Dinner at the Grand Hotel

In addition to the great food at this place, there seems to be a fudge shop on every corner. This was in the dining room of the Grand Hotel. Dresses only for the ladies and coats and ties for the men. The Admiral likes that.

Honeymoon Redux

43 years ago my bride and I had our picture taken in this same spot - The Grand Hotel front porch on Mackinac Island. This was our first time back since then. We were on our honeymoon having just traveled up from Flint, Michigan where Dad Frick pastored at the time. Today, the place is more beautiful than ever.

We are Back in the USA!

We really enjoyed our six week Canadian adventure. But we are so glad to be back in the good old USA. The weather these last two days have been great! A little on the cool side, but clear and no wind, which is good for boating in wide open Lake Huron as we approached the Mackinac Bridge. Tonight we are in St. Ignace, Michigan and tomorrow we head for two days at Mackinac Island. The picture is of the Grand Hotel we passed today.

Sunset in the North Channel, Ontario

Johns Island anchorage

The North Channel is much more remote than we have been so far. Here we are at anchor behind Johns Island to get maximum protection from the windy conditions. Also, at this place we took the dinghy up close to the huge rock formations extending from the shoreline.

The next morning we decided to head for Thessalon. But after about 30 minutes of beam seas and a storm warning ahead, we decided to turn back. We learned our lesson from last month trying to tough it out going across Lake Ontario. So back to Johns Island.

Then, here came the storm. My anchor wasn't set well enough for 50-60 mile an hour winds so we broke loose and were heading for the rocks. I fired up the engines in a hurry to keep us off the rocks. Then, a nearby sailboat was swinging toward us as the wind direction changed, almost pinning us between the shoreline and the other sailboat. Fortunately, I was able to power us away from the other boat in time to avoid a big collision. But my second anchor was just clipped by the other sailboat's stayline, knocking it into the water. My main anchor was already in the water. So here we were with high winds and a driving rain and two anchors in the water between the rocky shoreline and another boat. Sound like fun? The admiral must have thought so because she was taking pictures of the calamity in progress. The winds began to subside as soon as they came so we were able to recoil both anchors and re-anchor.

Lesson Learned: Make certain anchor is very well set. I should have known of the possibility of wind shifts and the potential of the approaching storm. Also, allow for the swing of other boats.

This Just In

A fellow Looper took our picture as we were in one of those locks on the Trent Severn Waterway where the boat is actually floating in a "bathtub" which is supported on a 7 foot thick hydraulic piston and lowered to the waterway below, about 60 feet. We just got the picture today.

Into the North Channel

I know that looks like snow, but it is actually granite! We are on our way to a popular spot known as Bay Fine between Killarney and Little Current.
The Admiral was watching for rocks as we headed up to the "pool" at the very end of Bay Fine. The water is so clear you can see down to the bottom for at least 20 feet. What we usually see when it's this shallow are huge boulders.
Here we are in Killarney. How about that sign for building your appetite. We rarely pass the ice cream stands.
This is not exactly a Discovery Channel prospect for The Deadliest Catch, but this fishing boat goes out in the bay every day to bring in a large supply of Whitefish for hungry customers.
The fish are caught and delivered to the other side of this bus (converted into a fish and chips stand). Then they are cleaned for cooking about 1 hour later. It doesn't get any fresher than that.