My son called me up one day to tell me he wanted to canoe out to the lighthouse on Nottawasaga Island.
My first thought was no. The island felt too far out, the water was too cold, and I did the math a parent does in about half a second. But he was determined, and I've learned that when they're that set on something, the move isn't to talk them out of it. It's to get involved enough that they can do it safely.
Making it as safe as I could
Here's the thing I worked out: from the Collingwood harbour, the island is a long way across open water. But launch from Princeton Shores and it's a much shorter, more reasonable paddle. So that's what we did. I drove him and his two friends down to the shore and helped them get the canoe in the water.
Then I stood there and watched them go, and I'll admit I was a little envious. Three young people, basically emerging adults, heading off on their own adventure on a calm evening, maybe three hours before sunset. They had life jackets on and a plan. I'd done what I could.
The air was warm, there was no wind, and the bay was glass. The water at the shoreline was warmer than I expected, though I had no illusions about how cold it would be further out.
The longest three hours
The plan was simple: they'd call when they were back and ready for a pickup. So I went home and waited.
Three hours. To make it more interesting, only one of them had a phone, and it was sitting at 8 percent. When I was their age I didn't have the option of a phone at all, and somehow we managed. But in today's world it felt like a genuine piece of safety equipment, and I watched that battery percentage in my head the whole time.
"Pick us up at the Terminals"
When the call finally came, my son asked me to grab them at the Collingwood Terminals. The exact spot I'd decided was too far from the island to launch from. They'd made the crossing and then some.
The sun was getting low by the time I pulled in, and all three were there, fine and dry. They told me the island was covered in seagulls, hundreds of them, with babies tucked under the rocks. They said it was beautiful out there, and more than anything, that it was peaceful.
With just a small amount of effort, a bit of quiet is a hop and a skip away. That's a big part of why I love it here.
That's the part that stuck with me. You don't need a cottage three hours north or a float plane. A canoe, a calm evening, and a short paddle from the right launch point, and you're somewhere that feels a world away from anything.
If you're thinking about a move to Collingwood or anywhere along the bay and you want to know what's actually out your back door here, get in touch. The list of small adventures within reach is longer than most people expect.