Canada, Eh?! (pronounced: “A”, as in Hey without the H)

. . . We’ll Miss You, But Are Glad to be Back in the U.S.

Last Images of Canada

Canada is a gorgeous country. Before leaving Canada behind, we have a few more images to share:

This type of fishing boat may be unique to the North Channel and Lake Huron. That's where we began seeing them. The high sides with no walkway are unusual. A sea gull hitched a ride atop the antenna, and another rode on the dinghy on the cabin top.

Canadians love flowers and their gardens. In Killarney, between Georgian Bay and the North Channel, Black-eyed Susans were side by side with Gaillardia at the Mountain Lodge Marina.

From the time we entered Canadian waters, we saw float planes either flying about or parked in someone's back yard near the water. This float plane landed as the sun was lowering in Killarney, Ontario.

Kent's breakfast one morning was cereal with wild blueberries that Mike and Cindy had picked. And they didn't even have to fight off bears to get them.

A stalk of bountiful pink lilies were growing near Thessalon City Marina, in Ontario.

This, my friends, is what Walmart looks like in Canada -- a Supercentre. The brands were mostly Canadian. That's as it should be. The departments are like any Walmart in the U.S. The merchandise is different. This Walmart is the only one we found near the waterways in Canada.

Canadian marinas dressed up their docks and greenways with flowers. Huge pots of mixed flowers lined the docks at Thessalon.

Conchy Tonkin’

At Blind River Marine Park, Ontario, Kent blew the conch horn for the last time in Canada to signal the setting of the sun. A minute later, a South Carolina Looper blew his conch horn in response. Then minutes later, a sailor on a San Francisco 
trimarand blew his conch horn!  Since Marathon, Kent has usually been the sole conch horn blower at sunset. It was really cool to have a conch concert!

Aloha to Spiritus

At Blind River, we said Aloha (goodbye) to our trawler friends, Eddy and Linda on Spiritus. They crossed to the U. S. the next day. It takes longer for us slow sailboats. We fully expected to say Aloha (hello) to them again somewhere along the way, never dreaming it would be the next day, our first night back in the U.S.

Linda, the pirate queen, threatened to board us before she left for new conquests. Little did she know that we had a grappling hook aboard and thought about hooking on to Spiritus for a tow to our next destination.

“Home” at Last

Yesterday we cleared U.S. Customs, leaving Canada early, to avoid high wind and waves on Lake Huron.  Every country has problems, the States being no exception. It's still a great place to live. Seeing the stars and stripes of our flag gave us chills and put big grins on our faces.

To give Canadians credit, they are better flag wavers than the U.S., at least along the waterways. Every home or cottage had a flagpole and maple leaf flag, no sports or college flags.

U.S. Customs shared space at the Drummond Island Yacht Haven. Note the sign on the side offering various services. U.S. Customs is just below Bicycle Rentals and just above Pump Outs.

Immigration Officers Check us Out

While sailing toward Mackinac (pronounced: Mackinaw) Island today, an impressive silver boat with huge motors curved around and slowly motored next to us. It was U.S. Immigration and Border Patrol just checking to be sure we’d cleared Customs and that we were on the up and up. To block the wind that morning, we'd zipped the side panels in, enclosing the cockpit. That may have roused their curiosity about us.

The lead officer had a southern accent mixed with some Michigan. He asked where we’d come from that morning. Our minds emptied, and we had to get our log to look it up. He asked where we’d cleared Customs. We went “duh.” It wasn’t our finest moment, but they let us stay despite our initial forgetfulness.  Then he asked why we didn’t have a Vols flag instead of the Bama flag since we were from Tennessee, but a big Roll Tide and a grin were his answer. Thankfully, he grinned back.

Caribbean Blue Waters in Michigan

Traveling the Loop changes preconceived ideas we had about geography, history and so on. Yet another surprise was in store when the deep, clear blue water of Canada’s side of Lake Huron changed to Caribbean blue as we sailed into the U.S. side. Who would have thought the water in Michigan would be the same beautiful turquoise as off Destin, Florida?!

Canada’s Gift to the Americas

As we said goodbye to Canada, its gift to the Americas said goodbye to us. . . in a way.