September 19 – September 26, 2022

We made it to our Canadian “home” port of Harbour West Marina in Penetanguishene, Ontario, on September 19. It was good to be back and it did feel like coming home! It’s nice to be in familiar surroundings with such welcoming and friendly people.

Captain Pat was busy lining up service and maintenance for Sunshine, to prepare her for her winter stay at Harbor West Marina. He is considering installing lithium batteries and solar panels, so he had some consulting to do to decide the appropriate next steps. This left time for the Admiral to get some quality walking in – with her hoodie on, as it was beginning to turn chilly.

There are beautiful lakefront homes along Champlain Road, the road Harbour West Marina resides on. The driveways are steep – can’t imagine traveling on them in snow. Many homes have huge wooden statues marking there descending driveways.

One day I ventured into the town of Penetanguishene, to grocery shop and do my last visit to the laundromat! We will certainly appreciate our washer and dryer when we return home.

I visited St. Anne’s Church again – “the Cathedral of the North.” An “angel” appeared to me – a woman named Ellie. Ellie showed me how to get into the church for noon Mass. I never would have found that entrance without her guidance!

After Mass Ellie took me to the bookstore where I bought a book on St. Anne’s. She also told me about the Jesuit mission in Midland. She even delivered a book on the mission to me at the marina! Such wonderful people we have met.

Here are more photos from my walk in Penetanguishene:

One evening we joined our friends Laurie and Ray for a all you can eat Fish and Chips dinner at Captain Ken’s. We’ve eaten plenty of fish and chips on this trip. This was by far the very best we have been served. Delicious!

The absolute highlight of this final visit to Penetanguishene was the arrival of Pat’s sister Kathleen and her husband, Bill. They drove to Penetanguishene from their home in New Hampshire. They were a monumental help in our packing up of the boat and preparing it for its winter storage at the marina. And they gave us a ride to the Buffalo airport, to catch our flight home.

We took Bill and Katie out for a cruise on Georgian Bay. Captain Pat charted out a course, 32 miles, that took them around Beausoleil Island to Honey Harbour and Ojibway Bay. These were the first places we explored when arriving in Georgian Bay. Here are photos from our Georgian Bay cruise:

Back at the marina, you can see here the indoor storage that our “Sunshine” will be spending the winter in. Currently this is housing a boat belonging to Graeme Aris, the marina owner. I love this boat!

Here are nighttime photos of our docks at Harbour West Marina. Until next year!