Gananoque Municipal Marina (2013-08-18)

N 44° 19.300', W 076° 09.887'

Tonight finds us in a slip at the Gananoque Municipal Marina.  We'll be forgoing the budget busting pleasures of staying in marinas as much as possible, but it will be necessary from time to time.  We've budgeted in one to two marina slips per month, to coincide with when we need to reprovision, do laundry, or just take a break and spoil ourselves a bit.  Ironically, we're finding we are really starting to prefer to anchor out more than being tied up at a dock and close to the noise of having a lot of people and boats around.


This weekend we had the enjoyment of having our son Keith and his girlfriend Alexis come to visit.  They drove down to Gananoque on Saturday, where I met them in the dinghy at the free city dock.  We loaded up their gear and some groceries and dinghied back to Beau Rivage Island, where we were still tied up on the northeast dock.

Back at the boat Dar got them settled in while I set up the inflatable kayak.  Dar took both of them out for some kayaking, one at a time.

Dar and Keith out for a spin

Dar and Alexis

After the kayaking and some swimming, Dar made the kids another zucchini lasagna and a caesar salad for supper.  Both Keith and Alexis really liked the lasagna, and were surprised how well the Omnia worked.

After supper Dar took them for a nice walk around the island, stopping at a rock overlooking the anchorage behind Beau Rivage.  Apparently there were about 20 boats in there on Saturday night.

After the walk we settled in for some snacks and a movie, and then called it a night.

This morning there was a bit of a mist on the water, making for a very picturesque view.

Misty morning

 After treating the kids to a nice bacon and eggs breakfast, Dar and Alexis hopped into the kayak to circumnavigate Beau Rivage Island.  Keith and I headed out in the dinghy to do some exploring of our own.  We stalked the girls in the kayak for a bit and then headed out near the channel north of the island so I could show Keith how fast the dinghy goes on plane.  After that we popped over to Aubrey Island to scout out the docks, and then over to Mermaid Island to do the same there. 

After our explorations were done I packed up the kayak, stowed the dinghy and got the boat ready to get underway.  We were headed for the Gananoque marina, but we decided to take the scenic route and travelled through the middle of the island group on what is known as the "Wanderer's Channel".  There were a lot of boats moving through there, including a tour boat from Gananoque.

After getting in to the marina we got ourselves sorted and then headed out for a provisioning run, taking advantage of having our car here.  We headed for the Costco in Kingston, but first made a detour for some lunch.

My favourite eatery in Kingston

After Costco and a couple other stops we headed back to the marina.  We spent a bit of time showing Keith and Alexis around the waterfront, but before we knew it, it was time for them to head out and get on back to Ottawa.  It was with a bit of a heavy heart that we said our goodbyes and watched them drive away.  It was a lot of fun having them visit, and it was sad seeing them leave. 

Next weekend it looks like our daughter and her fiance are planning to visit us as well.  While we don't have anything decided yet, it looks like we'll stay in this area and have them come to Gananoque as well to meet up with us.