The BLO+E: Week 1 Day 6

Today was an easy 12-mile ride from my camp along the Huron River to Sandusky, Ohio, and then a ferry to Pelee Island, the southernmost point of Canada.

While crossing the Huron River, when I stopped to take a picture, I met Clint, who was out for a recreational ride.

I was in no rush, due to the fact that I didn't know the ferry schedule. If I had to wait in Sandusky, I'd just wait. Plus, my legs were needing a rest, after five days of riding into moderately stiff winds. So I stood on the bridge and talked with Clint, who used to travel to St. Louis for business and now lives in Hudon because he likes the slow lake life.

When I did reach Sandusky, I found the Pelee Islander ferry and learned I would need to take two: one to the Island and another to the mainland.

 

The first didn't leave until 2:30, so I had time to wander around town. Lucky me! Because I found Tony's Hotdogs. If you're ever in Sandusky, be sure to find Tony's. Delicious hotdogs! Footlong dogs, either fried or boiled, skins that crack when you bite, on a soft roll, with spicy chili, mustard, and sauerkraut. Or you can have them your way.

Pelee Island is an interesting place. 140 people live here. Some work on the ferry. There's one teacher for the one-room school, grades preK to 8th grade. Higher grades have the option of eLearning or going to the mainland. The island is like a throwback to an earlier era.

Summers here would be slow and relaxing, probably boring at times until you became accustomed to the solitude, though there are bars, B+Bs, a restaurant, and a bakery that cater mainly to tourists.

I'm thinking that before the US and Canada were good neighbors, these Erie islands between Sandusky and Canada were points of conflict. Whoever held them would pretty much control travel from the upper Great Lakes to the Atlantic. That's something I'll look into.

So, in short, today was a beautiful day of spectacular weather, perfect for an easy ride from one country to another (that's a first!) and a camp on a lazy island in the middle of a Great Lake.

Tomorrow I'll cross to the mainland and, hopefully with the wind to my back, begin the return ride to Niagara Falls, USA.

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