Days 51-52: Thessalon, Ontario

July 25, 2025 Thessalon, Ontario, Canada - the North Channel of Lake Huron

We went to dinner at the only restaurant in Thessalon where we sat outside because the Zander is not allowed inside. As this other couple was about to enter the restaurant we shouted out “It’s really nice out here.” They discovered we were correct and came outside. Of course we struck up a conversation and it turns out they were riding their mountain bikes across Canada!

Now friends, you all know that Tom is a cyclist and Rayma likes her mountain bike so it was not a short conversation. We had lots of fun and we were awestruck by their trip.

Thessalon turned out to be a very quiet marina (with fantastic showers!) and the town had but one restaurant. In addition to our cycling heroes, we also met two fellow Californians, Ralph and Pixie, the current authors of the Bible for cruising the North Channel. Fascinating history and the provocateurs of likely our next adventure - canal cruising in the south of France (stayed tuned for more on this topic). So for a quiet marina, Thessalon provided us with more adventure tales.

Above is the harbor at Thessalon in the early morning.

We left Thessalon to head west again to Detour, Michigan. This meant checking back in with US Customs and Border Patrol. Can we just say it was a two plus hour cluster? We did, eventually, get it done and so we are once again legal in the US.