To the Key Hole
We rested comfortably until 9am! I asked Captain to check to see if John was going to leave the ball in Killarney and he informed me he had texted and said he was staying another night. He checked his phone again and John had changed his mind and had already dropped the ball this morning and left. We decided we would wake Cory right away and go attempt to grab that ball, assuming it was still pretty early in the morning. We were only half an hour away so even Kona could wait for her walk (she puts up with a lot!). We hauled anchor and were on our way, pulling into the Killarney Channel before 10am. As we rounded the corner, we found that the ball had already been taken. ☹I suggested that we go ahead and get a pump out and fresh water since we were there even though we weren’t due. That way we could head back out and not have a time pressure for a while. So that is what we did. Kona got a short shore walk while we emptied our trash, black water tank and took on fresh water.
We headed back the direction we came and past Thomas Bay to the Key Hole. Ok, technically the anchorage is called “Mile 58” but it right next to the Key Hole. We met Luica here last year, but there were lots of boats here for Rock-tails that it was a blur. Today there were three sail boats and a few powerboats. The wind was going to pick up so we dropped our anchor and prepared to enjoy our day here while we game planned.
Carl the duck FINALLY got deployed. I think I was nervous after we broke him but with his new self-adjusting line and a safety tied to his collar just incase, I went for it. I figured out how to deploy him without much jerking on him and he set absolutely perfectly! The new weighted monkey fist keeps him directly over our anchor and upright, even in the wind. And he looks ADOABLE and I LOVE him!!
Captain and I took Kona to shore for an extended play time. We sat on the rocks and watched the other boats sway and move in the wind. We move at a much slower speed; the others look like dancers on the water.
I asked on the Facebook forums for advice about going further. We want to go to Bad River and the Bustards. I’m afraid of a few things going there. The biggest is the reports of Massasauga rattle snakes. That already has me nervous, but with Kona girl even more so. We got lots of advice and are sitting on the information. The sailboats from last night in Thomas Bay recognized me online from my post and were piping in to give advice and say how much they appreciated the evening serenade. They apologized for not being social as they were busy making dinner. It’s okay, not every night at anchor has to be a party and we totally understand the keeping it quiet and laid-back as treat as well. Later in the early evening all three of us went on a little dinghy ride to see the area. The three other sailboats were huddled together on one boat having happy hour and called us over. They, too, had seen my call for advice and had some advice for the Bustards. They said they had been stalking our web page all afternoon. That makes me happy.
The afternoon was spent reading, a little napping and way too much screen time as Captain was able to get his drone footage on my phone and we just gawked at how cool the photos look and how good of a flight captain he is becoming.
We had leftovers for dinner and took Kona to shore one last time. I didn’t want her to swim close to bed time so even though we threw the stick inland she got tired of our game and “dropped” her stick in the water anyhow and went for a swim. So, yeah, she got to play more in the water after that. Silly dog. She is getting better letting me towel dry her at least which goes a long way.
We settled in and watched House on Cory’s iPad. We lit an oil lamp and Cory made a cheese tray to satisfy my snacky urges from not a huge dinner.
The knee/leg is doing much better. I am down to minimal soreness that I am rehabbing and the occasional “Ouch, that movement still hurts.” We may be brave and head more East tomorrow or we may relax and stay here. There is a great hike that is a dinghy ride away that we would like to do and we know there are no venomous snakes….
