On Day 75, we hit the pause button

Mixed emotions; Happy to be headed to a full sized shower, gulping Woodstock Orchards cider, eating all that is peak season at the farmers markets. Sad that the gardens have not been weeded in months, the A6 needs an exhaust system repair and despite Macks’ best efforts the entire house will need to be cleaned. Happy to get the Miata out of storage, and happy that Aisling will go into heated storage (no winterization required!). Sad to, well you know not really all that sad….. This has been a great experience and it’s pausing for all the right reasons.

Those reasons boil down to Canada opening and voyage timing though Covid increase, especially in AL and FL are reasons to not be rushing there….. We know several people/boats that have made their way into Canada this week and all report an easy and quick process. The most painful part seems to be getting a Covid test within 72 hours of entering given there a few testing locations in this area. Some have paid as much as $100 round trip to get a test in Watertown, NY that could deliver results in 24 hours. But for us, it meant possibly skipping the Montreal/Ottawa/Kingston loop and moving quickly through the Trent/Severn to get out of the Great Lakes before the infamous storms begin to roll in (background music should be the Gordon Lightfoot ‘ Edmund Fitzgerald’…)

Our plan for next spring is to return to 1000 Islands, head up to Montreal and Ottawa, down the Rideau Canal to Kingston, though the 1000 Islands to The Trent/Severn to Georgian Bay, Mackinaw and down to Chicago. At a leisurely pace this will take us 3 months and put us in Chicago around Labor Day. Of course all this depends on how much snow these areas get this winter, what the spring floods look like…. I will be watching snow accumulations in the Upper Midwest and Ontario this winter as well as ice reports on the St Lawrence.

This voyage has been amazing on so many levels. Not only were Lyn and I successful at not killing each other, I think we have never been closer. The teamwork, compromise, dependance, cooperation evident in our many years together on ‘terra firma’, only enhanced by being on the edge, facing the unknown, dealing with the challenges, and acknowledging our lessons learned and our accomplishments. I love my 1st Mate!