Spendthrift Shoestring

Seven Ways Pelee Island is Like a Caribbean Backwater

Our one cloudy day on Pelee.

1. People wave to each other from cars. There are so few people on the island’s roads that basic friendliness is a given.

2. Consumer goods are shipped in. Scarcity is the rule, not the exception. A sign at the Co-op last Tuesday requested that people wait until Wednesday for vegetable and dairy perishables if at all possible.

 3. Visitors fall asleep early. Shops close early and the one sceney restaurant around (see below) stopped serving its Friday fish fry last week at 9 pm.

4. There’s a restaurant associated with the island's Anchor & Wheel Inn that serves fried fish and has a Caribbeanish theme.

5. The population swells in season, from between 150 and 300 (accounts vary) to around 1000 (again, accounts vary.)

6. There are aggressive biting insects, especially in the aftermath of storms.

7. It is impossible to find a wireless Internet connection. Seriously impossible. When a visitor makes an inquiry on the subject he is told to relax and enjoy his vacation.

More substantive musings on Pelee can be read here.

Canada: Stamps & Southernmost Point

The most quotidian things are often among the most appealing. I came across these permanent postage stamps in at a Canada Post outlet in Calgary last month. They depict five mills across Canada. They're so diminutive and attractive that I originally bought them with a decorative objective in mind.

Tomorrow I head to Pelee Island, Ontario—Canada's southernmost inhabited point—for five nights, and I may just put these stamps to their intended use from there.

Chincoteague in the Afternoon & Evening

I'm just back from the annual pilgrimage to Chincoteague, Virginia. I was especially struck this year by the town's charming, rustic corners.

Decoy shop.

Lawn jockey.

Early evening scene.