Sitting just off the coast of Point Pelee in the middle of the Lake Erie Archipelago lies Pelee Island.
Pelee is Canada’s southernmost inhabited land. About 275 people live on the island year around, with that number swelling to about 1000 in the summer months. At 10,000 acres Pelee is the largest island in Lake Erie, measuring 14.5 km in length and about 6 km in width.
Living in Windsor, I have rarely thought of the land to our south. For me, as I imagine it is for most residents of our county, the only thing south of Point Pelee that matters is Cedar Point. Then I was approached by the team at Pelee Island Winery.
They gave me what I thought at the time was a straightforward task. Photograph Pelee Island. I had been on Pelee once before with my now fiancée, but we never went any farther than the winery. Much like how, “Ontario stops at London,” I had the mindset that Pelee Island stopped at the winery.
I assumed this was going to be an easy project. What I quickly discovered was that there is so much more on Pelee Island than I could have imagined.
Weathered and worn, the Pelee Island Lighthouse has faithfully kept its post for more than 160 years.
On the island it felt like every building had a story. Who lived there? What was their life like? What brought them to the island? Each road had a past that I wanted to uncover. In Windsor we often put parking lots over our history. On Pelee (what locals call being on the island) history is embraced. This tight-knit community of 275 people have created a culture of honesty and compassion unlike anything else I have seen in Canada.
Pelee Island is without a doubt one of the most special places in Windsor-Essex. An island almost frozen in time, Pelee has a sense of character I have found nowhere else in our county. Locals wave to each other as they drive down the quiet lakeside roads, children laugh with such spirit you feel like you are in a storybook, and visitors unwind in a way only Pelee can provide.
So how does a visitor unwind on Pelee?
The Wandering Dog provides some of the best stargazing in all of Windsor-Essex.
We stayed at a place called The Wandering Dog. An incredible Bed and Breakfast located on the far east side of the island. With no Wi-Fi and little to no service on the eastern corner, we were completely cut off from the rest of the world.
Strange things happen when people no longer have a reason to use their phones. They start talking to one another. We spent our time at The Wandering Dog connecting with our neighbours, sharing food with our new friends, and exchanging stories by the fire.
We met people like Stan Uher, owner of Classic Coachworks, (a vintage vehicle restoration and preservation shop based in Blenheim, Ontario) who visits Pelee Island every year to take his 1915 Model T for a spin.
Stan says that, "the quiet roads of Pelee are the best place to take these types of cars." Stan often spends his trip on Pelee visiting old friends and making new ones as he and his wife Jane make there way from one end of the island to the next.
Stan Uher, owner of Classic Coachworks, (a vintage vehicle restoration and preservation shop based in Blenheim Ontario) visits Pelee Island every year to take his 1915 Model T for a spin.
Every person we met provided an opportunity for a new connection. Whether that was Sue Rice, our guide turned best friend, or head viticulturalist Bruno Friesen, who welcomed us into his personal greenhouse like we were old friends. Pelee Island truly provides a one of a kind getaway experience.
By the time our stay on the island was up all I could think about was how I wish I had more time.
One more night to enjoy a glass of wine under the stars with my fiancée. A few more sunrises spent on the beach. Another sunset in the vineyards. I was told Pelee Island would wrap itself around me. I can say without a doubt it most certainly did.
