A No-Camera Cruise

I was really looking forward to our 3- Hour Outer Island Wilderness Cruise on the Island Queen yesterday out of the harbor in Parry Sound.  I charged up my camera battery and made sure it was all set.  Too bad I didn't check the memory card.  No card, no pictures...ugh! * To my surprise, the first picture I took gave me an error message and when I looked I saw I had left the card back in the Roadrunner still in the card reader.

Have you ever done that??

After I got over that realization, I was determined to enjoy the cruise anyway.  Which I did.  We all (Pam and Kelly and I) did.

*photo taken from Kelly's iPhone

We arrived at the marina at 12:25 PM for a 1:00 PM cruise and there was already a long line to board.  It is a big boat (seating 550) so we were able to find a good seat on the second deck.  We wanted to get one on top but they filled pretty quickly.

A couple of weeks ago, we took a cruise on a vessel in Tobermory.   This one was considerably bigger (and the largest sightseeing cruise ship) and the ride was a lot smoother.  The first thing I noticed was the water.  This is not the crystal clear waters of Lake Huron.  It is the dark waters of Georgian Bay.

We followed the green route.  The cruise started out of the harbor and went past the Stockey Center and Bobby Orr Hall of Fame, then past the Canadian Coast Guard Base.  The base is one of the largest on the Great Lakes and is home to helicopters, boats and ice breakers.

Each spring, over 100,000 tons of salt is shipped from Goderich and Windsor and off loaded at the Salt Dock near Parry Sound (#3 on the map).  The salt is used for winter treatment on roads throughout northern Ontario.

There are many islands nearby and the big ship went slowly through some pretty narrow straits.  Many of the small islands are owned and provide a great setting for a cottage:

*taken from Kelly's iPhone

This cottage was about the most expensive looking house we saw.  It was a beautiful structure.

We went past the Big Sound, Hole in the Wall, and Depot Harbour as we went in a counter clockwise route on the cruise.  We passed Palestine Island (#8) where Irving Berlin vacationed many times.  At the end of the cruise, we went under swing bridge.

It was built in the 1800's to connect the mainland with Depot Harbour on Parry Island.   The cruise ship blew its horn signaling we were approaching and the bridge master stopped traffic and swung the bridge around to let our ship through.  The Wilderness Cruise was well worth it and a great way to spend the afternoon.

After the cruise, we returned home for dinner and cooked chicken on the grill.  It was a nice evening, so we all went on a walk through the nearby woods on an ATV trail.

Earlier in the day  we heard chainsaws and found out what they were working on:

The trail came out of the woods 30 yards from the Roadrunner:

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