Finally made it to Pelee Island!

Up at 6:00am yesterday morning, and on the road for 6:30. The Pelee Island ferry leaves from Kingsville, Ontario on the north shore of Lake Erie. At this time of year there are only two sailings per day, one at 10:00am, and one at 6:00pm.

But we had a 300 km (186 mile) drive to do. I figured I had done the math okay...at 100 km/h (62 mph), we should be there in three hours, right?

And I figured there would't be any traffic. And there wasn't. But there was one long section of highway 401 that was down to one lane, and that slowed things down a bit. I made up for it by speeding... something I rarely do! Not bad though... the speed limit is 100 km/h, and I was doing 115 or so. Lots of other people doing the same thing, of course!

Yesterday's drive, 300 kms (186 miles).

We made it to the ferry dock at 9:40am... twenty minutes until sailing time! However, walking in the door of the ticket office there was a sign that said ticket sales stop 10 minutes before sailing. So, we cut it pretty close... but we made it!

One way adult fare was $7.50 CAD ($6.00 USD) for the hour and a half ride, and we had to pay $6.00 CAD per day for parking at the ferry dock.

Leaving the mainland.

Windy, but it was a nice day so we sat outside on the top deck.

Better get out of the way of this big fellow.

Big great lakes freighter.

Arriving at Pelee Island.

 There's Heinz and Ulli waiting for us!

There's our boat. And, it's shorts and t-shirts weather!

Nice to see Heinz and Ulli again. We met them at Hacienda Contreras RV Park in Mexico quite a few years ago, and they have invited us several times to come and see them on Pelee Island where they have their summer home. We finally made it!

They picked us up with their classic 1979 Mercedes Benz. It's mint... only 110,000 kms (68,000 miles) on it!

Quiet roads.

There are 170 permanent residents on the island, but that swells to 1,500 or so during the summer. On busy summer weekends, there can be as many as 3,000 people on the island. There is also a ferry service from Sandusky, Ohio and many Americans have summer cottages on the island.

The view from Heinz and Ulli's back porch. What a beautiful spot.

 There's the Benz!

 Ulli and Ruth on the private beach.

There's a good spot to relax!

It's margarita time!

What a beautiful fall day.

We had some lunch and then Heinz and Ulli took us for a tour of the island. It's only maybe 12 kms long by 8 kms wide (7 miles by 5 miles), and there's a ring road that follows much of the coastline.

First stop, Heinz's airplane hangar! He's got his own airplane and runway on the island, but unfortunately Heinz's eyesight isn't what it used to be and the airplane is for sale.

Only $65,000 CAD ($52,000 USD).

I always wondered what all these dials and gauges do!

Out for a walk.

The Pelee Island Lighthouse at the north end of the island.

And this is the southern tip. This is the most southern inhabited part of Canada. 

If you look closely you can see an island on the right. That is Middle Island. While Pelee Island is the southernmost inhabited part of Canada, Middle Island is the most southern land in Canada.

This is where we are... the most southern point in Canada!

Today, we're off to the tour and tasting at the Pelee Island Winery!

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Nice little T-fal electric kettle on deal of the day today...

T-fal 4-Cup 1750-Watt Electric Kettle with Variable Temperature and Auto Shut Off, 1-Liter, Black

And in Canada...

Simulated sunrise wake up lamp