Parry Sound, ON, Canada

About five years ago we booked a cruise to Alaska.  We departed out of Vancouver, BC, cruised to Alaska and returned to Vancouver on the same ship. On that trip we met a delightful couple from Ontario, Canada, did a number of things together, and have kept in touch.  Since that time we visited their home in Forest, ON and they came to California and spent some time with us.  Earlier this year they took a train trip that came through Sacramento and I was able to meet them and go to dinner.  Linda was in San Diego, babysitting.

When we started planning our trip around the country we wanted to see them again and especially see the cottage they have talked about several times. They said it was just a bare bones place up in the woods that allowed them to get away from it all frequently.  By being able to visit them we planned our route to take in northern Michigan and Ontario.

This is what they call the garage where they keep their boat but after touring the area and the lake homes that almost all had boat houses, we renamed it the boat house.  This is near the main road as it is the only place big enough to turn a trailer around.



The driveway to the cottage is a quarter mile long and quite narrow.

      

Their bare bones cottage turned out to be a lovingly and expertly restored and upgraded cabin by a beautiful pond.  One look and Linda and I loved the place and all that they had done.

The pond is about 40-50' from the "cottage" with a nice dock platform to sit and enjoy the wildlife which includes otters, beavers, deer, occasional wolf, bear and moose as well as a variety of birds and waterfowl.

    

There is a screened porch on the back of the cottage that is perfect to sit and watch the surroundings free of mosquitoes.  Yes, with all that water there wasn't a lack of the little devils but a little spray took care of that.

    

The back screened porch.

    

Saturday  they took us on a tour of the area which included small towns and lake communities.  Some of the boat houses were larger than our home and were quite elaborate.  Russ and Jane told us that the average declared value of the construction on permits for boat houses is in the $250,000 range so you can imagine what the homes behind them are worth or cost.

We didn't see any moose but we found this one for Linda.

    

The sign below this bear said they if you rub its paw it will bring you good luck.  You can never have too much of that!

        

This is an antique fountain with the front bowl for horses, the top rear fountain and bowl for people, and the one below for dogs.  It is still in full working order for all to drink from.  No, it doesn't recirculate.  It is all fresh clean water.

  

They had planned to take us out on on their boat to see the islands around Parry Sound but as rain was forecast they took us on a cruise tour of some of the islands.  They say there are more than 30,000 islands in Georgian Bay.

Russ, Jane and Linda.

     

Me with the ladies.

     

Some of the islands are provincial parks while many of them are private property with a wide range of homes and facilities on them.  Many have underwater cables supplying power and their are many barge services to deliver whatever is needed.

Some of the homes are on what is little more than a rock.

     

What amazed me was the number of people in the water, it is much too cold for even dipping a toe as far as I'm concerned.  We were wrapped up in jackets and sweaters and many were taking advantage of being on the water.

     

There are lights and buoys everywhere as they are needed to navigate between the islands and rocks in the sound.

     

Some of the islands have nice beaches while others are just rocky shores.

    

The following are just some of the homes we saw on the various islands and rocks.

    

    

This home was all glass in the main structure and we assumed the building to the left was for sleeping quarters.

    

    

Same home around the corner with the boat and float plane.

    

This was one of the early cabins on the islands.

    

Coming back in we went through a narrow channel and the ship sounded its horn one extremely long blast to let anyone entering the other end know to stop and wait. Next they sounded three long blasts to alert the bridge tender to open the bridge.

    

We finished the day by cooking dinner for them in our trailer as they had prepared some great meals the last couple of days.

To finish our day we wanted to spend a little more time at their wonderful cottage and enjoy the peaceful surroundings.

   

Linda wanted just a little more time on the porch!

   

This visit was really one of the highlights of our trip so far.  We are grateful to have them as friends.

They do really have a little piece of heaven!