Skyman arrives on the ferry—finally!

Skyman skips toward us after finally arriving on the ferry from the city. Dad's in the background. Click on any image for a larger view.

1100 hours
Thursday September 9
Centreville

We hope to surprise our great-grand nephew, almost-3-year-old Skyler, who attends Waterfront Montessori Children's Centre on Algonquin Island, when he arrives on the ferry from the city.

We wait as the ferry pulls in but no Skyler is to be found. There are so many children getting off, we think we just missed him. Luckily for us, At Last! is at Queen City Yacht Club, three boat slips from the ferry docks. We wait for the second ferry of the morning, but still no Skyler. He must be sick today. Maybe we will catch him the next time.

We head back to At Last! to make breakfast. With all the back and forth to the ferry, we didn’t get to eat.

Lo and behold, we get a voicemail from Kris, Skyler’s father. The boy isn’t sick today. He missed the ferry and Kris is bringing him over.

We head out to the ferry for the third time. Skyler rushes off the ferry in excitement and greets us with a big hug. We show Kris and Skyler where we were docked for the night at QCYC.

We can’t visit too long as Skyler needs to get to school. We walk him to his school and go inside for a quick look-see. Skyler is sad to see us leave but after a little snack, all is good.

We have cappuccinos, a delicious home-made banana muffin and a soft oatmeal raisin cookie with Kris at the Island Cafe before he catches the ferry back to the city. The Island Cafe is open from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.
We pass under the Centreville Alpine Ride as we head toward our mooring on the wall at Centre Island.

It’s not a long cruising day as we head to the Centreville Amusement Park—about 20 minutes away. We tie up by the public mooring wall across from the Carousel Cafe. There is only one other cruiser here. We are told it should be 50 cents a foot here without service, that is, no electricity or water. No toll collector is in sight yet.

The mooring wall on Centre Island is our favourite overnight spot so far.

The nearby washrooms and showers are open 24/7. Clean and free of charge, too!

Occasionally, we see traffic in our lagoon, just enough for a nice change of pace in the idyllic setting.

Dinner is salmon poached with lemon and accompanied by grilled red peppers, potatoes and the last of our spicy Macedonia leek sausages. Call it surf and barn.

After spending so many years away from the Toronto Islands, it has been a thoroughly enjoyable stay. One can explore the Islands by foot, bike, kayak, or your own boat.

From our first time at reciprocal yacht clubs to the public mooring walls, we’ve slept well every night.

An added bonus was meeting up with family: Kris and Skyler. We did take photos this time!
The salmon poached on the grill is just about perfect.

Where to eat on the Islands? There are a number of snack bars and restaurants in addition to the dining facilities at yacht clubs:

Island Cafe - Ward’s Island
Rectory Cafe - Ward’s Island
Carousel Cafe - Centreville Amusement Park
Upper Deck and Grill - Centre Island

It’s not about having to go somewhere far on your vacation, or how much you spend. It’s the experience you make for yourself that makes memories.