We set off from Midland on a dreary day with hopes that the weather would clear. We waited until 9:30 to depart, waiting for the wind to lay down and the misty rain to stop. We cruised into bluer skies with the sun beginning to shine through in the distance. It turned out to be a lovely day with a cool breeze, perfect for a rugged hike on Frying Pan Bay along the Fairy Lake trail. We hiked over boulders and through woods following the well marked trail. It took us 2 hours to hike around the lake and return to the boat. It was a great introduction to the rocks and boulders that we would encounter as we cruised the rest of the day.

We left Frying Pan Bay after the hike, had lunch along the way, and headed toward Sans Souci where Henry's Restaurant would be the rendezvous location for us to meet Mary and Gary from Volare. We cruised by huge and beautiful boulders as we cruised. Some piles of rocks were just that, while others hosted small forests or a waterbird paradise, and others created a firm foundation for houses, both big and small. The captain did a great job navigating through tight channels and around boulders resting just outside of the channel.

At Henry's we met up with Brian and Karen from Tug Life who we'd seen along the Fairy Lake trail earlier in the day. Third Swan was also at Henry's tied up for the night with electricity like us. Dinner included all of them, along with Mary and Gary and a Canadian couple, Jeanie and Mark from a proud Canadian tug painted red and white that we'd seen earlier on the trip at a lock wall. We shared a meal for four with Gary and Mary and enjoyed the beer battered fish and chips, along with beans and slaw. We topped it off with a scoop of Kawartha's ice cream. It was too much but a yummy start to our time in prime pickerel fishing water.

We went back to the boat while Mary and Gary set off on their dingy. We made plans to hopefully anchor and raft up together in the future. It was a quiet night on the dock at Henry's with an early morning start the next day.