Shortly after buying Wind Dreamer we started looking for water front property we could eventually move Wind Dreamer to. Well, we found it. We purchased 3.5 acres, 258 ft of water front on crystal blue lake Erie. She’s as shallow as she is beautiful. Very.

We made the offer in December 2017. We officially became Vacant land owners June 31, 2018.

Photos of our two lots. 1.25 Acres to the west. 2.25 acres to the east.

Pelee Island.

Many of you have probably never heard of Pelee Island, but for those who have, i’m sure you will never forget your Eerie adventure. The Adventure begins on a 1.5 hour ferry ride from either Leamington or Kingsville. You must arrive 1 hr before your reservation. You line up in your vehicle (15 minutes before for pedestrian departures). There are currently two ferries running to Pelee, Jiimaan & Pelee Islander.

“Sit back and grab a beverage”.

Yes. They do have wine and beer on board. Local wine and craft beer from a Kingsville local brewery, The Grove Brew House. It’s time to wind down and get ready for a mostly disconnected vacation. There is shotty cell service on the south end, middle, and southern parts of both shores. Since everything is within a 10 minute drive you can take a road trip and get up to date on your emails, texts, Facebook and Insta stories. People you may see on the boat; Margaret Atwood, local trades, ministry of natural resources, bird watchers, winery staff, Stone House 1891 staff, Mennonites, high school students returning home, day trippers, RV’ers and of course tourists from all over the world but mostly from the us.

YEAR 1

Visit#1: November 15, 2017

We found the property on the internet through a real estate search and contacted a few agents none of which were available to go on to the island. We thought that’s strange that you can’t just get on to the island?! We found one that said we could visit the property and he would answer any questions we would have. Thanks Victor Tiessen!

We packed our things at 11Pm that day.

We left Brampton at 4:30 Am the next morning To drive to Kingsville to catch the first ferry at 9:30 Am. Since we had never driven from brampton to pelee we left lots of time to get there to sneak on to the ferry as a stand by car{( half a car)}. We were first in line and easily fit behind the hydraulic arm that opens the drive on platform. Our search was about to begin.

As you can see it was November. Most of the restaurants, shops, and bars were closed. We were just on a mission to find some properties. This was our first stop - the south shore. Getting closer to the property we were interested in. The waves were quite large.

We explored more of the island, looking for the ideal property. We were surprised with the amount of land available. The signs were trying to tell us something. And then We found it. The future home of the Hobbyists and the nest on pelee.

Not actual sign from our property. SIGN PROVIDED BY Vic Tiessen

Our phones died so there are no original photos of the property but we did get some on our next visit. after just squeezing on to the ferry, we were headed back to brampton and we took this picture below.Cannabis greenhouses in Leamington, glowing a purple hue into the night sky. #PURPS.

VISIT #2: May 30th, 2018

Our return to pelee was to inspect the land in the spring, our closing date was a month away and we wanted to make sure we did a visual inspection. Everything was in order with the property. We could now successfully close on the two properties.

VISIT #3 : August 28th, 2018

Our friends were visiting from Flensburg, Germany. Our first trip to the island with another couple. We did the tourist thing. We ate at the Anchor and Wheel Inn We also ate at Westview Tavern. We visited everything that was open sampling all that the island has to offer. We found two young german men working at the winery on a working visa and it is true what they say “Zee Germans are everywhere!”. They enjoyed their time on pelee and i’m sure they will return, maybe when we finally have accommodations.

VISIT #4 September 14th, 2018

Our next visit brought us back to pelee with our dog tiny. We also brought some video equipment and took some footage. IT was still warm so we enjoyed some time on the beach as well as some delicious pastries and a little bit of the night life. We also made some new friends.

SHOTS FROM ABOVE w/Aerial

VISIT #5: September 24th, 2018

The first official work visit. We had a local contractor cut our lawn with a tractor and Now it was time to develop the land. Joining me on this trip is one of my oldest friends and avid outdoors-man Kyle. We took his Camry from brampton to Pelee Island. Mel and her mom were going to join us a week later and we would have a good old fashion boys week. Others would join us throughout. This would be our last visit to the island for the year. To end it, mel and i spent our first wedding anniversary on the island.

RECAP:

We visited the property 5 times! We made it on and off while on standby the first time we visited. The smart car fits behind the hydraulic arm. We met the Jiiman’s crew and captain. We enjoyed every restaurant on the island. Sampled a lot of wine. Enjoyed multiple amazing sunsets on west dock. Brought some friends. MAde some friends. Did some bird watching. Found our future home. And started to nest.

OUR LATEST AND GREATEST PROJECT YET! : THE NEST ON PELEE