Finally on Vacation

I’ve looked forward to the Georgian Bay. A place of thirty thousand islands carved from pink rock and covered with trees, it and the North Channel are the northernmost destinations of our trip.

We plan to anchor out a lot. Does that mean we’re finally on vacation?

Traveling over three thousand miles in a small boat has been tiring. Except for the three-week break home, we’ve slugged on. I’ve now experienced a thunderstorm while on a shallow lake, one hundred locks, two groundings, and several rough rides. When we hit Port Severn I looked at the charts and breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like lots of scenic protected anchorages ahead….just like last summer in British Columbia.

Our first stop was a three-day layover in Midland Bay, doing the normal things one does to get ready for a “camping” vacation…laundry, groceries, and a good tidying up of the boat. Then we headed out to a group of islands near Beausoleil National Park, a mere two-hour ride. We anchored in a beautiful spot along with fifty other boaters. The water churned with their toys. But hey, that’s camping, right?

Gorgeous scenery is around every corner. If the channel is narrow or doesn’t have markers, you keep an eye on your chart and depth sounder and feel your way in. The vacation part means we won’t be traveling every day, or if we do, it will only be a few hours and then the anchor goes down.

The dinghy has remained in its bag from the first lock. Now we can take it out and blow it up and do a little exploring in those inlets. Captain Mark can take his kayak off the roof. The closest it’s been to water is when it fell off the rack back in South Carolina, hanging by its straps over the port window, as if saying “remember me?”

We’re still making our way north and will end up in Drummond Island in two weeks, the only island in a string of Canadian Islands that is part of the U.S. Bet there’s a story there. Then it’s down to Mackinaw City on a good weather day.

For now, I’ll be sitting on the back deck in a chair, a book in one hand, a rum and tonic in the other. Chocolate? No. I’m saving that for the 477 mile run down the east side of Lake Michigan with its long fetch and heavy chop.

Vacation definitely will be over then.