A handcrafted ring + return to Providence Bay

In my hand is a ring made by one of C's First Nation students...

The young lady who made it is a teenager and part of the Objibwe tribe on Manitoulin Island. It looks quite delicate and I'm almost afraid to even wear it...

Pickers of Prov

Even though we did not get any actual "fish" at the fish and chips place, we knew we would be in for a great meal for dinner, our last in Manitoulin (sniff)...

The little shack next door to the Fish and Chips place was a newly opened mini shop...

As you can tell, the building was pretty new and hadn't been painted yet. The owner just got there and let us in...

Lake Huron Fish & Chips

You'd think that with the persistently gloomy cloud cover and chilly temps (low 60's = freezing to SoCal natives)....

the girls wouldn't want to go to the beach, but they weren't going to let the weather deter them. Before making our way to the beach, we made a stop for a quick snack...

Providence Bay

Our next stop was Providence Bay which is a "village community" located in the South central part of Manitoulin Island...This was a welcome break to all our driving. Unknown to those of us sitting in the backseat of the van, C's friend S took photos of us sleeping. I had my mouth open in one of the photos. I look so lame! Bert and TCS's heads are bowed down. Everyone was asleep! These places aren't close together you know. It was about half an hour from Gore Bay to Providence Bay!

This little stopover was a welcome break from our day. We had that heavy breakfast (Canadian bacon and eggs), did some sightseeing and then came here. We didn't really have a lunch. Unless you count candy as lunch. Ha ha.

Here's Bert on this huge stretch of sandy beach.That's TCS in the background sunning herself. I just noticed he is clean shaven here. Sometimes I like a bit of scruff! Just sayin'. But not like Mountain Man/Grizzly Adams/ZZ Top/lead singer of Anthrax action. That's a little too much for me there.

Here I am with TC. This is as far as I got into the water. I am a tiny bit hydrophobic. OMFG!

I look so lame with this hat on trying not to get my face sunburnt. I normally don't wear hats at all but had this one just in case. TC was prepared with his rashguard and boardshorts. The tomboy that she is...you know. Hmmmm, I need to suck in my gut. Gawd, I look fat!

TC out in the water...

Here's another fleeting photo of me with Bert...

I took this shot C's feet (along with her adorable daughter; 1 1/2 at the time):

Our feet in the clear water...

Group shot (sans Bert): S, E, TCS, C and her daughter, Me and TC

It was kinda nice that the beach wasn't crowded. The weather was also cooperating. It was pretty warm, like mid 70's. TC had fun playing in the water and with the sand. After awhile, we headed back to the farm. Dinner tonight would be at this place that C really loves...