Friday the 13th in Port Dover

Ever heard of it?

Port Dover is a tiny little fishing town on Lake Erie, about an hour and a half drive from where I live. For about 25 years, there has been this tradition of bikers (ie. motorcyclers) gathering at Port Dover whenever it is Friday the 13th. They get a better turn out when Friday the 13th falls in the summer of course, but they come regardless of the weather. People think that because it's bikers and it's Friday the 13th that there is something sinister about the gathering, but it's really not like that. Still, it features rock concerts and lots of beer so I doubt that it's an entirely wholesome environment; hence we have never gone.

Port Dover has a normal population of about 5,500 people. They get a lot of tourists in the summer who come for the beaches and the boating but today they are expecting 100,000 people to descend on the little town. Can you imagine?! (Pictures of the crowds here.)

We try to get down to Dover once each summer. My mom grew up in Simcoe, a little town about 10 minutes away from Dover. It is a family tradition going back over 50 years to make a yearly visit to "The Arbor" a little counter-service restaurant famous for its foot-long hot dogs and "Golden Glow" - a freshly squeezed orange drink. The foot longs are awesome! They've got about a dozen different toppings, everything you can imagine. The Arbor has been there for over 80 years now, though they completely rebuilt the building last year. When we go this year it will be our first visit to the "new" Arbor.