We planned a short trip to Killarney for groceries, trash and recycle, and lunch before attempting to find a place to anchor at Covered Portage Cove.
Ojibwe Pictographs were supposedly on a rock along the passage, so we slowed down to look for them. We thought it would be obvious, but all of us gave up. Lori and I took pictures of the rock face from different angles to see if we could spot them later and we could continue on our way to Killarney. Can you spot any?
Killarney is a cute little town with the water running through it. Killarney Mountain Lodge is an AGLCA sponsor and is one of the first buildings you see coming in to town. It is a large piece of land with a few brown log-cabin style buildings and a pool, marina, and giant Canadian flag to welcome everyone. Sprinkled along the waterway there are a few more docks at shops and marinas. Some locals were there, but it seemed like mostly a tourist destination.
We docked at Pitfield's General Store in Killarney and stocked up on a few necessary food items. Since the kids worked so hard picking fresh blueberries, we knew we wanted to put some of them into a dump cake, like we did last year, so a cake mix was on the list and was procured.
Ben replaced the impeller while we walked around with bags and looked for trash and recycle, only to find out that we'd have to leave it at a marina. Those services are for tax payers only.
Stopped at LCBO for beer but they're on strike, so it was closed. We heard that they'd be on strike, but didn't know for how long and figured it was worth a shot to try.
We walked back to the boat and Ben was finished with the replacement. He decided to move the boat up to World Famous Herbert's Fisheries, which is where we wanted to go for lunch.
Just as we tied up to the big, cement wall, people from the restaurant came out to tell us we had to move because the cruise ship that only comes on Mondays was coming to that exact spot at noon. It was 11:45. We asked where else we could tie up to eat at their restaurant and they saw that a boat was already at the LCBO dock adjacent to theirs and didn't have any other options.
The sailboat, Etcetera, already tied at the LCBO dock was in the middle of the dock. Luckily, the owner came out and moved his boat to one end with Ben's help, so we could tie on the other end.
Lori decided to hop off and place the fish order before the cruise ship came. The kids went with her. Ben helped the other boat move down the dock, then Lori was back and she got back on the boat with Ben.
I had to hop off and help Ben tie up, further down the dock. The kids were nearby to somewhat help- Bear was the most helpful. It was stressful because we were going bow to bow with the other boat that just moved and our boat was too long for the end, so we had to use a bow line, spring line, and mid line- with no stern line because it was so far back the dock ended before our boat. I was holding and pulling the Cartermaran in on a wood rail, rather than a cleat, trying to avoid stepping in the poop on the dock (but one of the lines did drag thru it). It was tricky and Ben told me to hold it tight while he powered the boat around. It was quite the workout. Once Bear and I were tied, Ben got off the boat and wound up using the tow strap and a line to stern tie to a rock on shore.
I went over and ordered the chicken portion of the lunch with some poutine and joined everyone else, except Ben, at the table. Ben stayed behind to keep an eye on the boats. The food was okay and we liked the cheese curds better here than any other poutine place.
When we were walking back, Ben told us to be careful of the bear poop on the dock that he just stepped in, twice. I was pretty excited to find out it was from a bear.
We left just as the cruise ship was unloading, a little after 12:30 and we all decided we would've had enough time to tie up at the cruise ship's spot, order, eat, and leave before the boat even came in! All of that stress for nothing.
Went to Killarney Mountain Lodge (had me wondering- where is the mountain?) for gas for the Chicken, to get pumped out, and drop off our trash and recycle. The 4 big kids and Lori checked out the marina store.
We intended to anchor and stern tie in Covered Portage Cove, but it was super crowded and serene, so we didn't want to submit the other boats to our loud children and disturb the peace. We could see why people would love this place and we moved on to Mary Ann Cove, hoping it would be less crowded.
We were the 8th boat in Mary Ann Cove in Baie Fine (pronounced Bay Fin) when we dropped anchor and stern tied. Everyone changed and went in the water for a dip, paddle, or swim. Most of us swam or laid on the SUP thru the tunnels.
Ben chatted up some of the neighbor boats and got a pump so we could finish inflating the Grasshoppers' SUP. One set of buddy boats was a delivery crew with one gold looper on board. The other set of buddy boats was 2 retired couples who are from Ontario and take 3 weeks of the summer to boat the Georgian Bay and North Channel. We apologized in advance about our noisy children and they said it was welcomed because it had been a while since they had seen their grandkids.
Keith took out the drone and we watched a bird try to attack it. We weren't sure if we thought it thought it was food or a predator, so it was protecting its nest or babies. The calm water with a semi-private cove was a great way to end our chaotic day.
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