Georgian Bay: Collins Inlet to Killarney, Ontario Canada

Day 36

Travel Time: 1 hour

NM today: 6

NM total: 823

Locks today: 0

Locks total: 70

Because of where we stayed the night before, today’s trip was very short.  The waters were very calm, so all went well and quickly with our travel to Killarney.  When we go to Killarney, however, the picture rapidly changed.  We had a reservation at The Sportsman Inn and had called ahead for a pump out of the holding tank.  It took an hour sitting running at idle hanging off the fuel dock for our turn.  It took another hour for us to complete getting service, and the only services we required were a pump-out and filling the water tank.  It was ridiculous, and it seems that the major problem was that there was only one hose for water and the water at our assigned dock was not tested and proved potable.  Anyone staying on the George Island side of this marina has to get their tanks filled up at the fuel dock.

One sailboat owner had filled his two 60-gallon tanks with water from George Island before he found out it was tested to be potable.  He ended up emptying his tanks and filling them at the fuel dock through a filter he put on his tank which meant it took him forever and I do mean forever. 

We arrived at the marina at 10:15.  At 12:15 we were still at the fuel dock.  By 1:15 when we were finally at our slip, I was as cranky as a bear with a sore head having not had lunch because Clark had proposed eating lunch in Killarney.  That plan was fine before the fuel dock fiasco.  I have to eat at regular intervals or you don’t want to be anywhere near me.  I was getting grumpier and grumpier such that I didn’t want to be around me either!

We needed lunch and we needed supplies.  Alas both are on the opposite side of the Killarney channel from where we are docked.  The only way over is to take the “Tinker Bell” Ferry which is a marina pontoon boat.  We walked down to the end of our docking area where they have a pickup station and rang the “tinker bell” which is basically a ship’s bell / cowbell that can be heard across the water.  Another wait was required and I felt like I was getting older as the day progressed with practically nothing to show for it.  Finally they retrieved us and we were able to scope out the town.  

First order of business was to hit the head.  We found out that there are no showers or heads on George island, so every time we need to use the toilet, we have to call “Tinker Bell”.  Second order of business was to find lunch.  We walked through town to Herbert’s Fish Restaurant where there were so many people milling about, it was a crazy mess.  A few were in queue to order food; most were in queue waiting for their number to be called because their order was ready.  There were two items on the menu – fish and chips.  I told Clark we had to find someplace else to eat as I was not willing to wade through the crowd to get fried fish that I most likely would not be happy to eat as the grease upsets my system.  We found a place down the road where I ordered a delectable chicken Caesar salad which rapidly improved my mood considerably.

After lunch we found the general store and the assessment that there are slim pickings at high prices was accurate.  I found it difficult to even procure my absolute must-haves.  By wandering around enough I was able to find a sufficient amount of food to satisfy me until we get to Little Current.  We brought our bundle of food back to the boat via ferry, put the food away, pulled out our bicycles and went back to call “Tinker Bell” once again.

When we got to the other side, we asked where we could go on our bicycles for interesting views and were told to go to the Killarney Lighthouse.  We followed the marina staff’s directions and quickly found ourselves going from paved roads to dirt / gravel roads to get to the lighthouse.  Our travel bikes do not handle gravel or sand well, and a few times I felt the tires skidding out as I tried to navigate some particularly difficult road surfaces. 

The effort was well worth it, however, as overall the bike ride was great, and once we got out to the lighthouse, a cold breeze (not cool) hit us and felt fantastic after the hot bike ride out.  We stopped at the lookout point first and then went all the way up to the lighthouse itself.  The view was spectacular. 

Lighthouse seen from our boat as we approached Killarney

View from the Lighthouse

Lighthouse stationed on solid rock

Waters around the path to the lighthouse

 After exploring around the lighthouse we headed back to town and poked our heads into two gift shops to see what goodies they had for sale.  One had a great moose at the front door that I wanted to bring home on the boat with me.  Bullwinkle!!

Moose Outside Gift Shop / Information Center for Killarney

I promised Clark that we could stop for ice cream after the bike ride (he wanted to stop before), so when we came back into town, we each got a Pralines and Cream Waffle Cone.  Decadent but very good!  By this time it was getting on for 5:00.  The day had flown mostly due to the fuel dock fiasco.  I suggested that we take showers to get that done while others eat and then after we could grab our dinner.  So it was back and forth on “Tinker Bell” once again to drop off the bikes and get our shower bags.  We brought money with us so we could get dinner without having to travel back and forth yet another time.

For convenience, we ate at the pub at the marina where we are stayed.  One thing I have noticed is that the Canadians love pork and in particular bacon.  My Caesar salad at lunch had bacon in it which I thought was great, but when Clark ordered a Caesar salad for supper, I never thought it would come with bacon, but there it was.  Problem is, Clark is allergic to pork, so he had this big salad that he could not eat.  We had them make him a new one without bacon so he could eat it.  They let us keep the salad with the bacon on it, so I brought it back to the boat for me to eat tomorrow.

When “Tinker Bell” dropped us off close to our dock, Clark spied a boat from Michigan and that was the last I saw of him for the next hour as he picked their brains for where to go and what to avoid in the waters between here and our U.S. entry point.  I said hello but kept going back to the boat so I could work on my blog entries. 

The Sportsman Inn offers drive-in / boat-in movies on the water.  We are docked directly in front of the movie screen.  The movie hasn’t started yet but should start any minute as it is now dark enough for an outdoor viewing.  We've been watching "coming attractions" for the past 20 minutes.  I have no idea what they will be showing.  We asked but the dock staff did not know.  I’m hoping it will be something that I find moderately interesting and not  a horror flick which I won’t want to watch...

Well it's not a horror flick, it appears to be The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part I.