Pelee Island; A “Ferry” Nice Place to Visit…

Johnny-on-the-Spot … by John Foster …

This summer, I spent the better part of two weeks on Pelee Island.

It’s Canada’s southernmost point of entry so we Americans need a passport to go there..

The island, in the western basin of Lake Erie is about 8 miles long and 3 1/2 miles wide.

Lots of folks come to the island these days to visit the winery or to bike ride.

But with most of the island roads loose limestone, be prepared to eat dust.

It is impossible to keep a vehicle clean on Pelee Island.

My first visit to Pelee this summer was with my wife and younger daughter plus her family.

We rented a house on the northwest side of the island that’s every bit as nice as our own home and when you consider the location, right off the beach, it’s probably better.

I took a bath every morning in the lake and I’m sure I did no more damage to the environment than pumping the bilge of the MV Pelee Islander.

We took enough food with us to feed a small rural town so meals were plentiful.

Fishing off North Dock in the evenings is always fun as is watching the sun set into Lake Erie.

But sitting on the deck in one of those Windsor chairs with a cool beer is pretty enjoyable, too.

My second foray to Canada was as a participant in Foster Palooza.

It’s a small family reunion of sorts at our sister Jerry’s house near the one-time pheasant farm on Pelee Island.

The 3 American siblings rode up after assembling from North Carolina, southern Indiana and northern Ohio.

We had to drive across the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit to get into Canada.

Getting through customs was easy but we noted a few vehicles pulled aside with all the doors and trunk open and personal effects scattered about.

We boarded the Pelee Islander II in Kingsville and about 90 minutes later, we were on Pelee Island.

While we did all of our partying and eating at Jerry and Howard’s home.

We would have eaten even better had SOMEONE not forgotten the frozen meat in Ohio.

The The Hoosier, Buckeye and Tarheel spent nights on the east side of the island in the Caywood’s cabin.

We met these wonderful people at a “Browns Backers” party at the “Dog and Goat” restaurant on the northwest part of the island.

We went there to watch the Browns lose to the Lions in Detroit and I was surprised that there’d be a group of Browns fans instead of Lions fans.

But a lot of the old time Pelee Island visitors have Ohio connections.

They held a raffle drawing and two of my sisters won the bulk of the prizes which was mostly Browns memorabilia.

Sister Jerry got a $25 gift certificate from the “Dog and Goat” in her winnings and she used that to buy a couple of orders of deep fried mushrooms.

That Sunday evening, we received word that the Pelee Islander II had a mechanical breakdown.

That meant the MV Pelee Island would be the only boat running passengers and vehicles to the Canadian mainland.

The MV Pelee Islander, built in 1960 can carry about 200 passengers and 10 vehicles.

The Pelee Island II can haul about 400 people and 34 vehicles.

That meant the old, dependable MV Pelee Islander had to make two trips to match what the Pelee Islander II could do in one trip.

It meant we had to wait until it was our turn.

Instead of leaving @ 7AM on Monday morning, we didn’t depart until 7AM on Wednesday.

Lots of other folks faced a challenge of finding lodging and food but we were fine.

However, we were running low on beer so I went to the LCBO on the westside and bought a case that cost over $51 Canadian to tide us over.

Our delay magnified what I truly like about Pelee Island.

Despite the fact that Detroit is a bit to the northwest and Cleveland not that far to the southeast, you can be really isolated if the auto ferries don’t run or private planes can’t take off or land.

You’re more at the mercy of the elements or mechanical issues than you normally find.

That’s probably what has helped keep the island as much as I remembered from my first visit more than 70 years ago.

The island is far from primitive but the transportation limitations have kept major development away.

No Mickey D’s, Walmart’s or Starbucks here.

But, as long as they keep having those gorgeous sunsets and cold beer, count me in.