July 21, Toronto bound

John took us to church at the Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland which was completed in 1926 in honor of eight Canadian men martyred during the 17^th century Jesuit mission in New France.  Afterwards, we were given the grand tour of Midland and we stopped to view the Port Severn Lock 45. This is one of the most challenging spots in the water with more than 10 buoys in rapid succession bouncing around in the swift current.  Some of the widths are so narrow between the buoys Ken thinks that we will only have inches to spare if that.  Something else to worry about!

We went back to the cottage to pick up Rita and their daughter Angie, and went for a boat ride.  Georgian Bay is a beautiful fresh water cruising ground sprinkled with numerous islands and granite everywhere.  A boater needs to be cautious at all times.  John took us by boat to the bottom of Lock 45 and powered through the buoys under the bridge.   He cautiously turned around and headed back toward the bridge and when we made the corner we met an on-coming boat.  We had the right away, but the boater was oblivious to the rules.  John had to back up and was careful to keep the boat in the channel with the swift current pushing him around.   Wow, that was close!  After cruising Georgian Bay we stopped at a marina for a late lunch.  Back at the cottage we gathered our belongings and our next destination is Toronto.  Traffic was awful and we arrived to John and Rita’s home that evening.