Stranded!

One hot & humid Sunday, June 8th, we met our fellow Roaming Riders in Ruthven, On (just outside of Leamington) and rode part of the Chrysler Canada Greenway (approx 27 kms). The heat & humidity was relentless. Fortunately, we planned on staying overnight in Leamington where our hotel offered a salt water pool; it was soothing & refreshing.


After supper at the local restaurant by the harbour, all 15 of us went for a stroll & enjoyed the gardens and harbour views.




The gardens were in raised flower beds, mostly labeled, so, needless to say, I had to check them all out. But I was not the only gardener in the group so I had some company.

Bob identified the irises (background) correctly so he got his picture taken.
The water feature utilized the natural slope of the harbour; there were concrete benches nearby to enjoy its tranquil & zen features.

The heat, exercise & then the full meal lulled us to an early evening back to our rooms. We had to be at the ferry dock by 7:30 AM all packed & breakfasted to catch the ferry to Pelee Island the following morning.


Our "cruise" lasted an hour and a half; it was pleasant & we had time to socialize. The views from the ferry is limited to the Leamington harbour, Point Pelee, and Pelee Island. Other than the change in perspective I didn't think there was any purpose in taking those pictures.

That Monday turned out to be more of the same: hot & humid. On the plus side, there was more breeze, few traffic, no hills.

There was no itinerary for the day: we just stopped at different locations when there was enough people interested to do so.
Here's a botanical interest: a shoe tree!
On the northeast section of the island, there sits an old lighthouse (built in 1833). The only way to get there was through this narrow foot path. Feeling adventurous we rode our bikes instead. We thought that we could outrun and outsmart those mosquitoes. It worked as long as we were moving but as soon as we reached the beach, we had to abandon the bicycles to walk towards the lighthouse. The pests were as clingy as the humid air so I turned around and headed back towards the trail head!
Our last stop was the Pelee Island Winery. No tours were scheduled as the season hadn't officially started yet. However, there was a free wine tasting corner where one can sample the local wine up to a maximum of 3 varieties.

We headed to the pub/restaurant across from the ferry dock. We had a leisurely lunch; the return ferry was scheduled to depart at 4:00 PM.

When we tried to purchase the return ticket, we were informed that the ferry was not departing until 8:00 AM the following day primarily due to the high wind speed.Gone was our hope of going home for a shower and spending a quiet evening at home!

After the initial shock & denial wore off, we accepted that we were truly stranded in an island. No contingency plans by the ferry nor the municipality for those strandees so, we had to scramble & find accommodations for the 15 people in our group.

Fortunately, the pub where we had our lunch also operates a motel at the back of the property. And there was enough room for everybody. Yes, we can shower but no change of clean clothes.
A laundry facility was available but what does one wear when one's only set of clothes are in the laundry? Nobody wanted to wear any toga.
The morning of departure outside our motel room: Bob is 2nd from the left. The two couples are the trip coordinators for the Roaming Riders.

This is Leamington Harbour as viewed from the returning ferry. Remember I said earlier that there were only limited views from the ferry but not worth picture-taking? Well, after that unscheduled adventure, there was nothing more welcoming than to see the "mainland".