On the 5th we piled into the HHR from our base in Gravenhurst and headed around Lake Muskoka toward the town of Port Carling at the top of the lake. Jo-Anne had just read a book by James Bartleman called Raisin Wine highlighting his life as a career Canadian diplomat and then Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 2002 to 2007. He was born in Port Carling of both Indian and English parentage and that's what made his success and story so fascinating.





Port Carling with a population of about 6000 is at the top of Lake Muskoka and a stop on the current steamship route through the lake region. This is a really picturesque region with the lakes, locks, and forests. Below is the Knox Presbyterian Church which was built in 1876 and for obvious reasons is a favorite of local artists.





The neatest artifact in Port Carling is the mural. When you, like us, look at this side of the building, you say, "OK ... nice picture of a boat." And that in itself was pretty neat. But if you look closely at this thing you realize it is made up of thousands of individual photos .... 9000 to be exact (magnify if you can)! This was a truly amazing amount of artistic dedication and creativity and presented by the Hon. James Bartleman we just talked about.




The trip around the lake was about 3 hours ending in Bracebridge, another really picturesque little town. There we had an awesome lunch at the Old Station Pub of asiago cheese soup ... the best ever ... and a tuna melt and a vegetable wrap to die for, washed down with a couple of Stella Artois and back to the Marriott for the nap at 2, eh?