Pleasant Camp, ON to Long Beach, ON

July 8, 2017

Day 9 - Bike Woes

Sunny

Side wind

Slept later, quiet camp. Left camp about 9:15 heading back towards Ridgeway on the Friendship Trail. Cameron immediately said there was something wrong with his bike and the derailleur would not shift. I couldn’t figure it out so fixed it so he could use the 3 front rings for gears. We left the trail and headed towards the lake and Crystal Beach. We stopped at Tim Hortons for a second breakfast and the wifi. After checking the web site we decided to try and take the earlier tour of Point Albino lighthouse.

We got there about 11 a.m. and was able to get on the 11:15 tour, we had initially booked the 1:45 p.m. tour.

The guided tour was very informative.

The US Government approved a lighthouse on June 17, 1910 authorizing construction of a lightship to be built and stationed on Point Abino.

Lightship (LV) 82, a 95 foot long, steel-hulled vessel was placed at Point Albino on August 3, 1912. LV 82’s assignment to mark Point Albino was only to last until LV 96, the lightship for which $75,000 had been authorized, could be completed.

In November 1913, two massive storm fronts converged on the Great Lakes to produce the the "great Storm of 1913", LV 82 was lost with all six of its crew.

LV 96 was stationed off Point Abino in 1914, followed by her sister ship LV 98, which carried on the responsibility from 1915 to 1918.

Point Albino. Lightship that was stationed here.

Point Albino lighthouse went into operation in October 1917. the light was automated in 1989 and decommissioned in 1998.

Point Albino lighthouse. Before restoration.

We left the lighthouse at 12:30 and started west again on the Friendship Trail to Port Colborne where there was possibly a bike shop open. As we arrived in town a local cyclist gave us directions to the Pedal Bike Shop. They were able to fix it quickly, determining the stand I had just installed was catching the shifter cable.

While heading back into the downtown area, we spied a fish and chip shop so couldn't pass it up. Had a big plate of fish n chips and used their wifi to catch up.

Spotted this old style KFC.

Next it was out to the marina to take some photos of the two Port Colborne lighthouses. We then picked up some groceries and started out of town intending to get the lighthouse stamp. The address given for the stamp was a house so I knocked on the door. The owners, while they knew about the stamp, they didn’t actually hold it.

The Welland Canal that runs from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie opened in 1829 and originally followed part of the Welland River and terminated in the Niagara River. A new route was needed due to the swift currents of the Niagara River and Gravelly Bay on Lake Erie was selected.

The first ship traversed the new canal alignment on June 1, 1833 and the first lighthouse was built on the piers in 1834.

The town of Port Colborne, was named in honor of Sir John Colborne the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada

A number of lighthouses have been erected over the past years with the current main lighthouse on the outer end of the breakwater first exhibited on 17th October, 1903.

In 1928, a new lighthouse at the southeast end of the new west breakwater was placed in operation. This lighthouse became known as the Port Colborne Outer Light. A tunnel was built inside the breakwater spur to help the keepers reach the outer lighthouse during storms.

Port Colborne Lighthouses - Inner and Outer

We left town at 4:30 p.m. intending to camp at Rock Point Provincial Park, on the way we passed the Long Beach Conservation Area and decided to check with them if there were sites at Rock Creek. No there weren’t so we stopped for the day at Long Beach.

Set up camp, and had a swim. The water was cold here.