Little Current To Kagawong

Days on cruise:  123

Distance traveled:  19.2 miles

Travel time:  2 hrs, 9 mins

Total trip odometer:  2,662 statute miles

The weather forecast for last night (Monday) was a bit ferocious with high winds, so we were happy to be on the Little Current town wall dock. And the sunset was nice too.

Promptly at 7am this morning (Tuesday) as we were drinking our coffee, the afore-mentioned cruise ship came through the swing bridge and pulled up to the wall, spending at least 30 minutes docking. Bob found the ship on the internet, the Yorktown from the Great Lakes Cruise Company, and learned it’s 257’ long, 43’ wide and draws  only 8 feet, much to our surprise. It carries 140 passengers on trips throughout the Great Lakes at a price of $6,500 – $8,500 per person for a 9-day cruise. That made us feel REALLY good about our fuel bill for this year-long trip!

At 9am we slipped our lines and crossed to the south side of the North Channel for the first time, to the tiny village of Kagawong on Manatoulin Island, part of the large island that separates the North Channel from Lake Huron proper.

We pulled into a tiny marina where we’re the only  transient boat for the night.

Kagawong is a sweet place with an astounding investment in parks and interesting things to see for a village this size. This lighthouse is more than 125 years old.

The Anglican Church is pretty and interesting, and the doors were unlocked for all to enter.

It has a nautical theme throughout, including a pulpit made of the undamaged portion of the bow of a pretty wooden boat, fishnet floats that adorn the pews, and stained glass windows with a nautical theme.

Walking uphill from the marina, there’s a lengthy park path that takes you past the small chocolate shop, a bakery, the chess game court . . .

. . . the maze built with walls of narrow cypress evergreen trees, as well as another maze of stone, or a labyrinth (like Hobie’s at his Tucson casita!)

Eventually we entered a wooded forest trail that winds its’ way along a creek to Bridal Veil Falls.

There were lots of folks swimming and picnicking on this sunny, warm day, and the more adventurous ones, including Bob, walked the wet path BEHIND the falls. See him below?

Bob’s photo looking up at the falls as he was behind them.

Late in the afternoon as Bob sat on the sundeck, two delightful young men, Justin and Dawson, 12 and 14, engaged him in conversation about our boat and trip. They were swimming from the adjacent dock wall. Eventually Bob invited them onto the boat for a tour, and they were interested in every detail. They looked at each space, asked lots of questions, even went into the engine room for a peek, and were fascinated by all of it. It was such fun having them on board!

After their tour, they jumped off the dock wall next to our boat for one last swim.

Shortly, Dawson and Justin’s sister Caitlyn (sp?) and her friend Alicia showed up and also took a boat tour, again extending even to the engine room. They were as friendly and interested as the young men had been, and we enjoyed having them on board too.  Whoever the parents are of these delightful four kids should be proud of their intelligence, inquisitiveness and politeness. They even remembered to take off their shoes and say thank you!