Wonders in Windsor

Windsor never disappoints us! Two events make it happen again....a sailboat race and a trip to Peche Island.  After cooking and dining on the docks at Lakeview Marina the first night, we watched the end of a local club night race featuring a wonderful spinnaker finish right in front of Windsor Yacht Club next door.  The Jam boats finishing behind were just as exciting!

check out our wine covers to keep the bees out

first to finish

reaching up to the finish

another tight race

 great looking T10 

don't let go Dad

fight to the finish

awesome J boat

paddling hard to get home before dark

next class too close to call 

hold on!

Day #2
Our legs got stretched out on a great bike path that took us through residential neighborhoods which followed the waterline. We cut off the path when we got to the grocery. After dropping the goods back at the boat we went in the opposite direction so that Ron could pick up some flares to replace the soon to be expired ones. Soon after, the dinghy got dropped into the water and we were off to explore the island across the river. I am quite nervous that our 2.5 HP motor will not cross the river with the current running so hard...but if the kayaks can make it...

Of course we check out Windsor Yacht Club before heading over to the infamous Peche Island, now belonging to The City Of Windsor and utilized as a daytime park and picnic grounds.

 A treaty signed between 4 local Indian tribes and the forming government of what is now Ontario allowed the island to be kept a fishing grounds back in  1700.

 It is said to be cursed by a descendant of the original french settlers whose family lived their for over 100 years starting 1812 or earlier.. The curse would stop development of the island  that began with a try by Hiram Walker in the early 1900's through to this day. Although it is commonly referred to as his summer estate, it is believed to be an attempt at a resort that would rival the popular Belle Isle just south. Mr Walker built a 54 room mansion, stables, carriage house and greenhouse. He added hundreds of trees and planted an orchard. The golf course and an electric generator came next until he became ill and signed the property to daughter Elizabeth. This all took place in less than 15 years.

(click here to enlarge)

There have been 5-6 different owners with multiple development plans since those early days and they have all failed. 

stone bridge from early 1900's

dirt road leads  to opposite sides of the island from stone bridge

petrifying tree

large mushrooms

stable ruins?

foundation ruins

original initials?

checking to see what the view might have been

scarier at night

windswept

the search for sun

old tree holding the dinghy shows it's age rings

The bugs are staring to come out and our stomachs are growling, so, we depart from the dinghy dock to get back "home". Tomorrow we'll reach down the Detroit River into Lake Erie.

Pictorial of The Ct Clair River

The St Clair River, or Straights of St Clair is adorned with such a variety of shoreline and water activity that I've chosen to make this a small pictorial. Enjoy!

Sister Cities, Port Huron and Sarnia are Like Night and Day

The dock we were assigned in Port Huron gave us great protection from any type of weather as we were upstream quite a ways. Near the community college, it is a restful setting with great people watching, and of course visiting as well since we are asked a lot of questions about Wild Goose II.

 There is a sidewalk that is a favorite spot for walkers and bikers as well as a nice lawn  for boaters to stretch out upon.. We watched these two have fun playing Frisbee for a good part of a day right in front of their boat.
Ron got busy on engine stuff, so, I took a bike ride to the new Port Huron River Walkway. The pictures say it all! Thanks for the tip Sarah Schebil!

 This new river walk has allowed locals and visitors alike enjoy a quick swim or just a place to watch the freighters go by. Kids enjoying their last two weeks of summer here were hard to miss along with the "regulars" on the trails.

The clouds are still prevalent and we decide on a quick bike ride to check out the Fort Gratiot Light from land. The visitor center at the light offers tours, souvenirs, and a washroom.  It is always a picture opportunity from the boat and we find that it is great from the beach too!

Provisioning in Port Huron is not easy and on Sunday's it's even worse...but, after searching online and doing a google earth search of a location, we took the bikes to Allen's Grocery just up the road from the 7th St bridge on Erie St. The small building was a throw back to when each neighborhood had a small corner grocery....maybe 1940's?? We were pleasantly surprised that they had fresh banana's, lettuce, and even found a sweet potato stashed in between a selection of small grocery and mostly fast food and high sugar stuff for kid's hanging in the area. ...great find!

Afternoon weather prompted us to get the dinghy down and explore the river Ron wanted to see if we can get to John and Sarah's home by boat without instructions or a map. We opted to keep camera's on the boat since the current was running pretty strong. We hooked up with John and Sarah aboard their pontoon boat up river quite a ways (under I-94), before following them to their canal home. Sarah was welcomed by son Andrew who was anxious for her arrival. He was anticipating pouring ice water over his mom who accepted a "bucket challenge" for ALS. We stayed to watch the festivities.

Monday morning travel across the St Clair river took only a few minutes, however, the new landscape was entirely different....Upon entering the harbor of Sarnia, a Canadian firetruck was spraying water near the freighter docks...it reminded me of our fire boat welcome earlier in the season on Lake Erie.....(Huron,Ohio).

Remembering that there was a beach to explored, our bikes came off the boat quickly. After a successful beach glass hunt and picture taking, our stomach's guided us to a local diner for some lunch,,grilled chicken and local gyro style sandwiches....Canadian style "fresh cut fries" served with a smile by the owners. Wish I had written down the name of it....darn! I'm getting too old to not carry a pad of paper and pencil!

After dinner we had a surprise visitor...This nice, funny gal, (again... should have written down a name) was celebrating her birthday and had been wanting to see our boat. What she really wanted was to blow the horn to signal to her friends that she "made it" on board. She was a hoot! They were on a vessel out of Bayfield Ontario...after a half hour visit, her companion came to "fetch" her. Her visit was a fun change for us :). Reminded both of us how much fun we have always had in Bayfield in past years. Great people there.

 Exploring the harbor bicycle path to downtown Sarnia we found these plaques with wonderful info on the Great Lakes Region....

The path went along the river for quite a distance south and at the end we cut up one block into downtown and passed quite an eclectic mix of shops...would have been a great time to shop if I'd been with a girlfriend. As we circled back around, we followed the path to a park near the freighter docks.

Wild Goose is not the only boat with o bulbous bow...this is huge!

It's a maintenance dock and we watch crewmen paint the side of the hull on a ship out of St Catherine's (Lake Ontario, CA) and observe a really cool wading pool shaped in the form of the Lake's Superior, Michigan, St Clair, and Erie...including Georgian Bay.

Not sure why the wading pool is empty, but still a nice piece of art!

  

Nice end to a great day!