One-Tank Trip for
Aug. 23/14
(c) By Jim Fox
A visit to Port
Dover can be summed up as beaches and boardwalks, sunshine and sandals, foot-long
hot dogs and fresh perch dinners, yachts and fishing tugs, theatre and summer
concerts – and Friday the 13th.
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| For many visitors, Port Dover is a day at the beach. (Barbara Fox photo) |
The eclectic beach
town with its pier and historic lighthouse on the northern shore of Lake Erie
has been attracting tourists since the mid-1800s.
In recent years, helping
to put it on the map has been the Friday the 13th motorcycle rallies that draw
thousands of bikers and spectators.
It started with a
couple of buddies gathering in 1981 and has exploded since then to an estimated
100,000 or more people on a typical summer day.
But you’ll have to
wait until next year as the only Friday the 13th this year was in June and won’t
happen again until next February, March and November.
Even so, our visit
on a Friday the 15th saw quite a number of bikes cruising around town.
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| Motorcycles cruise the streets of Port Dover even when it isn’t Friday the 13th. (Jim Fox photo) |
There’s much to
offer day-trippers and weekenders in this community of only 6,387 year-round
residents.
Life’s a beach
“Port Dover is a
truly cool, little town with natural beauty and laid-back lifestyle that’s well
worth the visit,” said Ted Willey of Norfolk County Tourism.
The beach has always
been the big summer attraction along with fishing off the pier and fun on the
water.
The wide public stretch
of sand fills up quickly on hot, sunny days while on Wednesday nights there are
sailboat races.
“It’s an awesome
beach town with great restaurants, shopping and a really cool marine heritage
museum as well as the terrific Lighthouse Festival Theatre,” Willey said.
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| A bronze statue on the Port Dover pier honours the fishermen who lost their lives at sea. (Jim Fox photo) |
Visitors stroll
along Harbour Street to the pier and lighthouse to watch the sunset and
sailboats and enjoy the lake breezes along with seeing the commercial fishing
fleet return with the catch of the day.
Get out on the
water with two options from Nomada Charters – a one-hour sightseeing cruise on
the River Rider pontoon boat or a 90-minute lake cruise on the Kayloe.
Our sightseeing
cruise along the Lynn River and into the Black Creek Conservation Area passed
million-dollar homes with expensive yachts moored out front.
 |
| Port Dover’s abundance of pleasure craft can be seen on a Nomada Charters’ cruise on the River Rider pontoon boat. (Jim Fox photo) |
Fishing boat
charters can be hired as well as renting personal water craft and stand-up
paddle boards.
Over at the Harbour
Museum, visitors learn about the town’s marine heritage and see artifacts from
the steamer Atlantic that sank in 1852 off Long Point.
Along with shipwrecks,
the museum tells the story of the commercial fishery, tall ships and rumrunners,
has a century-old freighter wheelhouse and an exhibit remembering the
now-departed Summer Garden dance hall.
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| The Erie Beach Hotel has been serving its perch and pickerel dinners since 1946. (Barbara Fox photo) |
Required dining
includes a fish feast at the Erie Beach Hotel that put the town on the culinary
map since 1946 with its famous perch and pickerel dinners, celery bread, a
salad cart brought to the diners’ table and pies.
 |
| Alexis Copeman with the Erie Beach perch. (Jim Fox photo) |
Andrew Schneider
and wife Pam are the third generation of the family to run the business with
its Cove Room for fine dining and Terrance Room pub.
“We still use our
traditional recipes and the fish being served tonight were fresh caught this
morning,” Andrew said.
Another landmark is
the Arbor, home of foot-long Ritz Red Hots, hamburgers, fries, Golden Glow
fruit drinks and ice cream.
Popular also is the
Beach House (formerly Callahan’s) that has the best view of the lake, palm
trees on the beach and a very hip, coast-inspired menu.
Coastal dreaming
Ontario's South
Coast has been called many things including the Ontario Riviera, Bluewater
Country and the Lake Erie Coast.
“The drive along
the coast from Port Dover past Port Rowan and Long Point has many picturesque
sights for cyclists, motorcycle riders and day-trippers,” said Norfolk County
Mayor Dennis Travale.
The “Cruise the
Coast” communities have a motorcycle map showing rider-approved routes and
biker-friendly stops along the lake. cruisethecoast.ca
As well as the
Saturday farmer’s market at Silver Lake Park in Port Dover, agri-tourism is
another growing attraction with wineries, microbreweries and farm-related
events.
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Jim Fox can be
reached at onetanktrips@hotmail.com
For more One-Tank
Trips: http://1tanktrips.blogspot.ca
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