Browsed by
Month: July 2018

2 days in Killarney, Ontario

2 days in Killarney, Ontario

Comments 9 comments

Stats for July 29th

Origin:  James Bay, Ontario

Destination:  Killarney, Ontario

Distance:  19 statute miles

Speed: just under 9 mph

Time on the move: about 2 hours

 

We changed plans pretty quickly when we woke up in James Bay with very little power left on our boat.  It is clear that something isn’t working between our generator and our inverter.  Somehow they aren’t communicating because the generator isn’t repowering the inverter like it should which basically means we are out of power and need to head to a marina for shore power.  Our plans were to head to Beaverstone Bay to anchor a few more days, but Killarney has the nearest marinas, so away we go!

 

Our trip was beautiful with rocky islands everywhere.  Picturesque!  Absolutely gorgeous.  You just can’t capture the beauty with a million pictures, so excuse me while I try again and again.

Navigating into a tight channel surrounded by granite rocks and people in kayaks everywhere–what could go wrong?! Nerves of steel…

There are several marinas in Killarney and we were lucky to sneak into what has to be the most beautiful marina I’ve ever seen!  It is like a resort–straight out of Dirty Dancing or something and it has FREE laundry and a POOL!!  Woo Hoo!!  Mike and I can’t believe our luck.  Killarney Mountain Lodge is amazing!

Fishing on the dock with INNTW in the background. That is another looper boat in front of us. We’ve caught up to the pack of loopers, it seems, because we see that AGLCA flag everywhere!

We’ve been seeing water snakes everywhere! Luckily, not too close!

What is even better is that we heard from another looper family right away that they are meeting a third looper family in Killarney later that day.  We all met up at the annual town festival and it was great to meet other looping parents and let the kids play with other boat kids.  These people are a wealth of information and will pretty much be on our same schedule  in the weeks/months to come, so it is amazing to meet them and their kids!!  We are waiting for the Wilson’s to meet back up with us soon and we’ll have 4 looper families together–8 adults and 10 looper kids!!  It’s amazing how sometimes a diversion from the plan turns out better than expected!

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and live music at the lodge–this guy was amazing, playing all those instruments and several others.  He had the place dancing and singing all night!!

Beautiful moonlight

When we first arrived, we tried to get ahold of some mechanics or electricians to help with our inverter problem and it seemed everyone was busy, out sailing, etc, so we just sat on it for a while and enjoyed the lodge and amenities.  The marina is right on a channel, so lots of boats pass through, but it is also very peaceful and beautiful here.  Rocks everywhere and everyone enjoying outdoor activities.  Everywhere we go seems more beautiful and magical, somehow.  Killarney is amazing!

A pretty great view for some ramen noodles!! ; )

Colin taught me to play chess by the pool.
Mike’s morning bike ride view. No bears, unfortunately…

It was sooooo lucky that one of the other Looper parents, Ben, is very knowledgeable about boats.  After a quick call to a contact who has helped Mike with the inverter previously, it took Mike and Ben about 2 minutes to fix our inverter issue so it is working just as it should.  I understand that they had to loosen a screw to make the generator operate at a lower output frequency so that it would communicate with the inverter.  Whatever that means–fixed sounds perfect to me!!

Thank you, Ben!!

 

We are off today (7/31) to an anchorage close by with at least 2 of these families to test out that new inverter connection.  Looking forward to more fun with friends on the water!  Probably no data connection for a few days, but I’ll have lots of good pictures to share when we return!  Thanks for following!!

2 days in James Bay, Ontario

2 days in James Bay, Ontario

Comments 10 comments

Stats for (what day is it?!) July 27th

Origin:  Tobermory, Ontario

Destination:  James Bay, Ontario

Distance:  30 miles (maybe?)

Average Speed:  10ish mph

Time on the Move:  3 hours or so

**this is all kind of sketchy because the captain took his phone swimming while we were at James Bay and that is the closest/easiest place for me to get the above data at this moment….so those are guesstimates.  😉

We left Tobermory Harbor, heading for an anchorage in James Bay on the morning of 7/27.  We loved Tobermory!  It was beautiful and bustling and full of fun places to explore, but honestly we were tired of the hustle and bustle and wanted to spend some time at anchor.  We had hoped to get further, but as moving day neared, the winds were expected to build throughout the day and remain high for a few days so we wanted to get somewhere and get tucked in before it got too windy.  James Bay turned out to be the perfect place!!

 

James Bay is right by the pink star
This map shows you what the bay looks like on a map–just a little inlet where we can tuck away from the wind and potential waves on the open bay.

We swung past Flowerpot Island on our way out of Tobermory.  These rock structures are famous and the island is covered with trails to hike.  We enjoyed our view from the water.

 

The rowdies checking out the islands surrounding Tobermory. Big rocks everywhere!!

 

The middle third of our trip was through unprotected waters and we had some waves to contend with.  After we were far enough north, Manitoulin Island blocked the waves and the ride was much more calm.  Toby took care of some chores on the honey-do list.

 

As we got closer to the bay, Colin helped us do some scouting.  This area of the island is pretty remote and we had fun using the binoculars to search the shoreline for any signs of people.  We ended up seeing 2 tiny cottages, a chair set up by a fire pit, and two campers tucked away in the woods.  Other than that, it was pretty desolate.

We set the anchor (no problems!!) just as the wind picked up, but we had great holding with a sandy bottom!

 

After lunch C + H tested out the new tube behind the dinghy and it was AWESOME!  They liked going over the waves the best and Mike and I loved that we got to check out the shoreline a little closer as we zoomed around.  Toby liked all the extra space he had without all of us crammed in there (but we couldn’t get him to go for a ride–even with an ice cream bribe!!)

 

We landed the dinghy and did some exploring along the beach.  There were tire tracks in the sand, so we weren’t too surprised later that night to see a car drive along the beach to one of the remote cottages.  No animal prints except for some dog tracks, a few deer footprints, and lots of Canadian geese markings.

Colin worked hard making some teepees.
I was obsessed with taking pictures of our boat from shore and looking for anything creepy.

 

After dinner from the grill and a **busy** game of Yahtzee, we were treated to an amazing moonrise.  This picture doesn’t begin to do justice to how big or pink the moon was.  It was breathtaking.

 

The next morning Toby was obsessed with fishing from the moment he woke up, so Mike got all the kids set up with poles after breakfast.  No luck on the fish, but they are already begging to try again!

 

We had just about zero connectivity out there, so we were pretty in the dark for weather, etc, but we were just hoping for the best.  Luckily we were tucked in tight and had great holding.  It was pretty windy on our first evening, but settled down by bedtime.  On the 28th, it was overcast in the morning, but was bright and sunny in the afternoon.  Perfect!

We went on another dinghy ride hoping to get some signal to check weather, and then we went for a hike along the shore.  According to my map app there is a lake close to the shore, so we were hoping we could get to it.  However, the brush was too thick (Mike’s scared of poison ivy!  I’m scared of anything that could be living in the woods or building webs in there!) so we just enjoyed the hike.

Hayley loved her turn to drive the dinghy!
Looking for cell signal!

We found these awesome vines growing along the beach, and they made perfect jump ropes!
We came upon this cool airstream trailer on our walk. It had a sign on the corner about various antelope hunts and rendezvous it was a part of back in the 70’s. Awesome. Only a tad creepy.

We stopped to make some rock art along the shore. INNTW!

 

The skies cleared during our hike and we were ready for some water fun.  The big kids went kayaking (Colin actually kayaked to shore and spent about 2 hours building a dam), and we all went swimming, and even Toby jumped in right off the swim platform.  It was COLD!  Like the kind of cold that you can’t catch your breath and you just want to get out as quick as you can, COLD.  It was about 62*.  Brrr…

 

Mike and I enjoyed a few moments of peace on the swim platform while the littles watched a movie and Colin constructed his dam. This was amazing!!!

**While he was cleaning up from our afternoon of fun and water toys, Mike took an unexpected swim off the dinghy with his phone in his pocket.  The NEW PHONE that we had to make a few special trips to Verizon and the post office for right before we left.  He was totally fine, just wet and surprised, but this means we’re down one cell phone (unless the rice trick works…).  It’s always something!!

 

After dinner, we put Toby to sleep early with our Harry Potter read-aloud, and then we had another game of Yahtzee.

 

We had another beautiful sunset.  What an amazing few days in James Bay!!

 

Everything about our time in James Bay was amazing except one thing.  We realized on our second evening that our invertor wasn’t charging like it should.  We did some trouble shooting and finally decided we had to unplug anything that wasn’t absolutely essential.  Mike assured me that our starter batteries wouldn’t be affected (so we wouldn’t be stranded out there), but he didn’t seem too confidant that we would have power in the morning.  Sure enough, we woke up with barely any power left–not even enough to charge my cell phone over night (and remember, we’re down to just 1, so I feel like it’s really pretty essential!!).  So, our plans to head to another anchorage changed so that we could head into a marina and get shore power.  We’re hoping we’ll have a marine electrician who knows just what to do to fix our problem in a jiffy.  If not, 2 nights at a time on the hook will be our limit.  Off to civilization in the morning!  Killarney here we come!

3 Days in Tobermory, Ontario

3 Days in Tobermory, Ontario

Comments 0 Comment

Stats for 7/24/2018

Origin:  Kincardine, Ontario

Destination:  Tobermory, Ontario

Statue Miles:  77

Average Speed:  10.8 mph

Time on the Move:  7 1/2 hours

 

After a beautiful evening in Kincardine it was kind of hard to move on the next morning.  Actually, it was only a beautiful 20 minutes while the bagpiper was out, but other than that it was pouring rain, so I guess it wasn’t all that beautiful.  Also, part of the reason it was rough to move on was because we had a long way to go and the radar showed TONS of green (rain) and WAY TOO MUCH orange and red (storms).  We went back and forth for a while about if we should attempt it.   (We actually went so far as to looking up what to do if you’re caught in a thunderstorm on your boat, and can you believe they actually said to drive with a wooden spoon and put your other hand in your pocket in case of a lightening strike?!  That seemed crazy to me, but I guess the fact I was even searching that is kind of crazy too!  😉 )

Part of the push to move on was that if we didn’t go today, the weather was going to get nasty for at least a few more days and we really didn’t want to be stuck a few more days.  So we looked at the radar a while longer and decided that if we were strategic with our speed and distance from shore we probably would miss the storms, so we decided to go for it.  (Spoiler alert:  it was a great decision because we had beautiful weather the whole way!!)

 

We spent most of our run about 10-17 miles offshore, so there wasn’t much to look at.  We passed 5 boats the whole time (maybe?) and kept a close eye on our buddy boat, La Ciegal, who started off about 2 miles behind us but ended up passing us a few miles before Tobermory.  Toby and I played war (which he is GREAT at by the way–perfect 4 year old game for understanding greater than and less than), Mike and I made an awesome video, we also had a push up contest that pretty much ended in a tie.  I did some cleaning, the kids played dress up, watched a movie, and did some chores around the boat.  It was a beautiful day on Lake Huron. (I LOVE when I can say that LOL).

INNTW on the move in Lake Huron

 

Hayley is holding our newest good luck charm. Mike was working in a panel where all of the wires for our electronics get tucked away and he pulled out this chicken! Turns out it was a good luck charm for the previous owner. We’re planning to keep him around!! 🙂 Always an adventure…

 

I love this smile!! It’s good to be a kid! <3

As we got closer to Tobermory, the landscape changed to be very rocky with lots of islands jutting out of the water (almost looks surreal because I’m not used to seeing big rocky islands).  There are beautiful Spruce trees everywhere and the water is amazingly clear!  Looking down, we could pretty clearly see the granite boulders at the bottom of the lake that were about 30 feet down.

 

 

The harbor is very busy because there are a lot of sightseeing boats that moor here (which are very big) and also a lot of recreational boats (big and medium).  For some reason the harbor was so full on a Tuesday that there weren’t any spots left for us, so we ended up having to raft off of a sightseeing boat that they only use on the weekends.  It sounded like a pain at first, but it’s actually pretty cool (at least I thought it was until I saw all the gigantic spiders moving from the old sightseeing boat over to my boat looking for new victims…).  The view from our sundeck is absolutely beautiful with a quaint yet busy “downtown” area filled with shops and restaurants surrounding the harbor.  The waterway is not big but it is bustling with sightseeing boats, recreational boats coming and going, and kayakers exploring in their rentals.  As soon as we were tied up, we cracked our celebratory “we made it” beer and Mike turned to me and said “in case I haven’t told you yet, I already love this trip!”  <3

We had hamburgers (thanks, Tammy!!) and hot dogs for dinner and then went exploring.  It was a busy night with ice cream, laundry, playground, walk to the end of the dock, pass by quite a few restaurants with cute themes that make me want to eat at all of them…  At the end of the dock we were admiring the fog (smoke?  There are lots of wildfires burning elsewhere in the Georgian Bay and sometimes we get a whiff of smoke…) that had rolled in and we were shocked to see a family of river otters spying on us.  As soon as our kids saw them they all shrieked and ran over to where the otters were.  The kids and otters played hide and seek for a bit with lots of attempts to get pictures and video of their tricks.  Eventually we saw the otters swimming away (to go find dinner, we guessed), but it was a great surprise.  So we rock hopped back to our boat and got ready for bed.

Doesn’t this house look so peaceful with the oars, the reflection of the sunset, and the moon over top?

 

Fun restaurants!

 

Looking for the otters!! See all that fog (maybe some smoke?) in the background? It reminds me of the first time we passed Tobermory!!

Wednesday was Hayley’s 7th birthday so she was the BIRTHDAY QUEEN for the day and got to do all the planning and choosing for the day.  We started off having breakfast with our friends The Wilson’s at “The Princess Hotel” because Hay said she is the birthday princess.  <3  Then we explored the awesome visitor center (centre?) and learned all about the Fathom Five Park including ecology and history of the area, local shipwrecks, and more.  It was a great stop!!

Colin, Hayley, and Tobin with the Wilson girls, heading to the Visitor Center!

 

Hayley and AnnaMay posing like the Little Mermaid in front of a poster that looks like the famed Grotto.

 

More shipwreck info!

Next up, we were ready to get out in our dinghy and explore the area, especially because this is our ONLY day so far with no rain and more rain is forecasted tomorrow.  We were encouraged to explore some of the surrounding tourist attractions on our own since we have access to the dinghy, so we had a list of several options.  We started off heading to Big Tub Harbor (right nearby) to see some shipwrecks that are extremely easy to see in this clear water.  I’m not sure how close to the top these guys sit, but it sure seemed like we could reach out and touch them.

Passing INNTW on our way out of the harbor!

They sit down low when there are big waves or when we’re going fast!

 

Next we thought we’d head towards The Grotto that everyone talks  about and see how the ride was along the shore in the open water.  It is pretty windy and choppy in this area usually and today was no different.  The Grotto is a cool underwater cave, but it is 10 miles away and that just wasn’t happening in that kind of chop.  At about mile 2 we found a cool anchorage and beach area to explore and then we headed back to Little Tub Harbor.

 

When we arrived, the ferry that runs to Manitoulin Island was just approaching so the birthday girl chose to dock the dinghy and have a slushy while we watched the excitement.  When we were first pulling in this harbor yesterday we were sure convinced that this was a cruise ship!!  It is HUGE!!  It runs back and forth all day on it’s 1 hour, 45 minute run taking people and vehicles of all sorts back and forth.  It is so interesting to watch the front of the ferry lift up and that is how the vehicles drive off and on the ferry.  We saw everything from bicycles to tour buses drive off–probably close to 200 vehicles!  Then it loaded back up again and started pulling away before the front hatch was even closed.  Mike said it looks like a transformer.  It definitely looks huge!

This is what the Chi-Cheemaun looked like as we closed in on Tobermory. HUGE!

 

Birthday Girl!!

 

Mike was served ice in his beer. Our waitress said on a hot day (like 73* actually) ice is served with beer in Canada… INNTW?!

We had an awesome birthday dinner on the sundeck.  Pancakes with sprinkles or blueberries.  Doesn’t get much better than that when you’re 7.

Cooking in a TINY yet functional kitchen can be so *fun!*

Time for presents!

After phone calls with the grandmas and some quick kayaking in the harbor we headed off to finish the night with some shopping and ice cream.  The kids loved the “book” store which actually had equal amounts of books and trinkets.  Colin was thrilled to get a new book and told me he wished that Mike and I actually owned the store.  Hayley bought candy because Hayley loves candy.  And Toby picked out silly putty, though he is disappointed now because it isn’t slime.

A birthday paddle with friends.

On Thursday we started off the day with boat chores including laundry, grocery shopping, and fixing our kitchen table/bed that we already broke.  The forecast for today was for rain the whole early part of the day, but it surprised us and was a beautiful day until about 9 pm.

Breakfast on the sundeck is amazing!

 

We had butter tarts and fresh peaches. Butter tarts are a fav in Canada–like mini pecan pies. Yes please!! 😉

We didn’t quite know what to do with the unexpected sunny day.  We ended up going for a walk along the other side of the harbor and found ourselves in the middle of a puppet show.  Ironically enough, Toby wore his turtle shell and ended up being the turtle character in the play.  Colin was a buffalo and Hayley was the bear.

 

All that adventuring is hard work!! <3

 

Going exploring

 

Post cards are coming for ya!!
Trying to catch ducks at the launch.
The kids all voted to see this puppet show that they actually got to star in!! It was a native story about the creation of land and sea.

After their amazing performance we tested out the brewery and had another gorgeous dinner on the sundeck.

 

After dinner Colin and Mike took a paddleboard and kayak to explore another shipwreck.  Somehow I guess Mike also worked in some cliff jumping into the bay.  Always up for an adventure!!

They can be seen here pretty far out, just above the no wake marker.

Toby, Hayley, and I went adventuring and found our friends at the playground.  It was a perfect end to the day!

AnnaMay teaching Tobin “Miss Mary Mack.” She was so patient and he loved it!!

Tomorrow we will move on north and attempt to anchor in a protected bay. We are ready to get off the grid a bit more, but this town is absolutely beautiful!  We probably won’t have good connectivity for a week or so, but I’ll update when we do!  Thanks for following!!

1 Day in Kincardine

1 Day in Kincardine

Comments 0 Comment

Stats for Monday, July 23

Origin: Grand Bend, Ontario

Destination: Kincardine, Ontario

Statute Miles:  62.5

Average Speed:  10.5 mph

Time on the Move:  6 hours

The forecast for today was for smooth, flat water with barely any wind, so it was a perfect day to travel on Lake Huron! We headed out just about 8 o’clock and instantly knew the water conditions were 100x better than the day before.  WHEW!!

Toby drove for a little bit in the morning. Really, we have autopilot, so for these long straight trips we set that and then just keep watch around us. I gotta say, it’s pretty amazing!

 

 

With the water so much calmer we were all more relaxed and worked some “extra” things into our day. The kids played dress up for a bit which was adorable. Mike wasn’t sure if we should bring the dress up clothes originally, but after seeing their creativity underway, he changed his mind.

Outfit #1
Outfit #2

 

We fired up the generator underway to make a hot lunch. PIZZA– of course. Obviously it was a hit! We found that Jack’s pizzas fit in our small freezer and small oven PERFECTLY. It was like it was meant to be.  🙂

Later the water was completely clear and smooth except for this weird looking boat. He didn’t appear to be moving, so we kept course with the autopilot. Then, at the last minute he decided to cross right in front of us, and actually turn right toward us. We felt like our personal space was being crowded, and we wondered if he was actually a pirate. But he wasn’t. He was just looking for fish I guess.

We pulled into a beautiful harbor and got tied up pretty easily. We were super surprised to recognize the boat we were docked right next to named French Toast II. Mike and I debated where we’d seen it before, and sure enough, it was docked in our boat’s previous home marina in Ontario. We chatted with the owners a bit about our adventure and just when we were ready to start walking towards our first adventure, it started downpouring. Nothing new by now for this crew. We just popped up the umbrellas and kept on truckin.

We were docked right next to a beautiful lighthouse and that was actually our first field trip. It is the original lighthouse from 1880 which is still a working lighthouse but also a marine museum. We were amazed by all the of artifacts and knowledge they had to offer and the view from the top was amazing!!

Hayley got to try this old fashioned life jacket made of cork. HUGE!

Colin worked the crank to get this fog horn singing. COOL!

**I will work on getting videos in the blog soon!  So much to learn, so much to do…**

Our tour guide said the Anna Marie wreck still sits right in front of the beach that lines the harbor. On a clear day I guess you can see it easily, but we had slight chop blocking our view. Can you spot INNTW??

 

It was cool to watch this light spin around and around from our boat later.  What a great experience to get to go to the very top!

 

There is a legend of the Phantom Piper from this area that is fascinating. The story says that long ago a family left Goderich, ON headed toward Kincardine, but bad weather blew up and slowed down their trip.  Soon enough it was dark and stormy and the captain was having a hard time finding his way.  The father in the family (on their way to start a farm in Canada from Scotland) got out his bagpipes and started to play as a way to calm his family.  He played a slow sad tune because he was very worried about their fate.  Sure enough a fellow bag piper on land heard the tune and played a song in return.  The captain heard the song and used it to help guide his ship to safety.  The father then returned to the harbor often to play his bag pipes as a thank you for helping his family arrive safely.  Still today, a piper plays every evening from the lighthouse.  What a great ending to the day!!

 

We were so glad he came out to play just before the kids were getting tucked in. After the rainy evening, we weren’t sure we’d get to hear him!

 

If you look carefully you can see him on the lower wooden steps.

Hayley enjoyed dancing to the music and telling us the legend.

 

Toby waved to the bagpiper several times.  He also approves of the beautiful sunset.

 

Tomorrow (7/24) we head for Tobermory!!  🙂  Thanks for following!!

1 Day in Grand Bend, Ontario

1 Day in Grand Bend, Ontario

Comments 2 comments

Stats for Sunday, July 22

Origin:  Sarnia, Ontario

Destination:  Grand Bend, Ontario

Statute Miles:  44

Average Speed:  10.1 mph

Time on the Move:  4 hours

 

We decided to leave Sarnia and head for Goderich, Ontario.  The weather looked rainy, slightly windy, and slightly wavy for this journey, but nothing we couldn’t handle.  We knew we needed to fill up on diesel first so we did that right when the fuel dock opened and then headed under the Blue Water Bridge.  It was pretty cool passing under the bridge, but we had to fight quite a current to get out of the river.  I called the kids up onto the flybridge to watch us pass under the bridge and they came upstairs saying “WOW!  Look at that freighter right behind us!”  They were just as interested in the freighter as they were in us passing under the bridge.

 

The day started with some swells and some rain, but it wasn’t a deal breaker right away.

The waves are building pretty good in this picture. I was thankful “Sing” kept him busy for quite a while!! Also, look at all that WET laundry piled up!!

 

Sometime about 2 hours in we decided we would stop at Grand Bend because it was 20 miles closer and the waves were building.  In the end it turned out to be quite a bumpy ride and one I hope we don’t repeat again for quite some time.  Hayley didn’t feel great for about the last hour and you can see that Toby didn’t either because he just wanted to sit close to mama.  Colin read and played games on his Kindle in the salon until we were coming into the channel when he started to feel yucky.  Luckily no one got sick, but I think it’s pretty amazing we didn’t.

 

Our boat has a bell on it and we’ve read that really bad seas were once referred to as a “bell-ringer” because the boat would heel (lean) so much that the bell would ring.  Well we heard the bell a few times yesterday which let us know that the waves were in fact pretty rough.  At least we thought it was the bell until Mike realized the mini-fridge on the sundeck had actually swung open and cans were rolling about everywhere.  Now we think the “bells” we heard might have actually been the fridge door banging open.  Who knows?  Either way, it was rough.

Collecting all this beer was quite a task in the bumpy waves!

 

When we switched plans to head to Grand Bend we were thrilled that our friends the Wilsons were still there.  It was nice to know we were heading for familiar faces.

 

After we got tied up in the wind and rain (no easy task for the captain, first mate, or the dock hands at the marina!!) we played a little with our friends and had lunch.  We also waited out a rainstorm watching a movie down below.

 

 

Check out those waves on Lake Huron! Glad to be tied up safely!
Our neighbor had a pretty nice boat! 😉

 

Later in the day the rain cleared and we rode scooters to Main Street and explored the beach, playground, and shops (Poor Mike lost his FAVORITE sunglasses in our windy stormy docking process).

 

Can you believe they have an axe throwing place here?  Is that a thing elsewhere?!  It was like ladderball or bean bags, but with axes?!  Yikes!

Ax throwing?!

 

Our friends assure us tomorrow will be flat seas, so we’re moving on to Kindcardine, Ontario.  It feels comforting being with a buddy boat, especially because the kids love playing with their kids!  Benefits to buddy boating all around!!  Thanks for following our adventures!!

2 1/2 Days in Sarnia, Ontario

2 1/2 Days in Sarnia, Ontario

Comments 6 comments

The wind is supposed to be kind of weird the next few days (ya know, windy?!) and we hear there is a lot to do in Sarnia, so we decided to spend some time here.  Wouldn’t want to get too far from home too fast!  😉

We wanted to check out a park/beach/farm that we heard about from friends, and Mike really thought it would be fun for all of us to ride bikes there.  Sounds good, so we pack up and get ready.  We were about 5 minutes down the road when Tobin started complaining about riding his bike and then he fell.  Twice.  His training wheels were loose, but Mike was sure he could fix the problem with a certain wrench he had on the boat.  So the kids and I waited while Mike rode back to the boat to get the wrench.

 

I have no doubt that Mike fixed the problem perfectly, but unfortunately Tobin decided he was done riding bikes for the day about 5 minutes later.  At that point we weren’t even halfway to the park/beach/farm and already hitting major roadblocks, so to speak.  Again, Mike solves the problem by riding back to the boat to get the bike trailer for Toby to ride in.  The kids and I tried to encourage Toby to keep at it while we were waiting for the bike trailer, but Toby decided to walk his bike instead.  We actually got further with this plan than with him riding.

**(Side note:  This is why we can do The Loop.  Mike is a problem solver.  If there is a problem, he will think of a way to fix it so the day can go on.  If another problem arises, no big deal–he’s got another solution.  I would have just gone back to the marina and taken the free shuttle after Toby started complaining, but apparently that’s why we work well together.  Thank goodness for the problem solvers of the world, and thank goodness for Mike!)**

 

Here we are riding UNDER the Blue Water Bridge that connects Port Huron, USA to Sarnia, Canada.  So cool!!  Thank goodness for that bike trailer!  (In case you are wondering, Mike also brought a bike lock to lock Toby’s bike up until we could pick it up on the way home…see what I mean?!)

We found lots of cool animals at the farm.  Ya know, the usual–mini horses, bunnies, lots of “Canada Geese,” peacocks, goats, sheep, and boy can these kids find ducks everywhere!!

 

It was a cool farm and also free which made it even better!  Can’t forget the llama!!  😉

 

Then we rode to the beach area where the water was very flat and the winds were actually very calm.  Not exactly what we were expecting for the day, but we were happy to have some time to explore, anyway.  Colin spent his time digging a hole to water level.  Toby searched for perfect rocks for everyone (and also looked for crabs…no luck, though, somehow!).  Hayley swam and attempted to fly a kite (no wind).  Mike and I dared each other to swim (we both did) and watched the boats go by.

 

After a while it looked like a storm might be looming so we decided to move on to the next excitement for the day:  a trout pond.  The kids loved feeding the fish, and we were right next to the river so we got to see some good boat action and even a freighter!

 

 

Right next to the trout pond was a playground and splash pad for the kids.  We decided to head that way next.  There were just so many great (free) activities, it was awesome.  Apparently so awesome that we forgot all about that thunderstorm we thought might be popping up.  Turns out there was a squall warning and we were a little too slow to realize that there actually WAS in fact a squall popping up…  Our splash pad experience was cut short after about 1 minute and the ride home was very wet and only a little scary to old ladies afraid of thunderstorms.  😉

 

 

 

 

When we got back to the boat we realized we also left the windows open so there was lots of wet in the boat to clean up.  I mean….seriously?!  Who does this?  What a mess!!

After drying ourselves and the boat, we enjoyed a rainy afternoon of crafting/movie watching/wine drinking/reading.

Not too shabby, after all…

Toby is proud of his jellyfish!  Thanks for the toy, Carla!!

 

 

 

 

On Sunday morning, we decided to check out the Stones and Bones Museum in Sarnia.  We were absolutely amazed by the amount of stones and bones in that place!!  If you knew Colin about 4 years ago, you remember what an obsession he had with dinosaurs.  It still amazes me to hear him talk about all about the dinos he read and learned about years ago.  If you are in Sarnia, we definitely recommend this stop–there is so much to see and learn about here!!  We met the owner, Jim, and he was a riot!  Thanks for all the learning and info, Stones and Bones!!

 

 

Look at these creepy crawly paper weights in their gift shop!!  YUCK!

 

 

 

It was rainy again so we had lunch next door at the Bad Dog restaurant and then headed back for some more relaxing on the boat.

 

You see all that stuff hanging out to dry on the sundeck?!  The last few days have been like camping in the rain–everything is wet!!  Bleh!

We fit lots of other good stuff into an off and on rainy afternoon!!  Mike took both the big kids on bike rides, the kids found more ducks, we did laundry, swam at the pool, left the boat windows open for another downpour…

 

 

 

 

 

There were also 2 boat gatherings at Sarnia Bay Marina–antique boats and power boats.  That led to lots of cool boats to check out!!  Loved seeing those old Chris Crafts and we were amazed by how fast those power boats can go!

 

 

 

We had an awesome time in Sarnia the last few days but it is time to move on down the line!!  What a great time we had here!

Thanks for following!!

 

 

Our FIRST day on The Loop!!

Our FIRST day on The Loop!!

Comments 4 comments

 

Today’s Stats:

Origin:  Harrison Township, MI, USA

Destination:  Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

Statute Miles:  48

Average Speed:  10.4

Time on the Move:  4 1/2 hours

 

We planned to leave first thing on Thursday, July 19th, but Mike realized late Wednesday  night that his new phone wasn’t working properly.  Luckily, we’ve got amazing friends, and Melissa Lipski offered to come to the marina so our kids could all play while Mike used her car to run to Verizon (yeah–at that point we had no car so we were stuck!!).  The Herbon Trifecta love playing with their friends Mason and Ava, so it seemed like a genius solution, and it got even better when Adam Lipski brought us pizza lunch before we set off.  Thanks, Melissa and Adam!!  Then kids made a big mess played in the boat while we got every last thing tucked away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the kids said a tearful goodbye with their friends, Melissa recorded us pulling away from the dock.  We were full of nervous anticipation and excitement at that point, and it was hard to believe that we were actually, FINALLY leaving!!  FOR REAL!!  FOR 13 MONTHS!

 

Thanks to Brad and Irene for getting this great shot of us pulling away from the marina.  All loaded down with EVERYTHING we could possibly want, right?!  😉

 

Felt weird/strange/fun driving past the lunch crowds at Bumpers and Crews Inn.  “See you next year!!”

 

Hayley frantically waving goodbye to her friends…

 

There were (probably) anxious tears in my eyes behind these sunglasses.  I’ll never forget Mike turning to me and saying I was “going to have the best birthday and year ever.” And then he turned back to me and said “I hope” with a big smile.  We both laughed with the hope that we weren’t making a big mistake, lol!

 

We had a beautiful trip up the south channel and St Clair River!  In the picture below Canada is on the right and Harsens Island, MI is on the left.  You’ll notice we have 2 burgees (flags) on our bow right now.  The one on the left is The Great Loop flag to signify we’re part of America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA) on our first trip around The Loop.  The one on the right says KB for “kid boat.”  This is a kickstarter campaign we were proud to support and shows other kid boats that we have kids on board who would love to play!! (As if they could miss the Lily Pad and all the bikes, lol!)

 

 

 

Robert and Claudia Cartwright (Mike’s 2nd cousins??) were staying at Algonac State Park and they set up camp by the river to watch us go by.  It was awesome to see people we know out there supporting us!!  Thanks, Robert and Claudia!!  <3

 

Then our friend Scotty Uplegger came out to see us pass by his house in St. Clair.

 

 

 

Mike is from Marine City so we were passing right through his home waters, and little did we know that we really had a much bigger following on the banks of the river watching us go by.  It was great to see comments and pictures of us passing by the homes of Karen Price, Dean Zimmerman, Craig Zimmerman, and Diane Zimmerman on our Facebook page.  You guys seriously made us feel like ROCKSTARS along the way!  Thank you so much!!  <3

 

On board we did a little bit of looking out the windows, a little math homework, a little “Shut the Box”, and a little complaining about the heat.  We enjoyed admiring the houses we passed by and the boats that passed by us (we’re not fast–it’s a marathon, not a sprint when you’re leaving for 13 months!!).

 

 

 

 

Before too long we were pulling in to Sarnia Bay Marina in Sarnia.  After we got tied up, Mike went to the phones to call customs to check us in to Canada.  They took our passport numbers and collected info from the kids’ birth certificates and said “Welcome to CANADA!”  Here’s Mike coming back from making the call to get us cleared in.  Thumbs up!!  🙂

 

 

We had some celebratory champagne and headed off to the closest playground we could find.  Luckily there was a delicious homemade, small batch, craft ice cream store close by as well.  Perfect way to end night #1 of our journey–especially on my birthday!!  What a great start to an awesome adventure!! <3

 

 

 

 

 

Tying up loose ends

Tying up loose ends

Comments 0 Comment

So you read about all of our fun in the 11 days before we left, but we had lots of work to do, too!!  Here’s a recap:

 

We had access to our house for a few extra weeks, so that meant we could take occasional baths and showers there and do TONS of laundry.

 

 

Of course our stuff is all put away, so these were Colin’s reading accommodations.

 

 

The boys had one last game of ping pong in the basement.  Toby and I played air hockey.  We are going to miss all the fun we have down there!!

 

 

Here is a final glimpse at what our storage room ended up looking like.  This room is 14×14 and packed to the ceiling.  Thank goodness our renters agreed to let us keep a room FULL of our stuff!!  They even brought us cute INNTW beach towels!!  Thanks, Sean and Stephanie!!  🙂

 

 

Oh yeah…and the garage space.  We filled a wall of shelves with our outside stuff, and it takes up about 1/2 of our third bay in the garage.  Mike hung up this huge tarp to cover our things and keep them tidy so the renters could still use some of that extra space.  He stacked all this stuff and hung that tarp in some HOT and HUMID weather!  I was amazed at his tenacity getting it all up there and put away neatly (especially in that heat!).

 

 

We made ourselves at home at West Marine several times, buying all the things.  This one is probably the most exciting for MOST of us, but other things are important, too, like portable VHF radios, a radio antennae, and a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) that will be used in case of an emergency.

 

 

 

 

We also ordered about a million things from Amazon (and we’re working on ordering more still!!)  By the way…if you ever shop Amazon, access their site through our link and we’ll make a few cents off every dollar you spend.  It doesn’t cost you anything, but we appreciate it!! 🙂

SHOP Amazon NOW

 

 

Hayley and I bought a few of everything at the grocery store and I totally worried that it wasn’t going to all fit on the boat.  But guess what?!  IT DID!!  I feel pretty stocked and ready to head out on the water (at least for a week or so!!).

 

 

This is what our apartment sized fridge and storage shower look like after the provisioning trip.  Full, but functional!!

 

 

 

 

On our last day before departure we dropped Mike’s truck off at his Grandpa’s house to store for the next year (Thanks, Grandpa!!), we also sold my car right out of the marina parking lot, and had a vessel safety check from the Coast Guard Auxiliary to make sure we are set and prepared to be safe.  BUSY BUSY!!

 

 

 

 

We were busy running and moving and crossing things off the never-ending list all day.  It made me wonder if we should stay just one more day to make sure everything was done and possibly give us a chance to relax.  Mike reminded me that at some point we have to leave and that there will always be more to do.  We also will have lots of time while traveling to take care of chores, too.  So, that being said, we planned to push off from the dock on July 19th–Happy Birthday to me!!  Bat girl (and the whole family, really) is ready to go!!

 

 

 

So many visitors, it was hard to find the time to leave!

So many visitors, it was hard to find the time to leave!

Comments 0 Comment

Thank you Thank you Thank you for all of your interest in our journey, the good wishes, and the love and support we’ve been feeling!  We had 11 nights after our journey to Hubbard Lake before we took off and you all made us feel like ROCKSTARS!!  Here is a brief overview of the visitors and parties we crammed into those 11 days (this is already a whirlwind, so stick with me!!)

 

We held our renaming ceremony for the boat with Mike’s brother Brian, his girlfriend Kayleigh, and our friend Courtney (along with our lovely children).  Now some people have never heard of such a thing and let me tell you that it is all very formal and specific.  I once referred to it as “witchcraft” and I have yet to live that down, though it seems pretty accurate.  I will post screenshots of the script we used to give you an idea.

First you start with a name purging ceremony:

You can see these ceremonies require drinking champagne (as well as sacrificing!!), so of course we needed friends and family to help us celebrate such a big step!!  We didn’t have a metal tag, but improvised that part just fine with a champagne cork.

Next comes the renaming ceremony.  Colin read this part and did a pretty good job, considering how obscure it is.

 

Mike lead the appeasing of the gods and it was quite a show.  I hope the gods will be good to us and enjoy all that champagne we shared!!

Here are pictures from the occasion:

 

We had lots of fun with the whole thing.  I think my favorite part was at the beginning when Courtney told Mike he should go get his captain hat, and of course he already had it tucked away in his back pocket.  Afterwards we went to North 42 at MacRays Marina to celebrate some more because…INNTW!!

 

 

The next night we had a pool party for the kids and their friends at MacRays.  The kids are definitely going to miss (already missing) their friends, so we wanted to make sure they got one more chance to see everyone who could make it (and everyone we had contact info for!).  It was a blast for kids and adults!!  I think we would do it weekly if we were going to be home all summer!!  Thank you to everyone who joined us!!

 

 

Ohmygoodness, Toby and his bestie girls are just so cute!  He remembers so many stories the kids tell at daycare, it just shows us how much he loves his friends (and teachers!!) from The Learning Nook.  And watching all those South River kids play together was great!  Our kiddos sure did get lucky in the friend department!!  Email us often, friends, and I’ll have the kids email you back!!  <3

 

The next night my Aunt Sherry took us out for dinner and celebrated Hayley’s birthday early!  It was great to visit with her and my cousins Kim and Scott at the restaurant and back at the boat.  Aunt Sherry said she feels a lot better about our adventure after seeing the boat, and she has a better understanding of what our quarters will be like.  Lots of you have said that after seeing the boat so maybe one day I’ll get around to taking a video…  😉  Thanks for dinner, Aunt Sherry!  Thanks for the snacks and wine and toys Kim and Scott!!   Hope to see you all along The Loop!

 

Who knows why Toby didn’t want to smile for the picture…?!  I mean what is he?!  4??!  🙂

 

 

We made a connection on Facebook a while back with a family that finished The Loop just over a year ago with their 4 daughters.  They are a wealth of information and have been so generous to message with us and answer all kinds of questions about their experience.  Lucky for us they set out on their 2nd loop just a week ago and even LUCKIER for us is that they decided to come and stay near us at Markley for a couple of days!  It was so great to get to know them and ask a million more questions.  It was also super great for our kids to play with their kids and make some connections and hear about life on The Loop from other kids who have experienced it.  We are hoping to catch up with The Wilsons again soon!!  If you haven’t heard of them, they are amazing, so you should check them out (if you like reading about great family adventures, of course!!)  Wilsons on the Water on Facebook and www.wilsonsonthewater.blogspot.com.  Here are our 6 adventurous kiddos playing at the pool (they are looping with 3 of their kids currently).

 

 

We appreciated that Aaron and Janelle Beck drove all the way across metro Detroit on a Friday night to bring us pizza, see the boat, and let the kids play together.  It is so great to visit with old friends that we just don’t usually get to see as much as we would like to.  We really loved your visit, guys, and we’re so glad you made the trip over to see us!!  It was great to see the kids play together so easily!  (The kids are cute and all, but that’s our boat in the background with the black top–super convenient pool access!!)

 

Thank goodness for those Goldfish Swim School Lessons!!  Thanks, Miss Chrissy and Miss Ariyah!!

 

 

Saturday July 14th we held a Bon Voyage Boat Open House so anyone who was interested and available could come out and see the boat.  It just so happened to coincide with a concert at MacRays that made for a fun night!!  We appreciate everyone who came out and visited with us!  We had a blast!  Also, I took exactly 0 pictures until my dear friend Tammy started snapping away for me, so thanks, Tammy!!

We are super crazy for leaving the best neighbors ever, but we’ll be back in a year!  Thanks for the great basket of goodies, Contesti’s and Shewell’s, but mostly for celebrating with us and supporting us like you do.  You are a special group of people!!  <3

 

Proof that Toby DOES smile!!  🙂

 

Thanks to Hayley’s 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Elliott, for coming out!  It made Hayley feel so special that you came to see her boat!  Thank you for everything you do!  (Teachers are awesome, aren’t they?)

 

Hayley decided to get the dancing started a little early with the worm.  😉

Thanks to Greg and Marie, Tammy and John, Noel, Linda, Amanda, Nora, Alexa, Larry and Cheryl, Nick and Laurel, Phil and Family, Beef and Megan and their girlies, John and Bette, Curt and Sheri, Mrs. Elliott, Jeff and Chelsey and sweet Sloan, Max, Miss Ashlie, and Adam and Melissa for coming out and checking out the boat!!  We appreciate your time and interest in our adventure!!  We also appreciate all the kids’ crafts, beer, wine, and champagne you brought…you sure didn’t have to do that, but THANK YOU!!  Thank you also for dancing the night away with us!!

 

 

ONE MORE PARTY…..and then a few smaller ones.  See why we couldn’t get anything done?!  😉

 

Sunday we met up with friends out in Munchies Bay for one more play day on Lake St. Clair.  I’m interested to see how people socialize and enjoy their boats in other parts of the country, but I sure do love rafting off and letting everyone play the way we do here at home!!

We had 14 adults and 12 kids between these 4 boats (I think?!) and ALL the toys!!  The kids had a blast!  And of course so did the adults!!

 

 

 

We even had a visit from the ice cream boat later in the afternoon when all the kids were downstairs in the boat playing.  All the adults got ice cream and the kids still have NO IDEA there is such a thing as an ice cream boat!  HAHAHA!!  😉  We felt so sneaky, but we also asked the ice cream boat not to play his music again until he got further away from our boats!!

 

 

 

By the time we got all the toys put away and headed in we had this beautiful sky and smooth water.  We used our autopilot for the first time and Mike is absolutely convinced it was a great purchase for our trip!  The end of a great day!  Thanks for all the fun Lipskis, Schusters, Czerwinskis, Larry (and especially for washing the boat down!!), Courtney, Golas, and Karen and Ernie!!

 

 

Thank you Roncelli for the awesome care package of goodies!  The kids love the flashcards, Mike (obviously) wears the captain hat regularly, and we sure get a lot of use out of the Captain and First Mate coozies!!  Thank you so much!

 

 

Thank you to Jordan and Tati and girls for coming by the boat to check it out.  Thank you Gino Roncelli for stopping by and sharing our excitement.  Thank you Carla and Don Kling for your enthusiastic support and goodies for everyone.  Thank you Darryl Amoe for coming to see the boat and sharing tips from your adventures (as well as that delicious champagne we enjoyed tonight!).  Thanks to Tom Fisher from US Coast Guard Auxiliary for doing a vessel safety check and giving us some helpful pointers.  Thanks to Courtney, Adam, and Melissa for the plentiful amounts of pizza–you guys are awesome!!  If I missed you, I apologize.  We had fun with you, too, I promise!!

 

Obviously we had a blast during those 11 days, but they were also filled with work and coordinating and errands and pressure to get stuff done.  We finally pulled it all together and pushed away from the dock on July 19th.  I will be updating about our first 3 days on The Loop tomorrow during our travels.

 

Thanks for reading (and for all the fun!!).

Thank goodness for Amazon!!

Thank goodness for Amazon!!

Comments 1 comment

 

If you follow the blog, you’ve read about my love of online shopping before.  These last few weeks we have been relying heavily on Amazon Prime and their amazing 2 day shipping for tons of last minute stuff we decided we need.  Just a few things we’ve ordered recently:  long sleeve sun shirts for Kelly, a wide-brimmed hat for Mike, a solar shower, selfie stick, carabiners, a huge bike lock, flip flops, a shower caddy, floaties for kids and adults, a bike cover, swim goggles, waterproof phone case, tie down straps, bungee cords, and even a thermostat for our hot water heater on the boat…just to name a few!!  WHEW!!  Thank goodness for that 2 day shipping!

Click HERE to shop PRIME DAY now and support our ADVENTURE

I hear Amazon’s annual “Prime Day” started yesterday.  If you rely on Amazon like we do, it would be amazing if you shop through this link to help support our journey.  It won’t cost you anything extra to shop, but we will get a few cents off every dollar you purchase for referring you to Amazon.  You can also sign up to become a Prime member through this link.  They have some great deals through tonight on ELECTRONICS (we just bought the Fire Cube for streaming tv and movies on the boat) and the Echo Dot (except we can’t buy that because our kids just ask to hear songs about poop and burps again and again!) 😉  CLOTHES, TOYS (our kids love their Magic Tracks and are currently playing Monopoly Jr.), and ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF!!

Click HERE to shop ANYTIME and support our ADVENTURES

More to come in the near future about all the WORK we’ve been doing to get ready and all the FUN we’ve been having seeing everyone before we go.  Our new departure date is Thursday, so lots of tying up loose ends and checking delivery dates to make sure everything arrives from Amazon in time!!

Happy Shopping!!  🙂