So as you may have seen, Friday we made it through The Big Chute! It was definitely a unique experience. Being on a boat going over land on railroad tracks.

After we had gone through we tied up at a dock off to the side and walked back over to watch other boats go through. You really get more of a jarring view seeing it from land! After we got back on our boat and headed towards the last lock, a jet ski gang arrived to go up The Big Chute. I can only imagine what it was like on those lill water craft!

We got to the last lock, lock 45, and there was a major traffic jam. There were some extra floating docks off to the side, so we decided to tie up and wait it out. We had heard there was a little general store nearby so we went to check it out. Ended up getting a freezey pop. (Tried the snap in half trick, totally worked!) By the time things cleared out it was pretty late so we decided to stay the night on the wall and go through Saturday morning. Needing to refuel, get water and a few groceries, we made reservations at a marina just inside Georgian Bay for Saturday and Sunday night. They told us if we stay two nights we get the third free. Our timing was good as well, there was Rib Fest happening and Tall Ships in the harbor. So after we found our slip we went and got groceries, passing yet another bakery we decided to hit up in the morning. Canadian grocery stores also continue to be a gold mine, along with the classic milk in a bag we also happened across this delightful cereal.

After we came back and in put everything away, we headed over to the harbor to see the ships and eat some ribs. We were able to go aboard The HMCS Oriole. The Royal Canadian Navy’s oldest and longest serving ship.

Along the pier there was another cool metal sculpture, this one supposedly of a trumpet swan but looked more like a goose to me. Plus I mean, Canada-Goose, come on!

The other ships you had to pay to go look at, $20 a person! So we decided to take the dingy over later and see them from the water for free 😁. They were pretty cool.

In the meantime we headed to rib fest. Which ended up being slightly misleading as there were only three places selling ribs. So we divided and conquered, each going to a different restaurant and each getting a half rack to share and compare. Don was excited to try the whiskey based sauce. Both were quite delicious but the place from Kentucky was slightly better, though the whiskey sauce was definitely tasty . I just couldn’t believe the size of their signs! There was also a fried onion booth so we brought one back with us.

Walking back through the marina a few boat names caught my attention…

As we discussed plans for the next few days we realized we forgot some things from the store. So we made a plan to go to a further, supposed to be larger store on the scooters. When we woke up Sunday it was windy and rainy. So we waited for it to calm down, but it didn’t look like it would really clear up to go for a long trip. So I did laundry, Don washed the boat, and I took Skia to go swimming at the nearby beach in between rain showers. Figured we were getting wet anyway. It was a pretty low key day.

This morning was clearer, so we took the scooters to the bakery and of course got some more butter tarts. Cause ya know, it’s not like I have a wedding dress I’m gonna have to fit into or anything.

We then set off for the further store, which ended up being Walmart like. Found the rest of what we needed (assuming we remembered everything).

We scoped out Georgian Bay Islands and found a spot that looks good to check out tomorrow. Our other looping boat friends let us know they were on their way up and almost through the canal. So hopefully we will be able to meet back up with them. In the meantime we will see what we see. 😊