around for a bit, then headed home. When we left, a body still had not been recovered.
I later found out there was a happy ending. Yes, a guy fell through the ice and someone reported seeing it. But the guy got out and went home! He was watching the news at home later and saw the ongoing rescue efforts. He called 911 and told them his story.
/Erie Excitement
The Erie library had a used book sale in August, 1979.
Great! You can go see the horrifying Lucy Statue!
I had an aunt that lived in Erie, but she died. Does that help at all?
Is she buried there? That would make another tourist destination.
*Eerie *excitement. Seriously, that’s pretty heavy; first"thinking" you saw someone fall through the ice, then having it confirmed and thinking you may have contributed to his demise. Scary Lucy stature looks upon you with disdain.
Was that the branch in the Millcreek Mall?
When I was a kid in the 70s we would often go to the mall on Saturday. I’d start in the arcade across the aisle from the library, then we’d all meet at the library and my sister and I would get some books.
I got off a freighter and walked a few blocks to this place, where a nice lady sold me some discards.
Think of all the other cities on Lake Erie. Draw your own conclusions.
Well compared to Conneaut, Ohio, (another place were I got off the freighter and purchased some discards from a public library), Erie is a happening place. There’s a lot to be said for poking about mid-sized cities and learning about how they came to be.