Reunion Voyage: Bobcaygeon ON

August 10, 2014

For a small city, Bobcaygeon has some very interesting things to see and do. All the way up the waterway, we’ve been hearing about the really fabulous shoe store at Bobcaygeon, so Jeannie and I were happy to take advantage of the shopping opportunity as soon as we docked yesterday. It was a great store, with a 40% off sale – but we didn’t buy anything. We scored a place on the lock wall for last night and will stay again tonight. This was no small feat as the place is teeming with vacationing boaters. Bobcaygeon is about 100 miles from Toronto and is a favorite spot for the weekends. We had to tie off from another boat and then lie in wait for a hint of movement from a boat that might be leaving. Then the other overnight boaters helped reserve the spot for the 7.5 minutes it took Dennis to squeeze our 40 foot ship into the 43 foot opening.

This morning we went out for breakfast and then walked through the town to find the Old Settlers Village – where an art fair was going on. It was probably one and a half miles each direction and the art was lovely, lots of local watercolorists. But the Settlers Village was the real attraction. There are about 20 buildings that have been moved here to this pastoral setting from other locations. Each home and building have been fully furnished true to its’ period and the surroundings look like any nice small town of the 1800’s might have looked. There were plenty of tool sheds, blacksmith shops, barns and equipment to give Tom and Dennis plenty to investigate. Some individual families have taken responsibility for collecting family heirlooms and pictures into an individual home that reflects their heritage. Well worth the stop and the walk to see this interesting open-air museum.

Tom and Jeannie departed this afternoon. We made arrangements with a young man from the Peterborough marina to come pick them up and return them to their car. Tonight Dennis and I are just resting and appreciating how nice it is to have old friends come to visit in a remote and unexpected place. I think they had a good time, I know we did.