Days 123 to 124 to Barrie, ON for 2 nights

      We left the dock this morning at 10:30 am after a relaxing morning.  As we went out the channel from the marina, we bid goodbye to Jake and Elwood who apparently are still on the bad side of the local seagulls. Our destination today is Barrie, Ontario which is 24.8 miles across Lake Simcoe. We will take our time, but we do want to get there in time to walk about four blocks from the marina for a late afternoon showing of "Swiss Army Man". It was a movie from 2009 and one of the two main actors was Daniel Ratcliff (Harry Potter) who played a corpse that farted a LOT!  Needless to say, there was a lot of symbolism that was largely lost on me. However, the popcorn saved the day.  The Admiral was quick to say this is NOT a movie she would recommend to anyone.  

       This is probably not a stop made by most Loopers since the Trent Severn Waterway enters and exits Lake Simcoe in the northern part of the lake and Barrie as well as our next planned stop, Keswick, are in the southwestern and southern portion of the lake.  As we approached Barrie, we could see this fountain (photo at left) from several miles away. It was about a mile from the marina so we never did walk quite all of the way to it, but it seemed to be only decorative.

      We have a reservation at the municipal dock in Barrie and plan on staying two nights.  The municipal marina is in the very center of the shoreline in the photo at the right, but it is so small that you really cannot make it out. The photo shows most of the active downtown, which is definitely alive and well. The population of Barrie was 137K in 2011, and it is growing rapidly as more people from Toronto find the hour plus commute worth the waterfront here. It is easily the largest town that we have been in over the last 2 months. So, it has lots of development, like malls, outside of downtown, but somehow downtown has remained full and busy.

      Part of the growth has helped downtown like this pair of residential towers (photo at left), and there were 3 more pairs like this on the waterfront at the edge of downtown. They also had about a mile of public beach with plenty of parking.

      Here is Lucky Us moored at space 9 on the cement dock (photo at right). The "cement dock" had sounded kind of strange when we were given our slip assignment over the phone, but sure enough, they meant the dock was made out of cement as opposed to the wooden docks across the small main thoroughfare (i.e. channel) of the marina. When we docked we were told that we could only have one 30 amp plug, but if no other boat docked behind us that we could use the second plug. We really only need the second circuit to power the large main air conditioner so we could have limped along. However, we would have been very warm in the salon.

       The photo at the left shows the intersection of the two main streets downtown, and as you look straight ahead at the bottom of the hill is the city marina where Lucky Us is docked. Obviously, we were well positioned to spend time in the downtown area. We also have a car reservation for one day (24 hours) starting in the morning, and we plan to return it by 8:00 am the next day so that we can move on to our next destination.

       Across from us was a long finger pier where 4 dragon boats were moored. Both evenings one or more of the boats went out for a multi-hour paddle. The boats are paddled like a canoe, but there are so many paddlers that they even have a coxswain in the bow to call out the cadence to keep everyone paddling in rhythm. The photo shows them backing away from the dock, and this maneuver was not very smooth. However, once they headed out into the bay, the strokes were even and very smooth. Once they have accelerated, the stroke is slow and steady.

      Barrie sits at the end of a 9 mile long narrow bay (Kempenfelt Bay), which is well protected, except for winds blowing parallel to the bay. It also turns out to be a popular area for sailing schools all day long and club racing in the evenings so it was a pretty sight to look out and see many sails at almost any time.  

      There were several large metal sculptures in waterfront parks on both sides of the marina. The one in the photo at the right is called "Spirit Catcher". It is truly an awesome sight. There is nothing for scale in the photo, but the sculpture must be about 50 feet high.

      On Day 124 we took the rent car to a new movie theater complex to see "Jason Bourne", which we both enjoyed. It was hard to find the entrance to the parking lot, as there was construction everywhere. I asked one of the workers how long they had been open, and she said "Oh, since last Friday", which explains the construction.

      We took several long walks with Lucky on the evening of Day 124, and one of them was through the park next door where there was a (weekly) street rod car show going on from about 6 to 9:00 pm. There was a range in age from a 2006 Pontiac Solstice convertible to a 1932 Ford. There was even a 1960 VW Microbus completely restored. Later, when we took another walk after dinner, we saw two of the amphibious cars out for a spin in the harbor (photo at left). This was the third Amphibicar that we have seen in our travels on the Great Lakes between 2014 and this year. It is a 1960 vintage vehicle, as you could probably tell by the fins on the rear fenders.

       Later on this second walk, we passed this busy scene with a class for SUPs (Stand Up Paddleboards). There were people paddling (and falling) all over the place . Then a dragon boat paddled past looking pretty smooth by comparison. All in all, the water is a busy place around here in the Summer.

      Well, we have had a busy and fun time in Barrie, but tomorrow we will be moving along as we try to position ourselves in a new spot where we can stay for the busy weekend on the water...

       Here is another of the metal statues of a dragon flying that was difficult to photograph because it is surrounded by trees on three sides. The head of the dragon is on the lower left and the tail is high on the right (partly obstructed by a large branch). Once again it is very large, but the scale is fitting for its location.