Saturday July 28: Three for the Price of Two - A Winner Again!

The Port of Orillia was definitely a welcome sight Thursday night when we arrived. It was not a very nice evening and being on Lake Simcoe on less than ideal conditions is never great.

When the sun is shining, this lake is incredible - green water like you never thought a lake could be. And clear. Not the afternoon we crossed though. Maybe on the way back ....

But we were tucked in nicely in our dock by the time the sun set - for 3 nights with the 3 nights for the price of 2 special that was offered by the marina. It was early to bed as we were both tired -

I'm not quite sure where yesterday (Friday) went. Much of it I guess went to being on the internet trying to figure out the part number for the temperature sensor in the engine. The temperature guages don't work and with the help of my brother Dick and nephew Joe, we figured out it's the sensor. Success after a LONG time - ordered and being sent to Peter and Cheryl (Surona/DeJa Vu) son who lives in Midland which is where we'll be this weekend. How nice to have friends in high places :-)

Steve spent part of the day working on the electric part of the stove. It is supposed to run on both electric and alcohol but the electric has never worked since??? Michael (previous owner) just remarked that he always used the alcohol burners as he thought someone had disconnected the electric at some point.

One broken wire was repaired and still no go. Finally after tracing all of the wiring in the stove, Steve figured out the little button in the back of the stove had to be pulled up in order for the electric to work! Apparently, the button was the cutoff for the alcohol - which makes sense as you wouldn't want to have alcohol leaking out when you had the electric burner on, right? Mmmmm.....sometimes obvious things (like 'what is that button for?') aren't so obvious :-)

But today was a new day with new projects. First a bike ride to nice restaurant at of all places the Rec Center in Orillia! Great breakfast and great view of Lake Simcoe.

The bonus of going to this restaurant is that it's about a 3 mile round trip ride - much of it along the southern shore of Lake Coochiching. One thing this city has done so right is the public use of what is probably prime real estate right on the lake. Hiking/biking paths, playgrounds, beaches and lots of benches for people! And many folks were out both days walking, jogging, biking, dog walking. Great to see.

Steve even tried out the rollerblade park with his bike. Somehow I don't really think that was the plan for this park!

Enough playing - it's time to work! The project for today was to remove the railing along the back of the boat and replace it with a very comfy seat. Additional modifications will need to be made but we think it's a good addition. Of course the railings are BOLTED on (rather than screwed) so someone has to reach up behind the engine to hold the nuts while Steve turns the bolts from the top.

Of course it's the person who can fit on the engine and has long arms that gets the job. Where are the kids when we need them??!!

 

So under I went with rachet in hand. Everything went well and with only three trips to the hardware store, we managed to get the seat at least mostly installed. There may be a trip to West Marine in Midland to get the additional fittings for the legs but in the meantime we were able to use some plastic pipe and fittings to provide the support to the floor. Good enough for now!

Steve in his new chair.

The day was not without fun as yesterday and today was the sidewalk sale in downtown Orillia. Music, food and sales. Best part of course was the people watching. And I petted the cutest little dog I've ever seen - a 5 week old chihuahua. Sadly I didn't have my camera at the time.

Very well done, Orillia!

One of the funnest things downtown are the chairs along the main street! They are like the guitars in Cleveland, the fish in Baltimore, the buffalo in Buffalo, the bears somewhere along the Hudson River etc. Decorated by local artists and sponsored by local businesses.

Tomorrow we move on. Laundry to do in the morning (I miss our washer/dryer on the trawler :-(  ) and then I think we will head to Big Chief to anchor for the night - all of 3 miles away! It'll be Sunday and I'm sure will be quite crazy with boats but not many will stay the night.

After that? Continue north to Port Severn and Georgian Bay.