Day 87: August 19: Enjoyed celebrating Barbara’s Bday last night with a fabulous dinner and German chocolate cake. Steve and Barbara on Coda will head out early tomorrow morning on their sprint to Mackinac City, where they will catch flights to the west coast on Sunday.
While portions of the US continue to sizzle in the summer heat, at 8:00 am we donned our hoodies in 58 degree weather with sunny skies and flat seas to leave Meldrum Bay, Ontario Canada and begin a 4 hour run that would take us back into the good ole USA.
We crossed the international border around 11:30 am and switched out the Maple Leaf Flag for Old Glory in the “position of honor.” Can’t say enough about the beauty of Lake Ontario and the Georgian Bay as well as the friendliness of the Canadian people, but return we must. We are feeling we cut the North Channel a little short skipping some ports we thought we’d visit, but with our schedule in September having us away from the boat for almost 2 weeks, it was the best we could do.
We cleared customs online just as easily as we entered Canada on July 3rd. Canada challenged us with shallow waters and narrow passages on the Trent Severn Waterway then showed us the beautiful granite cliffs and deep waters of the Georgian Bay. We were blessed with very little bad weather but didn’t expect to have this summer, the one we were on the boat full time, be the one with the fewest days in a bathing suit or in the water! Just too dang cold!
Arrived DeTour, Michigan around 1:30 pm. DeTour village is at the extreme eastern tip of the upper peninsula of Michigan, the turning point for the shipping channel connecting the St. Mary’s River with Lake Huron and the straits of Mackinac. Originally an Ojibwe settlement, it was connected with the fur trade and is surrounded by water on 3 sides. Quite a small town with some basic provisioning and a couple restaurants, but that’s all we need. It’s sunny and a little hazy, but beautiful blue water where we are sitting on the bridge watching the tankers go by. One night here, our last dinner with Tony and Shirley for a while, then we are onto Mackinac Island.
chashurley
We loved Canada too! We have been in every bordering province, plus PEI. Their “niceness” is real. We also were delighted to get back to the USA at the top of Lake Champlain. Your log has been a joy to follow, and we look forward to Mackinac!