Pride and Good-byes in Little Current
The sun is setting earlier; therefore, the sun is also coming up later and when my 6am alarm went off this morning neither Captain nor I could muster the will to get up before the sun. I reset it for 6:40 and we got a little more sleep. Got Kona up and walked and Cory helped me haul and stow the anchor by 7:30. It was a calm morning and we wanted to make the 10am bridge in Little Current so we motored all the way. I was able to blog up deck as the sun wasn’t too bad and enjoy the scenery of Bae Fine one last time for the year. I will surely miss this place.
We were able to listen and check into to Roy’s show at 9 since we were close to Little Current and out of the mountain range that blocked our VHF. We ran into Gary and Vikki on Jen-o-way while waiting for the bridge to open and had a nice chat while we idled in place. Thankful the current today was very little, as advertised.
We were able to get a spot on the east wall where we prefer and decided we would do our pump out and diesel before we left tomorrow to max out our black water tank time. Again, no issues docking thanks to the wonderful deck hands here and our new boat neighbors for the afternoon (who have a vested interest in helping us dock so we don’t hit any of their babies as well). They were two catamaran sailboats! You don’t see those too often up here and they look ginormous compared to all the monohulls. These are the boats that dominate the Caribbean, not the Great Lakes…although up here in the North Channel they are a good fit and I was a little jealous of the large living space they offer, mostly the large windows in the galley and dining area to enjoy the views from the inside.
Once we were secure we went to work on all the chores. Filling up water, hooking up shore power and charging everything while we had power. We vacuumed and cleaned up the head. I defrosted the freezer and Captain emptied out our old diesel jerry jugs into the main tank to make sure that fuel didn’t get too old and run through our engine. We ran to the grocery store and got luxuries like lettuce and peppers as well as some steaks for a treat while at anchor tomorrow. Captain and I ran to the liquor store and got him some more beer. Then we got some showers!
All that took about 5 hours as it was 3pm before we knew it. We headed to the Anchor Inn for the LCYC (Little Current Yacht Club, of which we are now members!) social hour. We ran into Take a Chance on our way and said hi.
We had a great time at the social hour as always. It was wonderful to see Roy again, this time out of the hospital. Captain had a very nice sit down with him and chatted for a bit while I met some new friends and reunited with other boaters we have met over the years. Roy left a little early as he is still recovering. He said how much the club has kept his spirits up during his illness and how blessed he felt. I wished him to know that the love the community is showing him is what he has spent a life time creating. He is only getting back what he put into this world and I feel like I’m standing among a legend. I know I am. He is a great man.
We went to the Anchor Inn for dinner. We all ordered our traditional Canadian dinner of poutine and Caesar salad. We had also ordered fried pickles but they were out so I convinced Cory and Captain to try fried cauliflower. I shocked to hear they have never had them before and they loved it more then the pickles. Yay, new foods!
We found out that Manitoulin Island was having their Pride festivities this weekend and tonight they were having a concert down at the park not far away. They had four cover artists brought in from the big city of Sudbury. K-Pop Demon Hunters and Chapel Roan were two of the four that we got to see when we got there. Dani would have plotzed to see K-Pop and Chapel was awesome as well. Very good talent and great entertainment. The concert was small but it reminded me of the 80’s in Texas where the fairs and concerts were put on by the city (this was sponsored by the government!!!) to include all. The merch was free, the snow cones and cotton candy and drinks were free. Kids were dancing. It was really nice. We saw our dear friend Catherine from Starting Soon again at the concert (she was also at the social hour). I always think of her fondly as she heard me play Last Post and Taps our first year here before we got to Little Current and she got on the radio show and announced to the entire world about “this beautiful sailboat that played the most beautiful taps.” We were infamous before we even got here, thanks to her. We have kept touch over the years. I fear this may be their last year sailing as her hands aren’t able to do the work like they used to be able. We hung out and had a proper goodbye. We were told we always have a place to visit in Toronto.
We had taken our scooters to the concert and on the way back saw that not only did they have a little skate park they had this neat little hilly, paved, bike course. Captain and I had a blast testing it out on our scooters. Wheeeeee!!!
We made it back to Ciara in time for Last Post. Cory took Kona to shore and played Frisbee with her right next to our boat. This lady came and asked to play with Kona and she was good with Kona! She made Kona have manners I haven’t demanded of her in years, and Kona gave her full attention. It was wonderful.
I totally messed up Last Post and made lots of lip mistakes. Booo. I hate that. This is why I’m not a professional.
The mosquito army came out as scheduled and we came down below and sucked free Wi-Fi for a bit before we called it a night. High winds are expected tomorrow afternoon so we want to get an early start off the wall and set at anchor before things get uncomfortable at sea. A very busy but productive day in Little Current. Sad to leave already and hard to believe this is our last time for the season.
