One More day at Manistee - August 30



Manistee Lighthouse



SS Milwaukee

This is a typical "Charter Fishing Boat"!

We had made plans to leave early Manistee early for Pentwater but had to change them in the morning.  The forecast called for 4-6 foot waves.  They were to eventually subside, but we had no idea when.  SO we hung out in Manistee for another day.  No problem.  Finally, I got a haircut!  Mike worked about the boat and we just pretty much relaxed.

A couple from New Zealand stopped by for a visit.  They had completed the Loop a couple of years ago and saw our Looper flag.  They were a great couple with wonderful accents!  They are now doing the Loop by RV and are visiting the little towns by land.  What a neat idea!  They also plan to do the Loop again in a year or so.  Here's a big shout-out to Peter and Lynn from New Zealand!  It was great to meet you.  Hope to see you again sometime when you're on the Loop. 

Also, another Looper came in yesterday evening - Tourist.  Rick and Pam from Illinois.  We went to the Elks Lodge (#299) for drinks and had dinner at the Boathouse just up from the marina.  Good Food and Good Company!  They are from Ilinois and it was fun hearing their stories.  We are finding that everyone is meeting one another at different times and places.  Our paths had to have crossed before, but we just didn't meet.  Tourist is a 48' SeaRay.  They plan to cross over to the Wisconsin side from here.  It's about 60 miles.  I think we'll just stay on the eastern shore and move on down south. 

Again, we plan to leave out early in the morning for Pentwater - about 40 miles.  The forecast is for light winds and one foot waves.  Hmmmm!  I'm for that!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Traveling Down Lake Michigan



Falls on Leland River

 After five days on the hook in Harbor Springs waiting out the winds, we were on our way. We bypassed Charlevoix. It was a neat little town but we wanted to move on down the east coast of the lake a little farther. So we stopped in Leland MI. Leland is a neat little town. There is an area near the marina called "Fishtown". It is made up of buildings that look like old fishing shanties.


Fishtown "shanties"



Beautiful Sunset over Lake Michigan



Capt Chappy to the rescue!



Bring her on in Captain!

More of Fishtown!

Admiral taking a break......

There are lots of great little shops and restaurants. We picked up some fresh smoked salmon and some cheese curds. What great Happy Hour food! It turned out that there were several Loopers here. – Muddy Waters, Spirit Dancer, At Last, Cooper, Trident and Erika Lin. Some had been here a few days. Others were like us and had just arrived.
We planned to leave the next morning. We headed out early with plans to go to Frankfort. Cooper had left before us and just as we were headed out the harbor we heard them on the VHS. They had turned around and were coming back to the marina. It was just too rough. We went ahead and ventured out anyway only to agree with them and turned back around too. There were beams waves and we didn't want to relive a few days ago.
SO we spent another day in the quaint little town of Leland. Oh and while we were there, Mike became a hero. Well, maybe just a really nice guy.... A sailboat had lost his kicker and was without sails and was trying to get in the harbor. He ran aground just at the harbor entrance. Mike took his dinghy out and helped pull them off the rocks. He then was able to pull them to the safety of the docks where they were able to tie up. Just another day for the great Capt. Chappy and his trustful steed or uh, dinghy!

There are ferries there that take people to the Manitou Islands. People will go there to spend the day or to camp overnight. The Manitou Islands are part of the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. Since it was now Saturday, the town was very busy. People were all over the streets. We saw several bikers and some really nice cars. It must be a good weekend destination for the locals.
When we went to bed Saturday night they were still forecasting strong winds. However, we woke up to the sound of the boat next to us running. We got up and found out that the winds were calm and this was probably the best day to travel in a long time. We hurriedly got things ready so we could set out too. We planned to stop in Frankfort which was about 35 miles. It turned out to be a nice day for travel. We would have gone farther, but the waves were starting to build again in the afternoon. Same old story……!
Several Loopers stopped here – Trident (dog, Monty), Muddy Waters, Inconceivable and Superior Lady (dog, Ollie). Superior Lady is a Gold Looper so we were anxious to talk to them. They are from Minnesota and are just starting the Loop again. It was also good to see Inconceivable. We hadn't seen them since Peterborough, Canada and were wondering about them. We met for Happy Hour and exchanged stories of all our adventures.
There was a fishing tournament going on and our marina was where the weigh-in was being held. There was a 29 pound salmon caught! I believe the total weight for one team was over 165 pounds consisting of 10 fish. There were lots of fishermen there and lots of big boats.
We rode our bikes around town and the beach. That evening we rode down to the beach and watched the sunset. It was beautiful! Oh, and we had to stop for ice cream! REMEMBER, it's food for the soul!
Early Monday morning, we left Frankfort. It was only a 30 mile trip. It was a great day for travel - hardly any winds or waves. In fact, we almost decided to bypass Manistee since we were making such good time. We decided to stop though. The books say that Manistee is a "must see" fishing village. So we "must see"! Also, if we went farther it would have to be another 30+ miles. We didn't trust the Lake to remain calm for that long.
I was on a mission to get a haircut. Can you believe there are over 10 salons but only one open on Monday! Of course, they had no openings. Oh well, Mike may have to cut it. Yikes! I'm really starting to feel like a shaggy dog. We rode our bikes all over town and had lunch at the River Street Bar & Grill. It was really good food. They have an outside deck that overlooks the Manistee River. After that, we took a dingy ride down the river and into the Manistee Lake. The S.S. Milwaukee is there and available for tours. We passed on that. It really needs some TLC.  Mike decided to try his hand again at fishing.  His luck has to change one of these days........we had chicken for dinner......!

Our plan is to leave in the morning and head to Pentwater. Here's to calm winds and a following sea!
To be continued…….

Till Next Time!

Admiral "C"

Harbor Springs, MI

Sunday, August 21 – Thursday, August 25
We left Mackinaw City about 7:00 am. We were headed for Harbor Springs about 50 miles away. We would have liked to go to Beaver Island but decided against it. We were ready to put some mileage down the lake and get away from the open water for a while. The trip was pretty good. It was good water and the waves were decent. However, they did start to build again as the trip went on. We were lucky to be close. Harbor Springs MI is a very affluent resort area. There are beautiful homes with manicured lawns. The town itself is neat and manicured too. The water here is crystal clear. It's hard for us to remember that it is only 70 degrees! It reminds us of the Caribbean.
We anchored out in the bay rather than get a slip. We were tired of staying in marinas. The marinas were full anyway….. A shower came up just as we finished setting the anchor. It looked a lot worse than it turned out to be. However, the temperature dropped big time rather quickly. We had dinner out on the sundeck and relaxed. We watched this guy hang-gliding. It was so cool! He would catch the thermals and go up forever. That has to be the next best thing to actual flying. It was a nice evening.
Little did we know that we would be spending days and nights here at this lovely anchorage……
From then on it has been either rainy and windy OR sunny and windy. The bottom line is that it's been windy. They have been forecasting anywhere from 4-7 foot waves all week. So it's Thursday, August 25 and we're still on the hook.
We have been into town several times. We've rode our bikes to the store – up hill! We found the local American Legion who welcomed us in. We go there on more time and we'll be known as regulars! We ate at the Bar Harbor – great burgers but they cost! We found a little sandwich/pizza shop called Turkeys. It was nice and a little more reasonable. Mike has worked on his honey-do list. We are definitely ready to get moving!
It looks like Friday through Sunday will be good days to travel. If that doesn't change between now and then, we will be heading out early Friday morning. To be continued……………………………
Till next time!
Admiral "C"

Dick and Debbie’s Visit

Sunday morning (August 14) was beautiful. The wind had died down and the sun was shining. Sitting on the aft deck of NautiNell we had a gorgeous view of Lake Huron. After breakfast we cleaned her up to get her ready for company. We were really excited to have the Smiths come for a visit. Our first boat guests! It would also be great to see someone from home.

Arch Rock on Mackinac Island

Bicycle Built for Two!?

Beautiful view of the harbor from Pink Pony

Different type of bikers than we're used to!



Mackinaw Island Harbor



Think they're having fun!



Ferry from Island to Mackinaw City - rooster tail!



Mackinaw Bridge - beautiful!



Mackinaw City

Quite beautiful

View from the bridge by car

posing with the Captain?

Full speed ahead?

After all, we've been gone for more than three months!
Dick and Debbie got here about 1:30. We sat all afternoon visiting – trying to catch up on everything. We finally decided to go to town for a late lunch. We went to the Pub which had really good food. Not much goes on in Detour Village on a Sunday afternoon. The grocery store closed at 2:00! Back to the boat we went and visited till nightfall.

It was good to hear the stories of how Joplin is putting itself back together. It makes me proud to call Joplin my hometown. It has a long way to go yet, but it will happen. The fact that Joplin Schools started on time without a hitch is amazing. Kudos to R E Smith Construction! They promised that the construction on all the "temporary school buildings" would be completed in time and they delivered. And with all the donations, not one child had to buy school supplies. Even Barry Manilow donated a truck load of musical instruments. Okay, so I guess this means – no more Barry Manilow jokes.

Monday was another beautiful morning. Debbie and I went to the grocery store while the guys went to buy charts. We had brunch at the Detour Village Inn. This place was our kind of place. They served the best Bloody Marys we had ever tasted. They use pickle juice to help cut the tomato juice – and they pour in the hot sauce! Whooeee! We finally were back on the boat and ready to head to Mackinac Island.

Mackinac Island is beautiful. We walked/shopped around for a while and decided to have dinner at the Pink Pony overlooking the harbor. It had a wonderful view and great food. It was a perfect night spending time with our good friends.

The next day we decided to ride bikes around the Island. It's a 7 mile ride. I'm not sure the Smiths knew what they were getting into. They rented a "bicycle built for two"! We rode our own bikes. The scenery around the Island is breathtaking. We stopped along the way to take pictures, etc. There were hundreds of people on bikes. It was quite interesting to watch the people from serious bikers to families with small children. Halfway around the Island there is a snack bar and a rest area. We stopped and had lunch. I think the Smiths were grateful for the stop! LOL!

When we finally made it back around the Island we went back to the boat for a rest and a cold beer. That is where we went wrong – we should have brought a cooler of beer with us on the ride! What were we thinking!!!

Later Debbie and I went shopping while the guys did their thing. It was so nice to have a shopping partner! For dinner we took the dinghy over to the Mustang Lounge. Neat place with good food! Had a few drinks and called it a day. We must be getting old……

We got up on Wednesday to a light rain and clouds. We obviously didn't listen to the weather close enough. We left out around 11:00 for Beaver Island. That was way too late in the day to leave. We know that now! It wasn't bad the first few miles through the Straits. However, after a few more miles all hell broke loose. The waves turned into 6-7 footers. We were tossed around like I'd never seen before. Everything in the boat was thrown around. The television flew off the shelf along with pictures and the contents of the fridge. Luckily nothing of any importance was broken beyond repair. Thank goodness! I got sick and had to lie down for a lot of the trip. It was not fun! This was the one time so far that I think we were actually getting into some trouble. Mike did the best he could, but there isn't a whole lot you can do when the waves decide to knock you around. Poor ol' NautiNell held it together though – even when her pulpit was buried into a wave. Yes, that happened several times. Finally we decided that we had to turn back. We could see Beaver Island but we were not gaining any headway. We were barely going 3 knots! When we turned around it was of course much smoother. We immediately started making better time and it smoothed out a lot. We made it to Mackinaw City and found a slip at the Straits State Harbor Marina. It was good to finally be safe again. We had been going since 11:00 and we ended up only 10 miles from where we started! Not a really good day. We cooked burgers and visited with a couple of local guys who wanted to hear our story. They told us that the waves are always higher than predicted and the only way to really handle it is to go early before they build up. From now on we will take heed to this advice. I guarantee it!

Thursday we ate lunch at the Keyhole Lounge in Mackinaw City. It was still pretty windy so we had decided to stay in Mackinaw City a day or so. I don't think any of us were really ready for a boat ride yet. Again, Debbie and I shopped and the boys did their thing. Mike got his fishing license so he went out in the dinghy for a while. Good thing we had planned to have steaks for dinner- instead of fish!

Straits State Harbor Marina is fairly new and is really a nice marina. The people that work there are exceptionally nice. We really enjoyed just sitting on the boat and watching all the others come in. There were several other Loopers there passing through. In fact Trident was there when we first got there. They were going to leave their boat for a few days to go to a wedding. They had needed a kennel for Monty (their dog). Betsy, one of the workers there, said she couldn't bear to see Monty put in a kennel and volunteered to keep him at her home. Now that's going out of her way to be nice!

Friday morning we had planned to go with the Smiths to pick up their truck in DeTour Village. They had rented a car in Mackinaw City and planned to drive to Detour Village – pick up the truck - then we'd drive the rental car back to town. DeTour Village is about 60 miles from Mackinaw City. No Worries! Well, maybe there was one….. When we got to the city limits of Detour Village, Dick realized that he didn't have the keys to the truck. They were back on NautiNell! SO! We had to go back to Mackinaw City to pick up the keys….. First, though we stopped back in at our favorite place for Bloody Marys and burgers. Might as well enjoy ourselves! Dick had said this would be a road trip – but I think he was only thinking about 120 miles and a few hours - not 240 miles! Oh well! After an additional trip to get the keys and back to DeTour to get the truck we were back to the boat. Did I forget to tell you that we also missed out turn on the return trip? Yeah, we went about 30 more miles out of our way. It just keeps getting better, doesn't it! Finally we were back on the boat and laughing about the so called "road trip". We decided that we really didn't want to go anywhere for dinner. It felt pretty go just to sit on the sundeck. So, we had pizza delivered. Perfect! It was good too! Pizza and cocktails – perfect end to a not so perfect day. Oh well, (again)

Saturday morning came too quickly. Dick and Debbie left about 7:30. This week had gone by way too fast. It was so good to see them. We can't wait until they come back again. Not sure where or when that will be, but I know they'll be back. The last I heard from them was that they were home sitting on their patio. So we toasted them on our sundeck - - -

To good friends!!!!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"

Back in the USA!

Saturday, August 13


Lighthouse guiding the way through Georgian Bay

 We had anchored in Robinson Bay on the North Channel. Really a nice anchorage, but still didn't get to see any bears. We got up early to head to Drummond Island, MI. It began raining but it wasn't really a bad trip. We had to go to Drummond Island Marina to go through U.S. Customs. It was absolutely pouring when we got to the marina. Finally we were through Customs and on our way. It really felt good to be back in the USA! We had been in Canada for  over a month. It was time to come home.

We headed on to Detour Village, MI. When we got there it was cold, windy and raining! It seemed like a day in October rather than August! We got there about 3:30 or so. After we tied up in our slip, I didn't leave the boat the rest of the day! It was cold!! Our boat overlooked Lake Huron. It was really cool to sit and watch the barges go by. Lake Huron has really pretty water - crystal clear.

We were anxious for the Smiths to get here. They would be here some time tomorrow!

Till next time!

Admiral "C"


Quite a sight to see!



You can see the narrow channel



Interesting design for a house on the rocks



Keep it between the green and the red!



Killarney - beautiful water!



Anchoring at the Benjamins



Benjamins - rock outcroppings



Beautiful scenery



P S   I've included various pictures of our trip through Georgian Bay and the North Channel. You wouldn't believe just how beautiful it is.

Georgian Bay and the North Channel

Along the North Channel - beautiful!



Killarney ONT



Fish and Chips at the School Bus!



One of our anchorages - nice!






Lighthouse guiding us along the way



Georgian Bay - just beautiful



Narrow passage



Starting the Northwest Passage



Houses on islands after islands!



Getting pretty narrow!



Beautiful scenery!



Yea!  We made it!



Marking the way



We had a wonderful anchorage just outside Midland. In the morning we went into the town and tied up at the town docks. We needed to go to West Marine and Wal-Mart. Mike needed to get something for the depth finder and we needed a new camera. Yes, that's right – just before we got to the Big Chute our camera shot craps. After a laundry cycle, coffee spill and several drops, it finally quit working. It did hang in there longer than we would have ever thought. Luckily, we could take pictures of the Big Chute with our phones. Yea! Anyway, we took the bikes into town to Wal-Mart and West Marine. It was pretty much uphill all the way. I thought I was going to die! Should have had my Wheaties for breakfast instead of Cheerios! We did finally make it back. Of course, it was fun coming back – downhill all the way! Wheeee! We bought a new Fuji camera. Now we have to learn to operate it.
We fueled up at the Marina and headed out on the next stretch of the Bay. They call this the land of 30,000 islands. It is beautiful. However, the book says that if there are 30,000 islands showing there are at least 100,000 lurking below. We need to go slow. The water is crystal clear. We passed hundreds of channels and bays. If we only had the time, we would stop at all of them. However, we need to keep moving. All the guides say that we need to be off Lake Michigan by the first week of September. We fell behind due to our stay in Buckhorn. Oh well.
We passed Frying Pan Island. We had planned to stop there and check out Henry's Fish Restaurant. However, it wasn't the right time of day for us, so we kept plugging on. There were several boats there enjoying their meals, I'm sure!
We also by-passed Parry Sound. We didn't really need to get provisions so we headed on to Hale Bay. Hale Bay is on Sandy Island and we anchored between Ross Point and Allen Island. It is very well protected. There we enjoyed a beautiful sunset and a peaceful night. The islands are full of blueberries. We've been told that they also have bear. Maybe we'll see one tonight. HA! So far there are two things in Canada that we were hoping to see - that's a bear and a Royal Canadian Mountie! Neither one so far!
The next day we left Hale Bay about 8:00 a.m. We would rejoin the channel just west of Rose Island. The weather wasn't looking so good. It looked rainy and gray. We also had decided to tow the dinghy rather than put it up on top with the davit. BIG MISTAKE! We didn't get very far before the cable broke and the dinghy was being left floating behind. Luckily it made a loud noise when the cable broke so we noticed it. Back around we went. We tied it with one of the lines and we were off again only to make a wrong turn off the rhum line and head out to big water. It was raining – we were towing the dingy – we were not happy. We decided to turn around and wait out the rain for a while. It didn't last too long and we were on our way again. However, we decided to stop to load the dinghy on top. This wasn't so smart either. We were trying to load the dinghy in a light rain with strong wind – and 2 ½ and 3 foot waves and they were building! Finally we got it done and we were on our way again. Now it had been well over an hour since we first started out and we could still see where we had spent the night! We hadn't traveled far. We traveled a while and then heard on the VHF that there were squall warnings out for Lake Huron and parts of Georgian Bay. We kept on; there was no really good place to stop.
Finally things cleared up and it became a beautiful day. We saw lots of spectacular sights. We by-passed Canoe Channel – not recommended for 40' boats and over. We did adventure through Hangdog Channel. It was pretty edgy getting in but once we were in, it was fine as long as you went slow. The same about Rogers Gut and Cunningham Channel. We just had to go slow.
After one heck of a morning, it turned out to be a good day. We anchored at Dead Island. It was peaceful and beautiful. Also, this island was full of blueberries. And bears? We'll see…….
It was a great anchorage at Dead Island but the next morning looked rather stormy – again! It wasn't raining – so we decided to head out. Just as we did, it started to rain so we came back for a while. As we finally got started and began to enter the Northwest Passage, it began to get a little windier. Of course, when we had passed Bad River (our last good spot to hold up) it got worse. Before we knew it – we were in 5-6 foot waves! We had to do about 20 miles of this. We were in water open to Lake Huron and the wind was fierce. There were water spout watches again – but only on Lake Huron. Yeah right! The waves tossed us around like a bathtub toy. Actually NautiNell did fine – the boat always can take more than the crew! It seemed like forever before we got to the other end of the Passage. Finally we were at the Collins Inlet and Mill Lake. This was nice. We had time to relax and regroup. The furniture was all scattered around along with pictures off the walls. The freezer had emptied itself on the galley floor. Nothing was damaged and we were fine. That's just part of the adventure. However, if we had realized it was going to be that bad, we would have waited it out. We should have paid more attention to the marine weather on the VHF.
When we reached Flat Rock (mile 60), we had completed the inside passage and had to make a short four mile run across the top of Georgian Bay to Killarney. It was still windy but the water was just choppy. Not nearly what we had been through earlier. Everything is relative, huh! We made the run unscathed and entered Killarney Bay. We had been told we had a spot at Sportsman's Inn. When we got there though, we had to idle in the bay for at least 20 minutes while they made room. Come to find out, one of their fingers had broken earlier and they weren't sure to trust the others! The wind was blowing again like crazy! They finally found a place for us to go. We moved in and tied up with the help of the dock hands. Safe and secure for the night. That's nice! We would be starting the North Channel in the morning. BTW – the wind blew all night long!
The next morning was sunny but still windy. Since we were waiting out the wind for a while, we were able to check out the Red School Bus for fish and chips. This is a well-known stop for fish and chips. We were glad we didn't miss it. It's fresh (just caught) fish served out of an old school bus. It was cool! The only thing on the menu was fish and chips (fries). We ate ours at one of the picnic tables provided. Cool!
After getting more fuel, we finally left the marina around 12:30 p.m. We went by way of Lansdowne Channel. You could see where they are busy mining the limestone in the area. This is causing a stir with some of the locals. At the end of the channel, there were actual mountains in the background. It was really pretty. I know I keep saying everything was really pretty or beautiful – but it was! It's just hard to imagine this - but it just keeps getting prettier!
It was really cold and windy. We past several good spots to hold up but the water was really just choppy and not bad enough for us to stop. Now that we're "seasoned" boaters! LOL!
Once we reached the Little Current the wind died down some. There is a Railroad Swing Bridge there that opens on the hour and is open for 15 minutes. We were surprised! We made it there about 3 minutes till the hour. They opened up and we went through. There was a big time current there around the bridge. We really had to be careful.
We then headed north up the Waubuno Channel and on toward the Benjamin Islands. There were way too many waves. We decided to stop at a good anchorage and spend the night. We had learned our lesson! We anchored at the Amendroz Island with several sailboats just a few miles from the Benjamins. We really had wanted to anchor there, but the waves were just too much. This turned out to be a great anchorage.
The next morning was gorgeous! AND NOT WINDY! We boated to the Benjamin Islands and saw just how breathtaking they are. We took several pictures. There were several boats there anchored. It looked like some of them were there for the weekend. This was a great place and we hated to have to leave. BUT – we must move on.
We have friends meeting us at the end of the North Channel at Detour Village. We are so excited that Dick and Debbie are coming! We can hardly wait! This will be our first guests on NautiNell. It's going to be a blast!
So upward and onward! We took the outside passage (open water again) and had no problems at all. We just put her in gear and off we went. The passage was really non-eventful for a change. The scenery was still beautiful but we weren't weaving in and out of the small islands like before.
We finally decided to stop and make it a shorter day than the last few. We anchored at Robinson's Point. It's a nice anchorage and it looks like we are pretty well protected if the wind picks up again. We'll see!
To be continued……….
Till next time!
Admiral "C"

Fun Things to know about Canada!

We are still at Buckhorn Yacht Harbor waiting for NautiNell to be fixed. She's not being very cooperative at this point. Oh well, it's been over a week now and we're getting pretty restless. It looks like we'll be here at least until Wednesday. Not much we can do about it at this point. Everyone keep your fingers crossed!
Since there isn't much to report, I thought I'd post some fun facts that I've learned while being in Canada.

Some fun things to know about Canada!

1. Canadian and US currency is about par at this time.
2. Canadians have a one dollar coin called a Loonie. This is because it has a loon on it.
3. They also have a two dollar coin called a Toonie.
4. Canadians prefer using the coins rather than paper money – unlike us. Americans practically refused to accept the Susan B Anthony dollar.
5. Canadians use the phrase "no worries" instead of "no problem"
6. Canada is on the metric system. They sell fuel by the liter.
7. It's hard to figure out the temperature around here. It's always given in Centigrade.
8. Beer is over $30.00 a case! Vodka costs over $50.00 for 1.75 liter!
9. Walleye is called Pickerel here
10. A bank teller's window is called a "widget" here
11. They have gas bars instead of stations.
12. I'd say most Canadians can tell you who our President is and probably can tell you more about our government than we can. Most Americans don't know the Prime Minister of Canada's name.
13. The Canadians we've met are very interested in American history.
14. It's an ABM instead of an ATM. (automatic banking machine)
15. Canadian Beer is good!
16. They're washrooms not restrooms.
17. Canadians do use the phrase "eh" a lot! We're starting to, eh!
18. Everyone we've met here has been friendly and fun. Canadians are good people!

Food Facts!

Poutine - A big hit here. It's French fries covered with fresh cheese curds (not more than a day old) and then covered in gravy. Usually a chicken or sometimes beef gravy. We haven't tried it yet, but we're going to. Maybe we will be pleasantly surprised. Hmmm?

Pea meal Bacon – We know it as Canadian Bacon only it's better here. It's cut thicker and has more taste. It's back bacon from the pork loin rather than the belly. It's cured but not smoked. It's brined and coated in a fine cornmeal. Wonderful!

Butter tarts – These are wonderful little creations. They are a lot like the pecan swirls you can get in our stores, but MUCH better. They are always homemade and found in all the little bakeries around here. You can get them plain or with pecans or raisins. Absolutely scrumptious!

Caesar – This is the Canadian variation of the Bloody Mary. The recipe is pretty much the same, but they add maple syrup. Looking forward to trying one soon. Maybe today!