Today we are heading 11.9 miles to Parry Sound, Ontario. We plan on arriving before noon which will be no problem since we left at 8:20 am. There are several things within walking/biking range (0.8 miles or less one way) including stores, restaurants and a two screen movie theatre, as well as less than 2.0 miles to Walmart, Home Depot, and several grocery stores. Needless to say, we plan on being busy both walking and biking. We will be staying at the Big Sound Marina, and we plan on staying two nights so we have a full day in town. The city of Parry Sound is on the eastern shore of the large sound from which it derives its name. I forgot to check the depth sounder as we arrived, but the city also has the world's deepest natural freshwater port. We spent much of today's trip in the sound well away from shore so I did not get many pictures until we headed into the bay where the city is located. One of our first sights (photo above right) was the Canadian Coast Guard ship the Constable Carriere that I have seen photographed helping keep areas like the channel in the Detroit River open during the winter navigation season. However, her primary duty would be law (or boarder?) enforcement.
We passed our destination of the Big Sound Marina (photo at left) as we headed just past it into the downtown waterfront to take in the sights. The first clue about the deep water is that the outer barrier of the marina is actually a floating pipe boom with vertical planks in the middle to knock down the waves, which it did very well. The marina has modern, clean facilities, and it is somewhat isolated since the entrance road is one lane carved out of the local bedrock. The only parking at the office is a few drop off spaces, and longer term parking is past the entrance road. Lucky turned out to love walking along the west break wall where she could scramble over the big rocks to get a drink of water (and occasionally scare some geese).
We went to the far end of the navigable water, and this Canadian Pacific Railroad Bridge (photo at right) towers over the edge of downtown on a small hill on the other side. The marina and the downtown waterfront are on the viewers side of the bridge, and the downtown starts just uphill on the other side of the bridge. The bridge is not what I would call beautiful, but it must be a thrill to ride on a passenger train as it passes over the bridge. Otherwise, I found the bridge to be a useful reference point for finding my way around town since it so high.
The waterfront area appears to be all relatively new, but the tour boat Chippewa III (photo at right) adds a touch of classic old style boating to all of the new. She offers regularly scheduled tours as well as charters for special events.
The ticket booth for the Chippewa is in this reproduction (?) of a lighthouse (photo at left) that also adds a bit of charm to the waterfront.
Additional charm was added by the privately owned tug Cambrian (photo at right). Buying and restoring old tugs is a very popular hobby, and we first notice signs for tug events on our first Loop starting in the Hudson River, the Erie Canal and on the Great Lakes. A town will host a weekend featuring parades, races and pull-offs as well as dockside tours of the boats. Many of the tugs will participate in a whole series of these events so it is a popular hobby for the owners as well as the spectators. Most of the tugs that I have seen prepared for these events are smaller harbor or canal tugs, but even the restoration of a small tug probably represents a hobby with a large investment of time (and money).
The largest boat berthed in the harbor is the Island Queen (photo at left) that offers daily cruises in the 30,000 Islands. Several of the cruise ships on the Great Lakes stop for a day in Parry Sound. One of these is the Pearl Mist, which we first saw during its daytime stops at Mackinac Island. One of the activities for the passengers is a 6 hour cruise on the Island Queen that can get into much smaller channels than can the much larger Pearl Mist. The office for the Island Queen has a wonderful store and an ice cream bar with a selection of excellent ice cream available. In talking to our server I learned not surprisingly that they do a rush hour business when the cruise ships unload and load. They also have a small store that features a selection of very upscale jewelry, sweaters and other clothing aimed at the cruise ship's passengers.
Another very popular venue is sea plane rides by Georgian Bay Airlines (photo at right). They also transport freight and passengers into remote cabins and fish camps. One of the trips that they offer is a round trip flight to Henry's Restaurant at Frying Pan Island. For $148.00 you can have a truly special meal at Henry's. This is supposedly a trip that people come from all over to experience, and on some weekends all three planes are busy ferrying diners back and forth. For an extra $30.00 (per passenger) they will add a half hour of touring over the 30,000 Islands. While it was tempting to try this flight, we had already made plans to stop at Henry's when we depart Parry Sound headed for our next stop in Midland, Ontario. Maybe next time...
Oh yes, and not to miss a beat they also have an ice cream counter serving the same delicious ice cream as the ice cream counter at the Island Queen.
The last picture for today is of a classic woody cabin cruiser that was touring the harbor at the same time as we did (photo at left). The short boating season here probably contributes to the large number of classic wooden boats that have been preserved in the Great Lakes.
When we checked at the marina office, they had a poster advertising the "Festival of the Sound" going on which is Canada's premier summer classical festival that lasts three weeks. Luckily for us, this is week one. When we got back to Lucky Us, the Admiral went online and secured tickets
for the evening performance at the Stocky Center of Performing Arts. The center is literally the first building outside the entrance to our marina so we just have a few minute walk to get there.
Today we are heading 11.9 miles to Parry Sound, Ontario. We plan on arriving before noon which will be no problem since we left at 8:20 am. There are several things within walking/biking range (0.8 miles or less one way) including stores, restaurants and a two screen movie theatre, as well as less than 2.0 miles to Walmart, Home Depot, and several grocery stores. Needless to say, we plan on being busy both walking and biking. We will be staying at the Big Sound Marina, and we plan on staying two nights so we have a full day in town. The city of Parry Sound is on the eastern shore of the large sound from which it derives its name. I forgot to check the depth sounder as we arrived, but the city also has the world's deepest natural freshwater port. We spent much of today's trip in the sound well away from shore so I did not get many pictures until we headed into the bay where the city is located. One of our first sights (photo above right) was the Canadian Coast Guard ship the Constable Carriere that I have seen photographed helping keep areas like the channel in the Detroit River open during the winter navigation season. However, her primary duty would be law (or boarder?) enforcement.
We passed our destination of the Big Sound Marina (photo at left) as we headed just past it into the downtown waterfront to take in the sights. The first clue about the deep water is that the outer barrier of the marina is actually a floating pipe boom with vertical planks in the middle to knock down the waves, which it did very well. The marina has modern, clean facilities, and it is somewhat isolated since the entrance road is one lane carved out of the local bedrock. The only parking at the office is a few drop off spaces, and longer term parking is past the entrance road. Lucky turned out to love walking along the west break wall where she could scramble over the big rocks to get a drink of water (and occasionally scare some geese).
We went to the far end of the navigable water, and this Canadian Pacific Railroad Bridge (photo at right) towers over the edge of downtown on a small hill on the other side. The marina and the downtown waterfront are on the viewers side of the bridge, and the downtown starts just uphill on the other side of the bridge. The bridge is not what I would call beautiful, but it must be a thrill to ride on a passenger train as it passes over the bridge. Otherwise, I found the bridge to be a useful reference point for finding my way around town since it so high.
The waterfront area appears to be all relatively new, but the tour boat Chippewa III (photo at right) adds a touch of classic old style boating to all of the new. She offers regularly scheduled tours as well as charters for special events.
The ticket booth for the Chippewa is in this reproduction (?) of a lighthouse (photo at left) that also adds a bit of charm to the waterfront. 
Additional charm was added by the privately owned tug Cambrian (photo at right). Buying and restoring old tugs is a very popular hobby, and we first notice signs for tug events on our first Loop starting in the Hudson River, the Erie Canal and on the Great Lakes. A town will host a weekend featuring parades, races and pull-offs as well as dockside tours of the boats. Many of the tugs will participate in a whole series of these events so it is a popular hobby for the owners as well as the spectators. Most of the tugs that I have seen prepared for these events are smaller harbor or canal tugs, but even the restoration of a small tug probably represents a hobby with a large investment of time (and money).
The largest boat berthed in the harbor is the Island Queen (photo at left) that offers daily cruises in the 30,000 Islands. Several of the cruise ships on the Great Lakes stop for a day in Parry Sound. One of these is the Pearl Mist, which we first saw during its daytime stops at Mackinac Island. One of the activities for the passengers is a 6 hour cruise on the Island Queen that can get into much smaller channels than can the much larger Pearl Mist. The office for the Island Queen has a wonderful store and an ice cream bar with a selection of excellent ice cream available. In talking to our server I learned not surprisingly that they do a rush hour business when the cruise ships unload and load. They also have a small store that features a selection of very upscale jewelry, sweaters and other clothing aimed at the cruise ship's passengers. 
Another very popular venue is sea plane rides by Georgian Bay Airlines (photo at right). They also transport freight and passengers into remote cabins and fish camps. One of the trips that they offer is a round trip flight to Henry's Restaurant at Frying Pan Island. For $148.00 you can have a truly special meal at Henry's. This is supposedly a trip that people come from all over to experience, and on some weekends all three planes are busy ferrying diners back and forth. For an extra $30.00 (per passenger) they will add a half hour of touring over the 30,000 Islands. While it was tempting to try this flight, we had already made plans to stop at Henry's when we depart Parry Sound headed for our next stop in Midland, Ontario. Maybe next time... Oh yes, and not to miss a beat they also have an ice cream counter serving the same delicious ice cream as the ice cream counter at the Island Queen.
The last picture for today is of a classic woody cabin cruiser that was touring the harbor at the same time as we did (photo at left). The short boating season here probably contributes to the large number of classic wooden boats that have been preserved in the Great Lakes.
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