Happy First Day of Summer

It's hard to believe, after the incredible May and parts of June we've been having so far, that this is in fact the first day of summer. Summer here in my new "hood" is amazing! For those of you who know this area, you know what I mean. For those who don't, here's a taste.

Friends were visiting last week, and just like everywhere else you live, when friends visit you tend to do the things you wouldn't on your own. So we did two of the local features last week. First was the 30,000 Islands Cruise. We were so spontaneous, no one had a camera with them, but luckily their website had some great shots.

This is the Island Queen, which is the cruise boat. Because it's not high season yet, there weren't too many people aboard and we had no trouble getting upper deck seats. The weather was perfect and the whole 3-hour trip a wonderful experience. Here are some of the things you cruise by:

As you can see, the scenery is spectacular. You go through some very narrow channels and other places are vast and, as far as the eye can see, filled with islands. We learned that there really are 30,000. They are all numbered and to get a number, must be at least an acre. So they don't count the little ones that fill the in-between spaces. The guide said that the islands start at over $1,000,000, so that explains some of the spectacular places we saw. All water access only.

You can see what inspired the members of the Group of Seven and this beauty rolls by the entire time you are out there. We think that there could be Georgian Bay cable channel (like the fireplace channel) and you could just watch the scenery go by for as long as you liked if you couldn't get here to see the real McCoy.

As if that were not enough, we decided to do another local favourite - Henry's Fish Restaurant, which is near Sans Souci. It is accessible only by boat, water taxi or float plane. And since we don't have a boat on the bay, or a float plane, the water taxi it was. Not an inexpensive choice, since we were the only passengers, but another wonderful trip on the Bay, albeit a lot faster.

Henry's has been a destination for as long as we have had our cottage - we just never got there before, so this was all new to us. And definitely worth the trip. Here are some pictures that I found online.

Again, since we were ahead of the season, there were not nearly this many boats tied up. And we didn't have to line up to get in. They serve simple, delicious food. And we had pickerel and chips, since the perch wasn't available yet. The prices were more than reasonable, which helped offset the heft price tag for the taxi. All in all, it was definitely worth the trip. And we would do it again.

It's easy to see why the population here goes from 6,500 to 35,000 in the summer. It truly is one of the most beautiful places in the world. And it's the perfect place to be this time of year. We think it is in the winter too, but we've yet to be here for an entire one. Stay tuned for that post in February or March.