One of our very favorite vacations was in Lakeside, Ohio--the Chautauqua on Lake Erie. I found it after reading a Family Fun Magazine story on great beach towns. It was charming, relaxing, and close to Cedar Point, so we spent a day there. The beaches, however, were very different. The dark water was very shallow so we could walk out quite a distance, and the shores were pebbly rather than sand. I keep trying to get us back to that place because it was such a good vacation for our young family.
from Wiki: Chautauqua is an adult education and social movement in the United States that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with speakers, teachers, musicians, showmen, preachers, and specialists of the day.[1] U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt said that Chautauqua is "the most American thing in America".[2][3]