Georgian Bay / July 20 - 27, 2015
20-27 July 2015
We left from Stoney Creek at 6:15 the morning of July 20th. Nancy and Leah were present to wish us all a good trip. Leah had a heavy heart to see Jasmine leave (Leah, Jasmine misses you and she thanks you for her gift). Leah and Nancy are always a part of the annual kayak trip, but this year they had a nice event that they could not miss. We missed them all week. This year's group consisted of Michael and Jane, Jim and Lisa, Gord and Gord Jr., Marilyn and Barb and the three of us.
We stopped along the way to rent two kayaks at White Squall near Parry Sound. We had a nice surprise! Ena and Dennis traveled just to come and see us. The last time we saw them was one year ago. Ena drove me to the hospital with a shoulder problem. We stayed three days with them at their cottage. We were really happy to see them again. Ena and Dennis, thank you so much for coming to see us!
We launched from Britt, located not far from Parry Sound. We paddled a short distance from Britt for the first night, toward a beautiful island large enough to accommodate our 5 tents. We did not set big goals as far as km to paddle throughout the week. That was not the objective. We all had the desire to enjoy the beauty of nature, have fun, explore and above all spend good times together. We laughed, we ate well and drank. The company was very nice. We had a lot of fun.
Georgian Bay is a gem and a treasure that we must preserve. The nature is beautiful and abundant, and the scenery is spectacular and very inspiring. The sunsets are outstanding; water is translucent; granite rocks change appearance and colour during the day as the sun moves through the sky. The smell of pine and cedar trees mixed with the smell of the fresh water of the Great Lakes is intoxicating. The water was warm enough, during our stay, to swim. There are over 30,000 islands in Georgian Bay. Each time we come back to Georgian Bay, we always discover new places and new sights.
We want to say a huge thank you to Michael and Jane for their help, their generosity, hospitality and the opportunity they gave us to be part of the group again this year. Thank you to Jim, Lisa, Marilyn, Barb, Gord and Gord Jr. for the beautiful week spent in their company.
On July 27th we paddled back to Britt, then hit the road toward Port Severn, where we stopped for a last meal together. Afterwards, we unloaded all of our equipment at Lock # 45 in Port Severn. It is from here that we will begin a new stage in our trip, in familiar territory. We will not be alone to complete it. Andrew (from Boston), who we met in Key Largo, came to join us and he will paddle with us, in his kayak, for the next month. Guaranteed fun!
