Thank you to Kathleen and Bill Raney!

Road Trip from New Hampshire to Ontario

We departed New Hampshire June 13th, headed for Midland, Ontario. Midland is a few minutes south of West Harbor Marina in Penetanguishene, where our trawler, Sunshine, spent the winter. The car was packed to the gills. How in the world will all this fit into a 34-foot boat? We shall see.

Pat and Bill traded off driving. Kathleen was the master navigator who kept them on track. She’s quite accustomed to keeping boys on track – and successful at it. Thanks to Brooklyn Raney’s suggestion, we traveled a different route than last September’s road trip from Ontario to New Hampshire. This time we opted to drive through Montreal instead of Buffalo and Niagara. This drive proved to be much more scenic and enjoyable.

It’s always nerve-racking approaching customs clearance. It proved to be a non-event. The customs agent was so friendly and told us his parents live in Penetanguishene, our destination. Small world. He didn’t even question Bill’s cannabis stash. Just kidding!

Our Hotel Stay

We arrived Midland around 8 p.m. and settled into our hotel rooms. I was a bit skeptical at first. The hotel did turn out to be quite comfortable –convenient location, great customer service, and complementary morning breakfast. With a population of 17,000, Midland does not offer many hotel options.

We got to know the owner of the hotel. Originally from India, he bought this hotel a few years ago. He and his wife run the hotel, while his extended family cares for their two young children.

He was telling us of the housing dilemma in Midland. Retirees are selling their Toronto homes, and relocating to downsized homes in Midland and other waterfront towns. These home price escalations make it difficult for the average Midland resident to afford a home. This sounds familiar to what is happening in Florida – New Yorkers and others relocating and paying cash for homes, sight unseen, driving up the price of real estate.

Preparing Sunshine for Her Launch

Bill and Kathleen had planned to help us clean and provision Sunshine, launch her, and send us on our Great Loop journey. Turns out the mechanics were not as far along as we had hoped. Enter Plan B – inventory the boat, decide what to send back or keep, extend our hotel visit, and rent a car. Friday morning, we sent Bill and Kathleen on their way back to New Hampshire.

Words can’t express our gratitude for their generosity of time and treasure. These two go above and beyond – always! Thank you.

We did have many laughs as we dined at our familiar haunts – Mom’s Restaurant in Midland

https://momsrestaurantmidland.com/

and Phil’s Casual Dining in Penetanguishine

https://philspenetang.com/

Bill even treated us to lunch at McDonalds’s (he thought he was getting by cheap – ha!) and Dairy Queen ice cream. The Canadian Tire store proved to be quite the shopping experience for Bill and Kathleen – Costco on steroids yet sadly not as organized.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Tire

The Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland

Thursday morning, we brought Kathleen and Bill to the Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland – see photos below. Our next blog post features details of the Shrine. Special thanks to our Canadian friends Ellie and Mike Vandenheuvel, who provided us a tour of the church and grounds.

I met Ellie serendipitously last year. I was wandering around aimlessly in Penetanguishene, just killing time, not having the best of days. On a whim I decided to go to noon Mass at St. Anne’s church. The church is huge, and I couldn’t find the right entrance. Ellie saw me and led me to the right door. We struck up a friendship. Ellie later gave me a book on the Martyrs’ Shrine and promised a tour once we returned to Canada in June.

Turns out Ellie and Mike are quite the historians and avid advocates of the Shrine. They graciously shared their love and knowledge of the Canadian martyrs. A special moment was standing by the many crutches and canes of those who have been healed at the Shrine. Mike shared a moving story of one such healing, a story I will never forget.