July 16- FLOYD’S BIRTHDAY…and the weather for boating is P E R F E C T…glassy calm water and cool…we left Picton at 6ish for our five hour run into Trenton…so that Dakota could make a 1:00 grooming appointment. It all worked.

First the NEW marina in Trenton…OMG…it is huge (over 300 boat slips) and brand spanking new. The boats have been here since May, but the marina building just opened on Wednesday…and it’s Thursday. Craig greeted us warmly and gave me a quick tour…OMG….10 Lovely individual shower spaces that would put most hotels to shame (and they intend to provide towels)…and 3 front load washers/3 front load dryers (and they provide the detergent/dryer sheets) that are F R E E…and we’re not paying that much to dock here. Craig is still managing the place…with a large staff of soon to be trained young ones…you can only get gas and pump out at the old marina…but this is truly top drawer stuff. We’ve stayed at LOTS of marinas….this is BEST EVER…well, will be. Right now they are still doing landscape work…so it’s all dirt…no grass…and the walk from the dock to land is now my exercise program…What a hike!!!We miss the atmosphere/character of the old place that was literally a hole in the wall next to the city park and gazebo…but I’m sure this will be just as beautified when the work is actually completed …almost makes you want to do the Loop again just so we could come back….NOT!!! they are gonna lose some money on us because I haven’t done laundry since we left Plattsburg NY…last time we were here, a lady picked up and delivered your laundry…for a small fee. Worth IT!!! Tomorrow we’ll have to be serious about laundry.

Now about that grooming appointment…the lady was so eager to work with us on timing even with the weather delay we experienced…probably should have been a red flag when she had no idea where she was from the marina/waterway. First taxi they called never showed up…and the other guys may have gouged me…$16 one way to the groomer….then I sat in their break room while they “shaved” my handsome boy….oh, and I totally nixed the idea that they dye his tail purple!!!! Charge seemed a ltiile high…and then you add the Taxi fare…you get the worst grooming experience ever. He seems to feel okay about it…and after a few tears, I’m good…but the weather has turned cooler so the whole “summer do” idea is not really working for me right now. I won’t have to worry about brushing him out for at least three weeks…this is gonna take awhile…

That took a major chunk out of my day…meanwhile, Floyd (the BIRTHDAY BOY) picked up mail, had his first Kawartha ice cream of the season and immediately began to work on the dinghy repair. Totally improved glue system and patch…so in 24 hours we’ll know if this one is successful…the previous two patches have failed. We aren’t desperate yet…but a dinghy will be a must in North Channel and Georgian Bay where we’ll be forced to anchor out.

Then we celebrated…The birthday boy has had his present since NYC…I got him a celestial navigation system (books, charts and sextant)…it is pretty intimidating…but something he wants to learn…we bought carrot cake cupcakes at the bakery in Picton ( good but not as good as Muriel's carrot cake)…and he found a sushi place he wants to try. So a great boating day, cooler weather, sushi and gifts he wanted…a great way to spend a birthday!!!