2023 Thousand Islands to Georgian Bay to Mackinaw City
Great Lakes boat trip video
2023.07.05
Our flight was uneventful, but we had mechanical issues with the plane we were to take so we were delayed leaving Philadelphia for Waterford NY. We arrived safe and sound about an hour late. Mark found an Uber driver to take us to the grocery. We asked her if she would take us to the boat, too. It is about a 30-minute drive to the boat, but she agreed to wait for us while we shopped and take us to the boat. Our driver is a friendly and talkative preschool teacher who drives to make some extra money. The ride went quickly as she answered all our questions and told us about the area. After unloading all the bags, we climbed on the boat to see how it fared over the last month. To our surprise there were no bugs inside and the frig and freezer had stayed cold the entire time. The ice cubes were still intact, no melting! We had bets on the power and most thought it would turn off sometime. So, we only needed to clean the inside and clean the many dead bugs on the outside.
2023.07.06
The next morning we woke to another very warm day. It is as hot this far north as it is in Cincinnati! In this part of the world a kind of plant grows in the shallow water, water under 4 feet deep. They looked like giant ferns. The boat was surrounded by plants that were thriving in the hot, sunny weather. We used poles to yank out as much as we could, but Mark was still concerned about plants getting into engines, so he found a work boat in the business next door that agreed to come over and pull us out of the marina. We said goodbye to Mary Ann and Mark gave her a pair of garden gloves with poppies on them as a thank you for watching the boat. She loved them! Once outside the shallow marina it was safe to turn on the motor and start our trip.
It was only about an hour across the St. Lawrence River to Kingston, ON. Another beautiful day and it is still hot. The city marina is very nice and opens onto downtown Kingston. After a 90-minute wait we passed through customs and are now permitted to enjoy the Canada portion of our trip. A festival starts this weekend and ahead of this some of the street performers were entertaining the crowds. We watched several acrobatics and jugglers. Juggling fire sticks seems to be a necessary part of most routines. They were all people pleasers so the crowds that gathered around each performer had a good time. Kingston is known for its 3 colleges. Each one must have a medical school because this small city had a lot of hospitals! We visited Ft. Henry that was built in the 1800’s to keep Americans from invading. Its design was impressive, and if there were any Americans interested in invading it was impressive enough to keep anyone from attacking. So, it is in excellent condition since it was never attacked. A number of college students are working at the fort as soldiers and tour guides. They stayed in character and were very realistic. It was a hot day and we felt bad for them parading around in their hot uniforms, but they were fun to watch and talk to. We had walked to the fort and back to the boat which was enough to get us very hot and we had shorts on. After dinner at a nice seafood restaurant, we relaxed at our home in the bay.
2023.07.07
We head to Port Trent today. This part of Lake Ontario has lots of lush islands to enjoy, some populated by humans, but most are in their natural state. It was a peaceful journey. We are spending the night at beautiful Port Trent Marina in Trenton, ON. Folks let us know that we arrived in time for happy hour, friendly group. After a walk around town, we went to happy hour and met a couple from Russia who have lived in Canada for 20 years, a couple from Calgary who summer in Port Trent Marina and a couple who live in Trenton and winter in Florida. They were friendly and had great stories. One thing I really enjoy about trips like this is meeting new people. Mark discovered that his electronic GPS data didn’t include the Trent-Severn waterway, so he and Dean spent the evening trying to download a new portion of the GPS software, which proved a major challenge! Some of our new friends helped by providing a laptop and advice. Who knew that a software update would be such a challenge!
2023.07.08
Day 1 of our trip up the Trent-Severn Waterway was great. The area is beautiful! This is a combination of rivers, canals and lakes that we will take to cross from Lake Ontario into the Georgian Bay. Speed limit is about 10 mph, so it is a slow, gentle trip. We went through 12, yes 12 locks today. We saw our first locks that opened and closed via manpower, the lock master walks a crank in a circle unit the lock is totally open or closed. In between they get a little information from us and have a nice chat. They always want to know where we are heading and where we plan to spend the night. They let you know if your ideas are unrealistic and offer restaurant and store suggestions for your evening stay. The locks fill and empty quickly, so it only takes about 15 minutes to traverse each lock. Every lock has a small house and a park around it. Since today is Saturday we saw plenty of people enjoying the day at the lock. We also saw lots of people fishing and lots of people playing in the water. It is fun to see how each home owner chose to set up the back yard that is on the water. Some had boats, some had nice seating areas, and some had water playgrounds. This waterway is full of animals, too. We have seen lots and lots and lots of geese, ducks and swans. The number of swans surprised me. We have also seen water snakes, an otter, and a deer. Oh, and there are man eating biting flies. I have the itchy red marks on my legs to prove it.
Our home for the night is Cambellford. It is a bigger town than Port Trent, but the city marina is a few spots on the river wall with electricity. A Christian group was having a concert as we pulled into the park area, so we were serenaded as we docked and got settled. The lock personnel told us that there was a food fest across the river. It too, had a concert. Dueling bands. We walked across the bridge to the food fest but decided to go to a restaurant. To our surprise the local pub closed at 7:30 pm and that is when we were looking for dinner. We were fortunate that the bistro back across the river agreed to seat us as their kitchen didn’t close until 8 pm. We booked it back across the river and made it to an old church that had been turned into a bistro. They had a pleasant garden area along the river where we enjoyed a yummy meal with some surprising flavors. We didn’t expect anything special and were very pleasantly surprised.
2023.07.09
The next morning we walked to the bakery hoping to get the donuts that the town is famous for. But they are closed on Sunday. Disappointed, we made a quick grocery run before heading down the waterway. This day was a more relaxing day, only 6 locks, two of which were back-to-back to get a water level change of about 30 feet. That back wall was very tall! We made it to the village of Hastings about 2 and went looking for a place to eat. Folks at the last lock recommended a couple of restaurants, so we checked them out and chose one. Once again, the quality of the food surprised us. Creative and good flavors. Dean says the craft beers have been good in Canada. Wine choices have been limited but good. After filling our bellies, we walked around town. Since it is only a few blocks in any direction, it didn’t take long, but we did manage to find an ice cream parlor to cap off the meal. We met some local folks and learned of a famous hockey player that a street and business were named after. We also got to know some more fellow boaters. Everyone here is very friendly and helpful. It has been very pleasant.
2023.07.10
We are off early the next morning to try and make it to Peterborough in time to check out one of the big lift locks. The city marina is small for this being a big city but is big enough for our needs. Once again, the folks are very helpful. After docking we find a place for lunch and start walking around town. It is getting hot again after a couple days of cooler weather so it is a warm walk, but Peterborough is the largest city we have visited and has a vibrant downtown. Lots of shops and restaurants in interesting historic buildings. There are a couple of museums and a performance hall. As with all the towns we have visited, the flowers hanging from the light poles and in planters are beautiful. Someone does a lot of watering around here! We find nice parks with long walking paths along the canal and rivers and the two locks that we will go through tomorrow. The first is a typical lock with a movable street bridge after it. This is the third or fourth lock of this type that we have been in. Then we were fortunate to see the famous lift lock in action. It has two large vessels that are nicknamed bathtubs. They are 141 by 33 feet so can hold a number of boats. Each vessel is on a large piston. One vessel is up while the other is down. The upper vessel fills with a foot more water than the lower vessel making it heavy enough to drop to the ground and raise the other vessel to the canal 65 feet above the lower canal. It was opened in 1912 and is considered a mechanical engineering historic landmark. It was fun to watch other boats go through the locks. Can’t wait to ride in the lift lock tomorrow!
2023.07.11
The ride on the lift was a challenge in that there were so many boats packed into the basin (bathtub), but water level didn’t change so you could tie up the boat and watch the magic happen. It was a great lock! While waiting for our turn at the first lock we met some very friendly folks who were out for their morning walks. Part of their joy is meeting the boaters as we wait for their turn to lock through. It is a joy to get to know them, too. Today, we traversed lots of areas with rivers, locks and small lakes full of small lake houses. There were lots of people playing in the water in canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, boats large and small and lots of inflatable toys. We saw a many neon colored pontoon boat that stopped and turned into a platform for a slide and jumping into the water. It was so great to see families having so much fun together in this area.
Our stay for the night was at Young’s Point Marina just after lock 27. All was going well until we started to tie up on the wall after the lock so that Mark could call the marina. Dean and I stepped up on the boat rim to step off the boat as we have done many times. Next thing I knew I was on my back on the deck and had no idea how it happened. I was momentarily knocked out but came to and had some bruises and a knot on my head and some aches and pains to show for my escapade. Mark kept yelling at a man sitting on a porch near the boat to go for help and only realized later that it was a stuffed gorilla dressed like a person. Stress can do crazy things! We had a good laugh about the monkey. After the guys determined that it was safe to move on, we tied up in the marina just in time as the skies broke loose. Rain had been promised for a couple of days but kept going around us. Tonight, we had plenty of rain. We joined many of our fellow boaters at the marina restaurant inside. Most of the seating was outside where it was raining so inside was packed, and they found an empty table and four chairs around the room and set a table up for us in front of the door. That is hospitality! The marina owner is a very friendly guy. He sat at our table and talked for over a half hour telling us about the place and how he ended up owning it. It was a nice evening.
2023.07.12
Morning was sunny and much cooler as we set off for a new day. It is a gloriously beautiful day. I’m a bit sore from my lack of gracefulness yesterday, but the scenery was amazing. We were told that the further you get up the Trent-Severn waterway the more beautiful it gets. We spend most of today in lakes with names like Stoney, Clear, and Pigeon. These lakes have thousands of islands made from rock that is part of the Canadian Shield which formed more than 500 million years ago. We were looking at some of the oldest rock on earth. It has very little soil, but that doesn’t stop trees and other plants from figuring out how to survive. The islands are rugged and beautiful. Some areas are very natural and some are so populated with houses that it looks like you are driving down the street except you are doing it in the water on a boat. We even saw some waterfalls. Most of the falling water we have seen has been through a dam. There are inns and resorts that look like they have been in business for a long time. People are enjoying the water as they have in other areas. We stopped at a little town of Buckhorn for lunch and to walk around and explore. It had lots of inns and restaurants and nice park areas. The restaurant we choose forgot to tell us that they were short staffed, and it would be at least an hour after ordering. That was the longest wait that we had for a meal on the whole trip and the food was ok. Finally, we were on our way and go through are narrows (long, skinny canals) connecting the various lakes that are shallow and thin and a challenge for a boat this size. After passing Pigeon Lake we find the marina in Bobcaygeon. The small town has some beautiful large homes, and some beautiful Victorian style homes. We are in a yacht club tonight. Not sure if there are regular marinas here as most of the boats are quite large. We walk around town and find the famous Kawartha Dairy and enjoy a humongous scoop of ice cream flavor of our choice. They must have had 30 flavors to choose from and they were good. We think Graters is still the winner of ice cream flavors. This town has a historic village that they call settlers village. I always enjoy walking through historic areas where people lived. There was a big barn on the property, and they were setting up for a showing of a Disney movie. Wednesday nights are movie nights here! This was a nice placed to spend the night.
2023.07.13
We head down another long, skinny canal to Sturgeon Lake and another canal to Cameron Lake and another canal to Balsam Lake. Balsam Lake is the highest point above sea level that we will be on this trip. We have hit a divide. After 35 locks of swimming upstream we will now swim downstream through the next 18 locks to the Georgian Bay. The canal out of Balsmam Lake is very narrow and is nicknamed “the ditch”. It is remote and peaceful if you aren’t the one steering the boat! Halfway across we come to the second lift lock, Kirkfield. The Lock is under maintenance on one side so the counterbalance system that exists to raise and lower the pans is not working. The backup system takes an hour to raise the pan and half hour to lower it. So, it took about 2 hours to get through the lock, but we did it. We met a tour boat that looks like a small riverboat as we exited the pan. That thing really takes up the whole canal! This was our first lock where we pulled in at the top of the lock and were lowered to the output. Also, the buoys are switched. Red is now on the left and green on the right for the rest of the trip. Our brains have to get used to thinking backwards so we stay clear of the treacherous rocks that loom under the water. A short distance further through more narrow channels takes us to our evening stopping place, Sunset Cove Marina which is not in a village or town. It is out in the middle of the wilderness. Although it is quite comfortable, it has no cell coverage, and the WiFi is poor. This would not normally be an issue, but Dean and I want to listen to Jessie’s master’s defense in the morning. The nice marina owner gave us the password to his personal WiFi so that we could participate on the Zoom call. It was wonderful to listen to our daughter confidently presenting and defending her work and we are thankful for the kind man who let us use his WIFI.
2023.07.14
We set off through a series of 5 locks in a row before getting out on Lake Simcoe. This is a huge, deep lake with only a couple of islands. Mark finally gets a chance to open up the boat and have fun in the water. We get to our marina in Orillia late afternoon. This town is big enough that we actually need a ride to the grocery store. A nice woman two boats down offered to take us to the grocery store. She was so kind and we really needed groceries. We found a good restaurant thanks once again to chats with the locals. After a nice dinner we bought groceries and found an Uber to get us back to the marina. This was one of the largest groceries we have found on the trip. Prices in Ontario are higher than home, but it is great to get the food we want for the meals we eat on the boat. Tonight, is laundry night. Not an exciting way to spend a Friday night, but we were all excited to have clean clothes.
2023.07.15
We begin our cloudy, windy morning passing though Lake Couchiching which is mostly protected land and belongs to the native Americans. No fishing in about half of the lake. The other half has the typical homes and boats. We are starting to see larger and larger hills and some tall rocky cliffs together with the usual islands. It seems more remote, and sections of homes seem more like cabins we would see in the woods. There are a number of log homes mixed in with the regular homes. We see homes that are hanging above cliffs with steep paths and stairs down to the water. One thing that we have noticed the last few days is that the locals do not follow the no wake rule. They zip across canals and rivers and cause everyone else to rock. So much of this waterway is listed as no wake. When a boat leaves a lock the lock master calls the next lock so that they are ready. If a boat zips from one lock to the next the lock master often holds off opening the gates until the time that they should have arrived. Sometimes, it comes with a lecture, too. It is rather funny to see boats that have blown past us waiting at a lock that opens as we arrive. After a long canal we come out at Sparrow Lake. It is named because its shape looks like a bird, but it looks more like a vulture! We go through very deep canals, rivers and tiny lakes to work our way to the final lock on the system and our stopping point for the evening, lock 44, the Big Chute Marine Railway. Today is a first, the first day that we are boating in the rain. It begins early afternoon and rains off and on the rest of the day.
Our boat is docked close to the chute, so we have front row seats to watch it in action. We enjoyed watching other boats take the ride on the chute. It is kind of a cross between a train and a roller coaster looking contraption. The boat slides into place and is held onto the chute via humongous straps. The whole contraption rides up out of the water and over a short distance of land. Then down a steep track to the other side of the water. The straps are lowered and the boat powers away. Less than 10 minutes for the whole ride.
We had time to take a short hike. There was supposed to be a trail near our marina. It was well hidden, or maybe it was totally overgrown, but we found a trail and walked a short distance when a porcupine jumped up and waddled away with its quills sticking straight out. I don’t know who was more shocked, the little animal or us! Mark insists he got that award.
2023.07.16
This was it, the grand finale, the last lock on the Trent-Severn, well, second to last. The lock known as the Big Chute Railway is another engineering marvel. In order to keep certain fish and mollusks from entering the Great Lakes a lock was built that includes a train that picks up the boat and carries it a short distance over land, down a steep hill and places it in the pool that feeds the Georgian Bay. The train uses large straps that are commonly used to pull boats out of water. The straps tighten around the bottom of the boat and hold it like in a hammock. The car slowly rises and the boat hangs above it if small enough, or sits on the bottom of the car which is what Mark’s boat did. The disconcerting thing for me was that the two straps were placed in the front quarter and middle of the boat, nothing on the back half. As the person standing on the back of the boat with the heavy gas tanks, I was a bit concerned about the mechanics. Yes, the boat was sitting on the car, but again, it was the front half of the boat. I stood as close to the door as possible so that I was closer to the center. Everything went fine, so my concerns were not necessary but that didn’t stop the concern. The whole transfer process took 10 minutes which is much quicker than a conventional lock and didn’t require us to do anything. So, we were all taking pictures and recording the event, at least we thought we were recording. Seems that Dean and I both were not recording when we thought we were. Bummer. But it was an experience to remember.
The narrow body of water out of the lock and leading to the pool (lake?) had whirlpools, so Mark had a challenging time keeping the boat straight through the narrow canyon. Once again, he did a marvelous job, and we safely entered the Gloucester Pool. This again is a beautiful area filled with rocky islands, big trees and houses small and humongous. After crossing the pool, we had a surprise, one last lock. So, #45, which had very swift water due to the pool being emptied after the rain, was about a 20-foot drop to swift moving water that eventually calmed as we moved into Little Lake, which wasn’t that little. Little Lake was pretty and had rocky cliffs and interesting houses to watch as we headed to Port Severn. As we passed Port Severn the land opened up and we started our exploration of Georgian Bay. We headed out and across the bay to Midland, ON, our next stop. After docking we spent the afternoon exploring Midland, a town of about 16,000 people. We walked part of the Trans Canadian trail that followed the coast, walked through the business district and found a nice park called Little Lake Park which contained Little Lake. The name is quite creative! We are resting tonight in a huge marina with many gorgeous sail boats. It is beautiful in every direction.
2023.07.17
Today we cross and explore the Georgian Bay. It is a clear day but windy. We are crossing west of Beausoleil Island, a Provencial Park that looks beautiful up into the protected part of the Bay. The bay is rough, and the ride is challenging. For this part of the trip Mark is Captain (well that is nothing new), Sue is navigating, and Dean has his eyes peeled for buoyies and other beacons. Dean is also the ship photographer. After getting up to the northern part of the bay and into area protected by islands, it is gorgeous! Rocky islands full of trees. Many with homes tiny to humongous. I can’t imagine living on an island with a boat being my only mode of transportation. That’s a long way to the grocery. There are a lot of people who seem to like it and I’ll admit it looks like a pretty peaceful life. We tried to stop at a famous restaurant on an island called Henry’s but it is Monday and most good restaurants are closed on Monday’s around here. So, we tied up with help of folks who were on the marina and enjoyed a relaxing lunch on the boat. There is always someone who comes over to help us dock. People around here don’t seem to care about the ‘speed limit’ to keep from waking others, but they are very friendly and helpful on land. After lunch we go through a long series of passages weaving through islands. Simply lovely. We make our way to Kilbear Provincial Park for the night. We get there early enough to enjoy a couple of hours of hiking before dinner and relaxation.
2023.07.18
We are up early to make our way to Killarney, Ontario not Ireland. Again, we assume our roles as driver, navigator and spotter of landmarks and buoyies. We start the day weaving through islands and notice how rustic it is getting. It seems only the very hearty live around here. It is quiet and beautiful. Since a long distance of Georgian Bay becomes one of the longest beaches in the world, we head out a way from land and spend a couple of hours allowing Mark to open up the boat and traveling quickly through the area. During this time, we listen to the coast guard asking boaters to help a boat that is on fire. It is fascinating to listen as three boats in that area find the boat and get the people and 4 pets on another craft while the Coast Guard comes to help the boat. The boat has Fire and Water damage, but everyone is safe. After the long ride in open water, we spend a long piece of our trip going through a canyon that looks like the earth pulled apart at this point and then refilled with water. It is narrow with high walls and deep waters, and it goes on for miles and miles. We come out of the canyon shortly before arriving at Killarney. We are at a marina that is part of a large lodge and cabin resort. There is a swimming pool here with lots of people swimming. It’s 68 degrees! I’m wearing shorts and a big sweatshirt and am comfortable. The swimmers are looking at me like I’m overdressed just as I am looking at them like they should be freezing. At this site we again have time for a couple of hours of hiking through woods, along the rocky shore and to a lighthouse. Tonight, we are treating ourselves to nice dinner out at the steakhouse. We get more cleaned up than usual and enjoy a long dinner in a huge rustic building.
2023.07.19
It is another early morning out as we now head west through the North Channel. Goodbye Georgian Bay. It still is beautiful with rugged, rocky islands full of spruce and pine trees and peppered with homes. Although the homes are very sparce compared to the eastern side of the bay. We have to wait on a bridge to swing open to pass by a town called Little Current. The names of places around here tickle me. Islands are often named after wildlife or an activity like ‘picnic’. And if they really like the name there could be picnic island 1, picnic island 2…. The water is still clear and teal blue. It has been compared to the Caribbean in color, which is a good comparison. It’s just a bit cooler, ok a lot cooler up here. We have a relatively long distance to go today so we go just outside the islands and run across the water for a couple of hours. We arrive at Blind River, yes that is it’s name, mid afternoon. Mark has shown his great skill in maneuvering the 42-foot boat where he wants it to go. He spins it and backs it into the slip like that was an easy task. A couple of guys on other boats are clearly impressed with his skill. One guy said, “Wow, look at that. I hate him.” And everyone laughed. Folks on the dock once again help with the lines and we are tied up, electric and water connected to the boat and ready for lunch/dinner. Thanks to the locals we find a good restaurant for our mid afternoon meal. This has typically become our big meal of the day with a light dinner of mostly crunchy veggies and cheese. The restaurant was good, and the waitress was a fun and funny person to talk to. We walked the town and notice how many home improvement projects are actively underway. Seems that there are a lot of workers employed in this town. We wondered with so much “new” happening if the town people got some sort of low interest loans to fix up things. We have seen lots of wind turbines on this trip and some solar, but this town has lots of solar, many roofs covered in rectangular panels. I also enjoyed the few yards that clearly had a gardner lovingly tending them. In the process of walking, we found the LCBO, which if you are in Canada you know this is where you buy your alcohol. Dean likes to find local beers and since beer is sold by individual can, no 6 packs, you can mix and match. We also made our final grocery stop. Both the LCBO and the grocery are much smaller in this small town of about 3000 than in the larger towns, but we find the basics and haul it back to the boat. It is a quiet harbor with brand new metal docks and new washrooms. We asked at the marina as it had the nicest docks we have been on. They said that they used a grant to fix up the area. It is only about 1/3 full, so we enjoy a quiet evening.
2023.07.20
It started to rain overnight. Both cabins have a skylight over the bed so when the raindrops started hitting our faces we all woke up. The windows were closed and when we finally got out of bed it was pouring. It rained hard all morning, so it was a good day to curl up and read. Late morning the rain slowed so we fueled the boat and got a pump out (black water tank is pumped clean) and started across the North Channel to the American side. The rain stopped part way across and by the time we came to Drummond Island the sun was trying to break out of the clouds. We are back in the USA which means we have to go through customs. This means filling out forms online that don’t seem to want to be completed, submitting them and waiting for approval. After almost an hour we went to the marina office. The woman in the marina called the customs office and we miraculously were approved for entry immediately. Customs has proven to be a challenge and almost a power game for those in the office. But we are finally free to get off the boat, so we walk around the north end of the island and find a nature center with a nice trail. We see two doe’s and two fawns on our walk to the nature center. On the way home the fawns are resting in a field and moms have left. Soon we see them enjoying the long grass farther down the road. The marina lets you rent a car for the evening, so we rented one to go to the restaurant on the other side of the island. When we went to pick it up at dinner time, it wasn’t there. They told us that the car would be in the parking lot with the keys in it. We called the marina emergency number since the office was closed and a woman came and gave us a different car and said that this happens sometimes. Who leaves a car in a parking lot with keys in it not expecting it to disappear? We went to dinner and drove a bit around the island. If seeing a field with beautiful horses and a flock of herons all enjoying the grass or bugs in the grass wasn’t enough, when driving around the island a black bear walked across the road. It looked back at us kind of confused and walked down someone’s driveway toward the house before disappearing into the woods. We do love seeing the animals! Sunset was beautiful at the west end of the island where the ferry brings cars to and from the island. When we returned to the marina our original car was in the parking lot with the keys inside. We left the car we used in its spot feeling a bit concerned about leaving it but we are in a very small town on a small island with the only means of leaving being a ferry.
2023.07.21
Next morning the sky is blue and clear. It is cool but we are in the north. Because we were not slowed down by weather or locks, we have our two built in calamity days to use. We decided to go to Sault Saint Marie and see the granddaddy of all locks in the Great Lakes, the Soo locks. It was a nice ride by the Upper Peninsula and the many islands. There is a ship channel for the freighters, and we enjoyed the deep water. Usually, we have 1-2 digital devices and paper maps that tell us the water depth and point out hazards like the thousands of submerged rocks. Often there is a very specific path one must travel on to keep the boat from getting stuck or being damaged by rocks. To get out of the marina at Drummond Island we had to zig and zag around sandbars and rocks. This has been a normal part of our travels, but today as long as we followed the red and green buoys, we could ride at top speed to the locks. In some areas the 28 deep channel was surrounded by water so shallow that you can wade in it. It is very deceiving because your eyes seen a huge lake, but your maps tell you a different story. We came upon large freighters twice during the journey, but it wasn’t difficult to pass them in the channel safely. When we got to Sault Saint Marie, we locked through on the pleasure boat lock which is on the Canadian side. It is large but not huge. Once out of the lock it was a short trip to Lake Superior. Once at Lake Superior the waves picked up as it is a breezy day. We spend a short time in Lake Superior and then take the river back to the lock and lock over to the town center which is where our marina was located. The wind and the water motion from the passing ships made docking a bit of a challenge but Mark worked his magic. After tying up the boat we were off to walk to the huge locks where the freighters pass from Lake Huron to Lake Superior, the Soo Locks. Two locks were locking through boats, the smaller 800-foot lock could in less than 15 minutes lock through the mid-sized boats. We watched tour boats, work boats and tugs pushing barges. In the 1200-foot lock we watched the largest of freighters, 1000 feet long, lock through. It is a long process as it takes 22 million gallons of water to raise or lower the boat in a lock. That’s a lot of water! But the process works beautifully, and it was interesting to watch it happen. People have watched us lock through all 55 locks on this trip and we understand the fascination with watching the process. We watched for about an hour. We once again found a local brewery but this one was also a local winery. So, we all enjoyed the adult beverage of our choice while resting and discussing our day. Dinner was on the boat. As we relaxed on the boat, we feel the wake from each freighter that passes. The Soo Locks are open 24/7 so we expect to be rocked to sleep tonight.
2023.07.22
It is Saturday, and the trip from Sault Saint Marie to Mackinaw City mostly on the ship channel was pleasant and pretty uneventful except for the many small fishing boats that think fishing in the ship channel is the best spot. It is deep, about 25-30 feet deep along the ship channel and the fish must like the extra swimming room. For the first couple of hours the water outside the ship channel was generally pretty shallow, often less than 5 feet. Then as we got out away from land the water basin became very deep. As we came near Mackinaw City the water was about 180 feet deep! That’s deep. We go in close to Mackinac Island to see it from the water. It is one of our favorite places to visit so we have been there a number of times, but Mark hasn’t been there, so it was fun to see it through his eyes. Tuesday we will spend the day there when Nancy is here with us. After docking, we checked out Mackinaw City. There is a nice restaurant on the shore called Hooks that had good perch sandwiches. One thing about eating about 3 pm, you always get into a place right away and are out before the dinner crowd starts coming. Also, it is like having brunch where you combine two meals. We stopped at a ship store and Mark found some supplies for the boat and I found a new pair of shoes that were a great price. I haven’t bought much on this trip, so it feels good to help the economy and get a pair of comfy walking shoes. Dean and I walked to a peninsula to see the Mackinaw bridge lit up at night. It looks beautiful and we were surprised with Saturday night fireworks over the bridge. We managed to get to the lookout just as they started. What a treat!
2023.07.23
You need a day to recharge and do minor maintenance, laundry and cleaning. Today is that day. It is another mild day with a high in the low 70’s. I could get used to this kind of summer! The marina has loaner bikes. They are simple bikes but after getting our chores done, we decide to take a bike ride. There is a long bike trail along Lake Huron, and we enjoyed an hour of riding along part of it. There was a brewery along the path close to the marina, so we stopped on our way back. Dean was happy that they had flights of beer so that he could sample a few beers. I ordered a pretzel for a snack and was very surprised at the giant pretzel that arrived at the table! It was enough for 4 people, but we managed to consume it. It was warm, buttery and yummy. When we got back to the boat, we noticed lots of sailboats out in the bay. We learned that there is a sailboat race happening that started in Chicago and ends at Mackinac Island. What fun it is to see them sail across the water near us. Tonight, we cooked the last of the dinner food on the boat. It feels good to have gotten through so much of the food we bought. We pulled out the duffels and started packing. Then, we hear fireworks close to the boat. We go to the bow and watch a short but very colorful and intense firework display. What are the odds of seeing fireworks by chance two nights in a row? This has been an amazing trip and I’m ready to head back home.
2023.07.24
Mark and Dean figured out how to move gasoline from the auxiliary tanks to the main ones today. The system worked beautifully which makes Mark happy because it is good to know you have extra gasoline if needed in an emergency. Dean and I walked along the historic trail and found a lighthouse, a fort and some nice beaches. Nancy arrived today! It is great to have her here with us for a couple of days and that she offered to drive us all home. We walked around town and found a new restaurant to try the local white fish and perch. We walked the historic trail with Mark and Nancy which was fun to see through their eyes. At the end of the walk we arrived back at the brewery and had a nice long conversation catching up, no giant pretzel this time. We are relaxing tonight.
2023.07.25
Our final day is a fun one. Shepler’s Ferry is next to our marina. We are up early and have breakfast trying to clean out everything from the boat that we can. The result is a great veggie omelet, sausage, fruit and toast. Great way to start the day and then we take a ferry ride to Mackinac Island. On the way we pass under the big bridge so that we have now ridden in water in Lake Michigan and Lake Huron on this short ride. We have ridden in all the Great Lakes except Lake Erie on this trip! That is something! Dean and I love Mackinac Island and so did Mark and Nancy. The old Victorian village that makes you slow down and enjoy the beauty of the island, the flowers and the old Victorian buildings. We walked the town, explored the fort and the Grand Hotel gardens. The flowers are gorgeous all over the island! After enjoying a filling lunch at a Jamaican restaurant, we rented bikes and rode along the outer bike trail that circled the island. The island is full of people we are told because of the sailboat race. As we start our bike ride it is hard to work your way past people walking. We wondered why there were so many people walking in one direction. Turns out there was a concert and BBQ happening for the sailing participants. Thousands of people are stuffed into one park, and a band was playing upbeat music that some were dancing to. The race was finished and everyone was partying. We talked with one team. They hadn’t done as well as they wanted but they had a good race. Just one more surprising thing that we just happened on on this trip. Some of the best things on a trip are not planned. As we biked along the trail we enjoyed the water which is turquois and clear. If it didn’t have a stony bottom, one might confuse it for the Caribbean. The water is cool but is a couple of degrees above its normal temperature. It is only about 75 degrees out and with cold water, it isn’t very inviting to us for swimming, but we saw lots of brave people swimming on this beautiful sunny day. This was a great way to finish our journey.
