The boat in the slip next to us was owned by John and Pat Olson from Michigan who began their trip last September and are one month from its completion!!!! We also waited in line for fuel behind a boat from Stuart, Florida owned by Tom and Marbeth Dietrich who began their trip in March of 2006. We also met Sue and Richard Van Gemert from Long Beach, California who have been on their boat for nine months, having come from California through the Panama Canal and Central and South America.

Everyone we met was very interesting and everyone had a different story. There were small boats and large boats and power boats and sailboats. Some people had begun their journey five years ago and some people were there as ‘looper wannabees'—having yet to being the loop!!!! There were even several people there who had completed the loop more than one time!!!!!! It was quite a collection of people—we knew that the week would be fun.

We took advantage of Saturday night, our first night in Penetang, and got tickets to see The Foursome at the King's Wharf Theatre which sits directly on the water. The play, a comedy, is about four male friends from college playing a round of golf on the morning after a celebration of their graduation from college fifteen years earlier. We enjoyed the play a lot and the theater itself was beautiful.

Sunday was an easy day and we did ‘things' around the boat. Nothing special.

Monday's session began in the evening with a visit to Penetang's Maritime Museum, a newly renovated set of buildings which sit along the water just outside of downtown Penetang. This Museum would be the setting for a cocktail party to give everyone a chance to meet. The evening was excellent and we met some people from the North Channel and from the Lake Michigan area. We learned a lot of valuable information about how to navigate these areas and where to stay as stopovers. The entire evening was very informative. Its only drawback was that both Jean and I forgot to bring our camera—so we have no pictures of the group or the Museum.

The sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday all proved to be very educational. The speakers were very knowledgeable and had extensive experience in boating in both Canadian and U.S. waters. The speakers describing both the Georgian Bay and North Channel in Canada continue to say that each day and each area will become more and more beautiful. The waters are very clear, a brilliant blue and very remote. There are definitely shallow areas and sections that are not marked well but….we were painted a very engaging picture which made us eager to get back on the water. When the presentations shifted to the U.S. waters, I immediately began to ‘get worried' about our journey through both the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. Each presenter painted these rivers as difficult to navigate. Navigation is a big problem mainly due to the amount of commercial traffic and the unavailability of safe places for pleasure boaters to stop. This issue is very problematic on the Mississippi. Of course these rivers also have locks, so I began to worry about that issue.

The locks on the Mississippi are very different from the locks on the Erie, Oswego and on the Trent Severn—more lock experiences to come!!!!!!!

At all of the breaks and lunches Jean and I met other loopers and continued to ask about everyone's experiences. There is a wealth of information here and everyone is very eager to share with you the trials and tribulations of their journey. Dinner on Tuesday night was a barbecue complete with hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken and beef. There were many, many desserts which Jean and I mostly avoided.

Throughout the entire Rendezvous the owners of the marina, Bob and Karen Jantz, and the marina managers, Robin and Mike, worked very hard to make everyone feel right at home. They helped us with our problems, worked with us on possible routes and even loaned us their cars. The entire staff was extremely helpful and friendly.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mike and Robin arranged a bus tour of the Penetang and Midland areas. There's quite a bit of history in these towns and we were all eager to go on the tour. One of our first stops was at a church where one of the priests came by and gave us some history of the founding Jesuits and the sacrifices they made for their faith. The church itself was very beautiful and its interior was made to look nautical. Its stained glass windows were gorgeous.

On Wednesday afternoon Mike and Robin arranged a ‘Dinghy Poker Run'. This is a fun event where boaters go in their dinghies to a number of pre-arranged stops (at other marinas) to pick up cards which eventually make up a five-card poker hand. The real fun comes when each dinghy team starts out—they all start throwing water at each other. People had huge water cannons, boat hooks with water in them, water guns, buckets and anything else that would serve to throw water on an opponent. It was wild. By the time the teams left the marina to ‘get their cards' they were totally soaked!!!!! Jean was in Ocean Flyer 's dinghy with Huddy Baxter. I had decided to take pictures of the fun and to stay OUT of the dinghy. I've included some of the pictures here.

Jean and Huddy's poker hand was not a winner but they certainly had a wonderful afternoon. Actually, they were the third boat to arrive back at Beacon Bay and they sat in wait so that they could soak the other teams as they returned—how competitive.

Dinner on Wednesday was a pot luck supper—but Jean and I stayed on the boat doing some much needed chores.

Thursday was the last official day of presentations and we quickly realized that we had learned ‘a ton' of information about the waters we would encounter in the next few months. We felt good about certain routes and had a much better idea about what to expect as we continue to move through Canada and then into the U.S. Before the sessions ended, Mike organized a group photo—which I've shown here. He took this picture from one of those telephone repair trucks with the bucket on top for the workers.

Friday and Saturday were spent getting ready for the flotilla. As a separate event, following the Rendezvous, Bob and Karen Jantz had offered to organize a flotilla—they would lead us through the Georgian Bay waters and take us into places off the official route.

We immediately signed up along with 23 other boats. We knew that this trip would be special. In preparation, Karen Kurland and I spent hours food shopping and provisioning the boat for any contingency. By the end of Saturday we were well provisioned. Jean and Chuck did ‘boat' things including changing the engine oil.

We also went out to get fishing licenses and fishing gear. Jean bought a fishing pole and some lures (Chuck brought his gear with him)—now everyone's ready.

Friday night, Jean and I and Karen and Chuck joined Betty and Huddy for a night at King's Wharf Theatre. We saw another comedy, a British farce, Not Now Darling with a lot of “ he-said, she said” and doors opening and closing throughout the entire play. Before the play we ate at an excellent Greek restaurant in town—great food. Five of the six of us ordered the restaurant's special—roast lamb. We got the waitress to take our picture after dinner.

Saturday we entertained—Ron and Gord, who have completed the loop twice, keep their boat at Beacon Bay Marina. Throughout the week we had gotten to know them and had ‘borrowed' their SUV for many of our shopping and theatre trips. We repaid their hospitality with a feast made by Jean. We had roast pork, a green bean and bacon dish, rice with mushrooms and bread!!!!! For dessert we had fresh raspberries and strawberries over ice cream. Yum, Yum.

By Sunday morning we were ready for the flotilla to begin—twenty-four boats all in a line heading out for a nine-day Georgian Bay excursion.