Tobermory Adventure

Our little camping trip was up to Tobermory, at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula between Georgian Bay and Lake Huron.  The area includes both Fathom Five National Park and the Bruce Peninsula National Park, and it's one of our favourite places to visit.

Tobermory is a very picturesque little village, suffering increasingly from peak tourist numbers especially on July and August weekends.  Parking is a major issue now.  We've been going here for 45 years together (55 years for me), so we really notice the changes, and really feel like oldtimers!

The first evening we stopped by to check out the new paint job on the Chi-Cheemaun, the ferry to Manitoulin Island.  We've probably ridden over on it 50+/- times; we used to have a cottage on Manitoulin.

We stopped in at Dorcas Bay, a quiet gentle sandy bay on the west side of the peninsula.  Besides its beach, it's known for its unusual collection of plants, here the Indian Paintbrush in the evening sun.

The next day we decided to take the boat cruise to Flowerpot Island.  We started with a loop into 'Big Tub', to see two shipwrecks, this one the schooner Sweepstakes.

We passed the pretty Big Tub lighthouse on the way; we saw three lighthouses altogether, as well as numerous navigation beacons.

This is the nautical chart for the area, Tobermory in the lower centre, on the mainland.  There are about a dozen major islands, and dozens of small shoals.  The whole area is now within Fathom Five National Park, and contains about 40 shipwrecks - this corner where ships turned into Georgian Bay is one of the most dangerous boating areas on the Great Lakes.  You can clearly see both the 'Big Tub' and the 'Little Tub', the two very well protected harbours for Tobermory.  You can also see Flowerpot Island, in the middle right, our destination.

And these are the 'Flowerpots'.  I have dozens more pictures to share.

This is the incredible shoreline.  Also lots more pictures to come.

That evening we came back into town to watch the sunset - spectacular!

Then there was the man-eating seagull I had an unfortunate encounter with over lunch on the way home, but that's a story for later.

Our little camper van worked well, much easier to handle than our truck and camper trailer.  All systems seem to be working, though the bed arrangement is a little awkward!  I think we're going to enjoy this.  It's old, but 'new-to-us', and we hope it will take us on many travels, though this summer is getting far too busy for the trips we originally planned!

Thanks for all your supportive comments on our move.  To answer a couple of comments, yes Mrs. F.G. will have a big sewing studio.  And the pictures I shared yesterday did not have the shingles on the roof yet; they went on immediately after, dark asphalt shingles.  I'll try to remember to share a picture.