7-7-24 Midland, ON & Cruising Lake Huron

It’s only 60 miles from Parry Sound to Midland.  Why we traveled such a short distance is something only Pearl Seas knows but it’s no less fun for us, for sure. 

 

We took another jet boat ride around the 30,000 islands.  This one is speedy, 1,000 hp, and fun when the captain opened it up by 75%!  Holy buckets!  The formation of the islands is a matter of legend.  An Indian chief took a shine to a particularly beautiful squaw and proposed to her.  She wasn’t interested.  Angry, this chief, who was a giant, grabbed a big handful of dirt and flung it far and wide out to sea and the 30,000 islands were formed.  Then, he lie down on the land and died of a broken heart, creating a mountain we saw on the horizon named, what else?  Giant’s Tomb. 

Abord the Tobermory Flash,
1,000 hp!

This puppy moves!

One of 32 lighthouses on Georgian
Bay.  This one is Brebeuf Light.

Giant's Tomb

Bird Rock

 

Orville Wright was getting on in age and had developed health issues.  He was also suffering from depression after Wilbur died.  A friend recommended this area because of its weather, peaceful surroundings and clean air.  Orville visited and found his friend to be right.  He loved it.  Orville named his 32-foot boat, “Kittyhawk,” oddly.  He and his sister bought Lambert Island and lived here seasonally until their deaths.  The Kittyhawk was valued at $1.5M a few years ago.  The new owner was offered $500,000 for it recently and turned it down.

 

Nothing much goes on in Midland on Sunday.  They basically roll up the sidewalks.  We walked up and down the main street, peeking into the occasional store.  There are murals on the walls of buildings everywhere you look.  They tell the story of the town whose beginnings go back to the 1600s. 

Mural of the Midland Railway Station
which was established in 1879 and
was in business until 1998

Mural of the Brebeuf Lighthouse

This mural is painted on the
grain silos at the docks. 
The cargo ship in front of it is
the Thunder Bay which carries grain.

The mural on the grain silos near our ship, measuring 80 X 250 ft., is said to be the largest outdoor mural in North America.  And no, I cannot prove that.  It depicts a native Huron (Wendat) Indian and a Jesuit priest gazing at the Wye Valley and the Jesuit mission Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons, established in 1639.  The cargo ship in front of the mural is a grain ship called, “Thunder Bay.”  (As an aside, the Indians became so ravaged by disease over time that the Jesuits finally abandoned and burned the mission and moved with a few followers to Christian Island and ultimately to Quebec.)  Another huge mural depicts the Brebeuf Lighthouse, built in the 1900s as part of the light system that guides ships through Midland Bay from Giant’s Tomb.  We strolled back to the ship in the sunshine in time for cocktails and a dinner of either lobster thermidor (me) or a braised lamb shank (Rob).

 

This morning at 6AM, Pearl Mist set sail for 24 hours, around Tobermory Point, out on Lake Huron a bit, to Detroit.  Six hours of sailing and we are still in Georgian Bay.  This is why some folks still refer to Georgian Bay as, “The Sixth Great Lake.”  The Thunder Bay is about 20 miles behind us.

And we sail onward 
through Lake Huron
to Detroit.

 

Call me a desert rat, if you will, but it is freezing out here on the lake!