This episode was written in order to get rid of the character of Loretta, Cleveland's wife. Actress Alex Borstein - who voices Lois Griffin, Loretta, and many of the other female characters on the show - was tired of doing the voice, having thought that Loretta would be a one time character when she was first introduced.
The end of this episode is a parody the end of Rocky 3
When Joe falls in the water and is crying for help, Peter thinks he is trying to be Natalie Wood. The real-life Natalie Wood died by drowning.
Bruce is revealed to have cats when he mentions that he will take the rest of the Oreos home to them.
100 miles from Quahog, one would find their selves on the western shore of the Massachusetts hook, from which a short distance on the water one could observe the sunset over the water. A few miles further south in the Nantucket Sound are two islands from which one could sail out a short distance and watch the sun set to the west over water. All within a reasonable distance from Quahog that they could travel to and from within a day and watch the sunset over the water.