Pelee Island summer series: Pelee No. 2

(Family members who received Pelee #1 were thrust into the heart of the action without any introduction as to what Pelee is (it's not a computer virus), how we got here and where we're staying. My apologies. Today I will bring you all up to speed.

When I was making my annual sausage deliveries to the Leamington area at the end of January, I delivered to Richard Hamm, who has been a customer for years. He inquired into the possibility of summer deliveries and I told him that I had considered vacationing here in the summer. He invited me to use his house on Pelee Island if ever I was here in the summer. I immediately filed it at the top of my mental list of summer vacation possibilities and, needless to say, it got worked into our plans.

Pelee Island, in Lake Erie, 16.3 miles from Leamington on the mainland, is the southern-most habitation in Canada. On the ferry from Sandusky, Ohio, I noticed another small island further south in Canadian territory but it was uninhabited except forthe birds. The main industry seems to be Bed and Breakfast establishments (almost every other house) but there are also vineyards, a winery, and seed corn and soybean farming. Alot of the waterfront is rocky but there are also sandy beaches and the water temperature is comparable to what you might expect at the cottage. (It's not Negril, but Carol swam with me last night at Sunset beach, the colder of the two beaches we've experienced.) There are also many forested areas and several promising hiking trails for us to explore.

We're out at the Old Lighthouse trail this morning. A cool walk down a shaded trail (Carolinian forest species abound in this southern climate) and a short beach walk in the Lake Erie surf and we're at the lighthouse. We sit on the rocks, watch the waves and talk - a good start to our day.

Just before leaving Montreal on this vacation (we went to Allentown, PA with visits to NY, NY at the start) I bought a Palm folding keyboard. This makes my Palm into a very versatile device. (We've been using it together with my cell phone to send and receive e-mails here.) Actually, the only way I could justify the keyboard purchase was to decide that this is a writing tool and I am going to learn to write.

If you thought that Pelee #1 was an odd thing to e-mail - well, it was! The object for me is to write. Write every day. Write in all kinds of styles and about less than obvious subjects. That's how I will become a writer - by writing. When I look at the photos I took in 1984-5 when I first got a real photographer's camera - they're not very good! Guess how I improved... Writing also demands practice.

Pelee Island has plenty for us to do, the weather has been nothing but good so far and the house where we are staying is a blessing to us. The simple brochure and map of Pelee has this motto: "Pelee Island: Where your enjoyment is limited only by your imagination". Sounds like a writers hideout to me.

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