UPDATE
Last month I included a picture of the Fair Jeanne below. I was asked for another shot, so here it is by Singer Castle nearby. (Yes, of Singer sewing machine fame). I was also asked how high the crow's nest I climbed was. Being a pilot, you would think that height would not scare me, but with the ship swaying to and fro, the pucker factor sure set in. Let's just say it is a lot higher than it looks.
I was also asked about our beaches. Below are two of our favorites. This beach is called Potters Beach and is in US waters.
This beach below is on Thwartway island in the Lake fleet group of islands in Canadian waters. Although within spitting distance of each other, you are required to check in with customs if you are crossing the border. Even on the water.
Officially...
Photos courtesy Ian Coristine
The whole Fam Damly
From the left: Em and my cousin Michael, my uncle Pierre and favorite aunts Monique and Kimberly, and herself. They, on a visit from Arizona and Los Angeles.
RIP CF19473
For the second time in two years, we had a Jet Ski that died. I mean deader than a door stop. A never can be revived dead soldier. So, like I did the last time, I will sell it for parts. To be fair, they were both 20+ years old, so they had served their time.
This left us without a PWC (personal watercraft) so off we went and drove 600 miles round trip to bring back our new (to us) See Doo Spark. It is lighter, smaller, cheaper and without many of the bells and whistles of $20,000+ machines. Still with a top speed of 50 MPH (80KPH), it is faster on the water than I am willing to fall off, so it will do just fine.
Worlds tallest Cathedral Ceiling
For the past 127 years, Half Moon Bay has been a place of worship that has the highest cathedral roof in the world. Glaciers carved a tranquil bay where boats are church pews, and the cathedral walls from enduring granite. As a bay on Bostwick Island in the Thousand Islands, there is of course no roof at all, open to the heavens, as it were.
Boaters beginning to arrive
The story goes that one long ago summer day, a boating party was caught out on the river in one of those fierce and sudden squalls that can sweep through the islands. Apparently thankful and inspired by the fortunate refuge in the bay, the idea for an open-air church was born. On Sunday afternoons during the summer, people who come to the bay, remain in their boats to sing hymns, listen to guest speakers and participate in a non-denominational Christian service.
The bay's name comes from its crescent shape, a small glacier-carved fiord rounded and polished by those abrasive rivers of ice over millions of years. The steep slopes of the north shore are forested with shady, overhanging trees. It is always tranquil in the bay, regardless of the tempests that rage outside, be they those of Nature or world events.
Before the appointed afternoon hour arrives, boaters idle and paddle into the bay gathering in front of the rough granite block pulpit, gently interlocking, puzzle like. A pianist, and sometimes a choir, share the space on the granite block. In days past, the preachers voice rang out across the rafted congregation, but today microphones are used. Hymnbooks and a donation basket are passed from boat to boat. It's a casual affair, the various denominations taking turns throughout the July and August services.
Full disclosure: I did not write this story but I did edit it. Does that count?
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