Day 40 Little Current to Tobermory OT

I'm writing this while waiting for the ferry to Tobermory which leaves
in a few hours. We could have made the ferry that left about three hours
earlier, but Bob is a slow starter who likes to spend a lot of time
socializing. We didn't manage to get out of Little Current till after 9
AM this morning, pretty well ruling out (with Bob's riding style)
getting to South Baymouth by 1:30 PM. I was annoyed at the delay, but
happy to have relaxed ride down to the ferry. Manitoulin Island is a
beautiful place and it would have been wrong to rush through it.

We only rode 45 miles today. I think my shortest touring day every is
about 43 miles. About 17 miles into the ride we stopped at 10 mile
point. This was the site of the original Jesuit mission to Manitoulin
Island in 1648. I must complement those Jesuits on their taste. That
view is one of the most breathtaking I have ever seen. Now there is an
Art Gallery and Book store there. The store has a small viewing platform
with a bench on it and they were playing indian (north american) flute
music on a high quality sound system as I sat here, eating an apple,
trying to take in and make my own that view. It was powerful experience;
certainly one of the highlights of this trip. Bob, who didn't realize
where I was or really look at that view, rode on and, half an hour or so
later, I rode on as well. If you are riding on Manotoulin Island, stop
at 10 Mile Point!

The riding was hilly today, although not as hilly as the stretch south
of Espanola. 6 has no shoulder, but traffic is light (except when the
ferry comes in..) and polite. When we were maybe a dozen miles from the
Ferry Docks, Bob decided to take a leak. I stopped on the opposite side
of the road and he went off into the bushes. Then the front wave of
traffic from the 1:30 ferry arrived. A stream of cars and buses passed
while Bob was in those bushes. Talk about bad timing!

We stopped for lunch at Manitowaning which is on the edge of a (non-ceded)
indian reservation. There is a loop road out onto the reservation which I
would have taken if I hadn't been with Bob. I bet that would be a nice
ride. Actually I bet most anywhere you choose to ride on this island is
likely to be a nice ride!

The ferry ride was fine. I get bored very quickly on ferries, but this
ride was short enough that I wandered around the ferry, ate supper, and
visited a bit and it was over. One hour and fourty five minutes at a
cost of about $12 USD for the fare and less than $7 USD for supper. 

When we got to Tobermory we had a bit of a problem - all the motels we
rode by in town were full (Monday night at 8 PM?). I went into the local
tourist place and was directed to a motel a few miles out of towm. It
isn't too fancy, or expensive, but it backs on a main channel and there
is a multi (and I do mean multi!) million dollar yatch moored about 100
feet from our back balcony. I'm listening to its generator (I think) as
I write this. Talk about an expensive RV!