July 15, 2017
Leamington, ON to Sandusky, OH: We're in no hurry
Day 16
Sunny with patchy clouds.
Got up about 6:30 a.m. and after pack up we were on the road about 8 a.m. We rode the 3 miles into town and went to the ferry terminal to buy tickets for the ferry to Pelee Island and onward to the USA, but the ticket office wasn’t open. So we rode up to Tim Hortons for more breakfast then headed back to the terminal about 9 a.m. when we were able to buy tickets for the 10 a.m. sailing to Pelee Island. Pelee Island is still part of Canada so they could only sell me a ticket to the island, we will need to buy the next ticket when we land there.
On the ferry I was able to get a distant view of Pelee Passage Lighthouse and also the Pelee Island Lighthouse which is situated on the northern tip of Pelee Island. Our original itinerary had us staying a night on Pelee Island and the plan was to hike to the lighthouse however the rain delay in Canada nixed that plan. I settled for a photo from the ferry.
Extending 16 km into Lake Erie, Point Pelee, is mainland Canada’s southernmost point. In 1855 work began on a lighthouse to mark Point Pelee. The wooden lighthouse was built on a octagonal caisson about 1 km from the northern tip of Point Pelee and was finished in 1861.
On April 17, 1900, the lighthouse were destroyed by a fire. The replacement and current light was built on a caisson 8 km southwest of Point Pelee Lighthouse and was placed in operation on July 4, 1902.
In 1975 a new structure with helicopter pad was constructed and in 1980 the old tower was re-erected on the shores of the Detroit River as a gift to the City of Windsor.
A contract to construct Pelee Island Lighthouse was awarded on April 24, 1833, with the building to be completed by October 1, 1833,
With the completion of the Pelee Passage Lighthouse, the need for a light at Pelee Island was reduced, with the light being lit for the last time on June 30, 1909.
We landed on Pelee Island about 11:30 a.m. and ate some lunch while we waited for the boat to the USA. After showing our passports, we purchased the tickets for the next leg costing 3 times as much as the 1st leg and we were in a smaller boat to boot. (USA taxes they said).
The USA ferry left at 1 p.m. On the trip over we had views of Marblehead Lighthouse which we will bike to on Sunday. We also saw the Sandusky Harbor Breakwater Lighthouse and the Cedar Point Lighthouse. Both these lighthouses are within the Cedar Point Amusement park so we really can't bike there. We could drive but would have to pay for parking. I was satisfied with the views we had of each light from the ferry as it rolled into Sandusky Harbor.
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First lit on March 15, 1928, the original Sandusky Pierhead Lighthouse was a 20 foot skeletal steel tower. This tower was replaced with the current tower in the mid 1990s.
The Cedar Point Lighthouse was built in 1839 and marks the eastern approach to Sandusky Bay. the 1822 Marblehead Lighthouse marked the western side of the bay. In 1862, a larger 10 foot taller limestone lighthouse was built and the lantern room and lens from the 1839 lighthouse were transferred to the new structure.
A number of range lights have served the Sandusky Bay and with improvements it was determined in 1904 the Cedar Point light be decommissioned losing its tower and lantern room.
The Coast Guard continued to use Cedar Point Lighthouse as a depot until 1975 when Cedar Point’s boat station duties were transferred to Marblehead Coast Guard Station.
The property was acquired by Cedar Point Amusement Park in 1987 who fully restored the old lighthouse..
We landed in Sandusky at 2:45 p.m. but it took ages to clear through customs. The agents were very thorough searching each car that came off the ferry. There were about 10 cars in and all they found were three ripe Canadian tomatoes. Finally they waved us over and just said we could leave. No search of our bags so we must have looked legit. Here was I thinking that they would definitely target 2 dirty bike tourists.
Once we got out of the ferry terminal area we biked over to the Sandusky Maritime Museum to get the Cedar Point Lighthouse stamp. Then we headed out of town to join Hwy 6 east back towards our starting point in Vermillion, OH. On the way Cameron wanted McDonalds so I indulged.
Upon reaching the town of Heron we biked as far as we could to the Heron Lighthouse then boulder hopped the rest of the way out to the light.
The first Huron Harbor Lighthouse was a wooden structure built on the west pier in 1835, however only lasted until a fierce storm in May of 1854.
A new iron lighthouse was built in 1857 with an elevated walkway for the keeper to access the tower when waves swept over the pier. In 1919 this light was moved with an extension to the pier and a rear range light was added.
In 1934 improvements to the harbor necessitated a new light which was first lit on April 8, 1936. It is a sister to the Conneaut Lighthouse built the same year.
The light was automated in 1972.
On the way back we were getting our shoes back on at the harbor edge when we met Lois and Dan who have a house overlooking the lagoon. After a brief talk Dan invited us up to their balcony for drinks. They were sailors and had been in many parts of the world and had meet cyclists before. We had an enjoyable hours conversation over a beer.
Suddenly realizing the time (going on 6:30 p.m.) we needed to get going, although we were only about 6 miles from our WS host for the night. So we pushed off and soon we rolled into our host's backyard. Sheryl was not home but had graciously offered up their backyard out-building as our sleep headquarters. Not feeling that hungry we snacked while enjoying the sunset on the lake from her backyard.
Today's ride: 21 miles (34 km)
Total: 660 miles (1,062 km)
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