Day 36 - 7/31/24
When I was preparing for this trip I was, understandably, overwhelmed. There is a lot of places to drop an anchor up here. People come for 30+ years and still find new gems. So many places in fact that not all of them are marked on active captain or paper charts. I had told Richard I had did as much as I could but was going to pull a Captain Ron (our favorite movie) and just roll in and ask for directions. That we would meet people along the way and they would give us advice. It has proven to be the right course of action. Yesterday when we couldn’t get into Killarney I wrote Mike Cooney who has been a huge source of information and asked if he knew any close anchorages to the town that would work for the range on our dinghy. Not only did he respond with places to drop the hook he said he knew the dock master at the Killarney Mountain lodge and would see if he could find something for us. When I awoke this morning we had a mooring ball reservation!!
I woke the kids and told them I wanted to take a quick hike with them to the top of Covered Portage before we left for town. They obliged and a quick 10 minute hike had us overlooking the beautiful anchorage and seeing across to the next bay.
We then pulled anchor and Cory made breakfast as we went a whole 2nm to Killarney.
What a cute town! Irish/Canadian, only accessible by road since the 1960’s. I think they have 200 residents and the rest is tourists such as ourselves. A channel between two islands lined with marinas, you even take your dinghy to the liquor store and park on the water. We had no issue picking up ball (first time Ciara has picked up a ball) and then had breakfast.
Richard and I were double surprised to find out the ball only cost $60 Canadian and included full access to their resort. The marinas here can cost up $6 a foot!! We got an amazing deal. They have a pool, a game room, free kayaks and bikes and lovely lounge (overlooking our boat!) with live music every night.
We decided to borrow some bikes and explored town and rode about 1.5 out of town to check out the cute lighthouse that welcome’s boaters from Georgian Bay.
It is still hot so afterwards Danica quickly changed and jumped in the pool while Richard and I watched and enjoyed a drink. I ordered her a Shirley Temple only to find they make them very differently here. No complaints, they were way better than sprite and cherry juice. The other two kids quickly found the game room with some cool reprieve and WiFi. The Killarney Mountain Lodge reminds me Kellerman’s lodge….on the water.
We went to Herbert’s famous fish fry for dinner. I was fish shy and got pountine (finally!) but did try it. It was amazingly good. Bert devoured his and even said “who’s a picky eater now?” It’s amazing when the fish is caught that day.
After dinner Richard and I went back to the boat to relax a little and then I played Taps/Last post. Right at 9pm just as I was supposed to start a tree fell not far away inland. I wonder if a bear or something was rubbing against it, but that startled me. I played well and gave my self extra credit because about half way through taps a mosquito landed on my right hand and starting sucking away and there was nothing I could do but watch and try to keep playing. When we started this trip the sun was setting around 9:30, now it is before 9 and the mosquitos are in full force when I’m playing.
We went to the lounge and enjoyed a local musical who played tons of instruments. Mix of Irish and French-Canadian folk and modern day music. It was very enjoyable. I had hoped the northern lights would appear but they evaded us so we called it a night. The kids are asking for baked goods and coffee tomorrow…ah, civilization and spending $$$.
What a wonderful day, and we owe our thanks to Mike for making it happen!
