Tuesday - Thursday, July 9-11, Picton Harbor Marina, Picton ON

"O Canada" is the name of the Canadian National Anthem

Just after 8AM, we left Oswego, NY, to cross Lake Ontario. Around 10:15, Sue got a “Welcome to Canada” text message on her phone from Verizon while in the middle of the lake. It reminded us a little ofsailing days on Lake Michigan when we were out of sight of land in all directions. By 2:40 we had arrived at Picton Marina (a small face dock) in Prince Edward County. Brian called the Canadian Border Service Agency to clear customs by phone and get our official CBSA number to post on the boat while in Canadian waters. We met the people from the two neighboring boats, and one had done the loop in 2010-2011. Very nice folks and Bo got to play and wrestle with Ginger, their 3 year old golden retriever, until they were both exhausted! Later on, Bo saw Ginger playing and swimming in the water of the boat ramp and thought - what a great idea! We told Bo he could try it the next day, which he held us to and enjoyed it immensely! Using a long leash, Bo swam out to retrieve a ball Brian threw out into the water of the ramp over and over.... At first Bo tried to run in the water when he couldn’t touch the bottom, but then he remembered about swimming and had a grand time! Little did he know he’d be getting a bath when he came out of the water, but he accepted it without much trouble, especially since he was exhausted from all that swimming! A bit of toweling off plus walking around in the sun and he was dry in no time. Rain was predicted for Thursday so we decided to stay another day while it blew through. 

While in Picton, we went to a couple of the locals’ favorite restaurants, The Acoustic Grill, and the County Canteen. At the later, we met another boating couple who was in their 70s. Don had just done the loop with a friend in 2017, while Lynn had a “year off” (her words). They were a hoot! Both had sailed for many years and now were RV-ing in a camper-van. Last summer they went up past the Arctic Circle, then spent the winter in Mexico and on the West Coast. Having done the Loop, they were aware of “boat cards” and had a "camper-van card" to exchange with us for our boat card. Don also gave us the name of a great boat mechanic in Trenton, should we or anyone else need one, and later he emailed the contact info. We’re not sure where we left their card, possibly on the couch, but Bo found it and decided to rip it up, something he’d not done before – it may have had food smells on it from being handled at the restaurant. Brian replied to Don’s email and mentioned what Bo had done. Surprisingly, Don came by the boat the next day and gave us another card! We told Bo that he should apologize for chewing up the first card, which he did by growling at Don, who then gave Bo a treat and became another of Bo’s best traveling friends. Canadians are so nice!