Remember how I said we hoped the sunrise photos would actually happen? Yup, they didn't. Matt took a look out the window at 6:00am and it was still overcast. I guess we'll try again tomorrow from the Island.
We drove to the ferry dock and got our tickets. We would be taking the first ferry of the day from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island. We parked the car and quickly hunted down breakfast before boarding the ferry. 3 eggs over easy, a thick slice of ham, homefries, and toast. Oh, and all you can drink coffee. Not bad! Too bad I only had time for a few sips of coffee. That was probably the fastest I've ever shovelled breakfast into my mouth before. It was a record-setting 10 minutes! We boarded the ferry, climbed upstairs, and prepared to set sail.
I spent the majority of the crossing asleep. Matt, on the other hand, spend a good deal of time outside taking photos. End result: we were both in need of hot beverages once we got onto the Island. We stopped in at one of the motels by the ferry dock and warmed up with a hot chocolate for me and a coffee for Matt. We also browsed the local wares and picked up a few things. Once we finished our drinks, we set off to continue our sightseeing and photography tour.
Today we saw a few more lighthouses, several historical buildings, and a decomissioned ferry. The ferry, named Norisle, ended its active service in 1974. Since then, it has been sitting at the Manitowaning Harbour. There have been plans to restore it, but they seem to have stalled. It now sits silently in a rather sorry state at the harbour.
Some of the historical buildings we visited today include the Manitoulin Roller Mill, the Batman Mill, and St. Paul's Anglican Church. We also made a quick stop in Providence Bay to see the boardwalk. A few broken down, abandoned looking trucks also became subjects of our photographic excursions today.
The weather was pretty overcast and gloomy. The only time we saw any sun was just after debarking from the ferry. Hopefully we will see some sun (and sunrises and sunsets!) in the next two days. This is getting frustrating!