Belleville to Orillia

Sunday, July 20 - We picked up David yesterday at the Toronto airport.

Interesting trip for us. We saw the highway dividing ahead as we
approached the city...one set of lanes marked "express" and the other
marked "collectors." I vaguely remembered something about a toll road
in the map I viewed on Google so I was ready to head for the
"collectors" area to shell out some coins. Wayne talked me into going
for the "express" lanes, though...and it was the better choice. Turns
out the "collectors" road was really more an access road running
parallel to the "express" lanes.

SO THEN...we see the road number I'd been watching for that would take
us to the airport: Hwy. 407. But wait! Looks like this is a toll
road. OK, we'll pay. As we get on the road (with oh, so few other
cars) we're reading signs that say "your license plate must be visible"
and "non-Ontario license plates will be billed." We went for a couple of miles, no toll booth in sight, until we started wondering whether this was really
the way to the airport. We decided to exit and ask the way. The new
directions took us a little further west by "normal" highway and then
south to the airport. Turns out if we'd stayed on Hwy. 401, the
highway that we caught in Belleville, it goes right by the airport.
Well, at least we know that for the return trip! We were in plenty of
time for Dave's flight, though, and were back in Belleville in time for
an early supper at the Boathouse and a walk around town. (Later in the trip...when we rented the car in Peterborough to take Dave back to Toronto...we found out that we will probably be billed through the car rental agency for the time we spent on the 407 toll road. Hey! We've been on North America's first automatic billing toll road, eh?)

Today we left Belle Harbor Marina at around 8:30 AM...in the rain. Our
new roof on the bridge is leaking some, but we were assured it would
quit once the thread swells and seals up the seams. Hmmm. But we look so much better with the red top...





As we went into Trenton from Lake Ontario we passed under the bridge marking the entrance to the Trent Severn Waterway.




We slogged through 6 locks to the upper side of the Frankford lock before we tied up for the night. Nice setting in a residential neighborhood with "hydro" (hydroelectric) hook-ups for $9.80/night. I was so wet when we got there that I had to put on dry clothes before I could get comfortable.

It was still raining 45 minutes later...but we were all hungry and ready to try out the Chinese buffet we'd heard so much about from lock tenders (and others) as we came up that day. So we took off walking in the pouring rain with our wet raincoats and the two umbrellas we had on the boat. By the time we reached the restaurant we were soaked for the second time that day! But the buffet hit the spot, including the hand dipped ice cream for dessert. And when we left the restaurant the rains had stopped for the day so we had a nice evening at the lock.

Monday, July 21 - Another day with about 20 miles and 6 locks as we made our way on to Campbellford. The rains held off until we got into the flight locks just before the town...and Dave and I, the rope crew, were soaked again by the time we finished the locking through.

Here's Dave, in a raincoat, tending lines....



But the blue skies came out and we had a beautiful afternoon in Campbellford. After lunching at the Riverview Restaurant, Wayne went back to the boat for a nap and Dave and I checked out the town. We found the bakery mentioned by Skipper Bob's book...and recommended by nearly every lock tender we'd seen that day. They were to open the next morning at around 7 AM so we planned to be back then for fresh donuts and the sourdough bread one fellow called "Bob" bread... "Good to toast and then rub with fresh cut garlic..." Yep. We'd get some of that.

Campbellford is a pretty little town...and friendly. We picked up some Empire cheese, a Campbellford product, at the grocery store with thoughts of a cheese and sourdough bread sandwich tomorrow for lunch. I'd intended to stop at the book store for a browse that afternoon, but it closed before I got there. In fact, most shops closed at 4 or 5. We saw lots of people out walking that evening, taking in the beautiful weather.

Tuesday, July 22 - Dave and I walked up to the bakery at around 7:15 AM. They were open and baking...but the donuts wouldn't be ready until about 8:30 AM. No problem! We'd come back. We were tied up to the canal wall in town on the side with "hydro" and water...and right next to Macmillans store and service station. They have a pump on the street side and on the water side so we pulled the boat back to top off the fuel, then filled up with water. By the time we'd finished that it was 8:30 so Dave and I went back up to the bakery. I guess we were hungry that morning. We came away with 6 cream filled donuts (highly recommended by the lock tenders) and 6 assorted others, 3 meat pies, 3 sausage rolls...and a loaf of thick-sliced sourdough bread. What with the caffeine and sugar that morning we were all flying for a couple of hours! But we did have great sandwiches for lunch of Empire cheddar cheese, turkey, and horseradish mustard on sourdough bread. We know already that we should have come away with more sourdough bread!



Wayne had his share of the cream filled donuts...




About 20 miles and 6 locks later that day (see a pattern here?) we were through the Hastings Lock and tied up on the upper side. For a small town, Hastings had about one of everything, all within an easy walk of the boat: grocery, post office, hardware, video/book store, beer store and liquor store.

We were situated right behind a house and we talked with the owner some about the town. He said it was a very safe spot now, but that wasn't always the case. He had moved in around 4 years prior and had been the "mean ole guy" who called the police if anything funny went on at night.

Dave has enjoyed some fishing on this trip. Here he is with one of his catches. It really wasn't quite big enough to "kiss."


Fortunately for Wayne, Dave is leaving his little fishing rod and a collection of accessories he put together for fishing... Now if I can just keep the authorities away! See the sign??



Wednesday, July 23 - We were out of Hastings at the usual time...around 8:30 AM. Today we would do around 40 miles to get to Peterborough...go across Rice Lake...and we would only go through three locks. Well, that's an understatement. We were spending the night at the Peterborough Marina, which falls between locks 19 and 20. We wanted David to see the Peterborough lift lock (Lock 21) so we planned to go past the marina to Lock 21...turn around and come back down to Peterborough. It was well worth the effort!

"The Peterborough lift lock," according to Skipper Bob's guide to the Trent Severn, "was completed in 1904 and was considered an engineering marvel at that time. Each of the two pans weights 1300 tons when filled. With one pan up and the other down the two balance each other. It does not matter how many boats are in either pan. A boat displaces its own weight in water. When it is time to lower one pan and raise the other, one extra foot of water (130 tons) is allowed to enter the upper pan. this extra weight allows the upper pan to push down and raise the lower pan to the top level. The two pans are locked in place and the extra water is let out of the lower pan. Boats enter and exit the upper and lower pans and the process is repeated."





When we got up to the Peterborough lift lock I jumped off and took pictures as Wayne and David entered the lock and rode to the top. They turned the boat around, then, and...after allowing me to jump on...we went down through the lock. What a ride! It's almost as good as an amusement park! We had no idea the lock would move as swiftly as it did.

Segue entering the lock...(taken by the lock assistant, nice guy!)



Segue up top and ready to come back down...


And here's the view from the top after I'd jumped back on the boat...















Peterborough has a Festival of Lights every Wed. and Sat. evening during the summer...but it was raining so hard that evening, the festival was cancelled. Just as well, I guess, because we were "toast." We ordered a pizza and crashed early.

Thursday, July 24 - We had a car reserved today so we could run Dave back to the Toronto airport. Dave and I walked the two miles to the Hertz location that morning and made it back to the boat in time for the three of us to walk into town and check out Peterborough. Wayne and I made mental notes of places for supper that evening.

We packed up Dave's goods and left at around 10:30 for the Toronto airport. We were there by noon....and reluctantly left our third crew member for his trip back to Raleigh, NC. We loved having Dave come with us...and look forward to the time when Alex and Heather can join us on an adventure!

After dropping Dave at the airport, Wayne and I decided to grab a snack in Toronto so we could lunch back in Peterborough. We exited the 401 and found a McDonalds for fries and yogurt (not in that order). We stumbled through some really neat looking neighborhoods on the way...looked sort of like the Queens area in NY where Tris and Charlie Sicignano lived. Beautiful homes, too.

Back in Peterborough we went to the Indian buffet we'd seen in town. Good...but we got there towards the end of their lunch hour and the selection on the buffet was a little slim.

A houseboat had pulled in next to us at the marina with the nicest family. They rented the boat in Bobcaygeon and were traveling two weeks...some houseboating, some camping. When we first met them they asked if we had a mask for snorkling. We did...and an underwater flashlight. Their daughter had dropped her wallet into the water...and it was wedged up against a pole. The father was able to retrieve it...in spite of a cut on his hand in the process.

Friday, July 25 - Alex Prichard is 2 today! Happy Birthday, Alex!!!

We'd thought about staying another day in Peterborough...but were ready for new territory. I took the car back and on the walk back picked up breakfast sandwiches at Harveys (so-so, for you food critics out there) and an external hard drive for my computer to hold the pictures we're taking on this trip! We ate the sandwiches...then decided we'd better try out the "local dairy" ice cream, Kawartha, at the marina office. Two cones later, we were totally stuffed and ready for the day!

We didn't leave until around 10:30 AM...and it took us an hour to go through Lock 20 and 21...a-gain. It was just as much fun the third time around, actually! We went through both locks with the tour boat out of Peterborough that does lock tours. Wayne and the captain of that boat had a great time talking about our Caterpillar engines...same engines the tour boat had. And we were introduced to the entire boatload of people as a couple from Tennessee who were doing the Great Loop.

We had a pretty long day planned, considering we left so late. We planned to do 30 miles and 10 locks to get to Buckhorn, Ontario, where we'd stay on the lock wall. The guide books described this area as one of the best cruising areas on the Trent Severn. We could see why. We went through an area called the Kawartha Lakes, a series of lakes connected by locks. Summer cottages everywhere...many on little islands all out alone in the lake.



Somewhere along in this area of the Trent Severn we passed Trent University, located right on the water and with a very distinctive architecture. We'll put this on our list of places to see in detail someday.





I know I've mentioned before how nicely tended the lock grounds are with clipped lawns and flowers everywhere. Here's a lock that went a little further with the idea and gave us a view of flowers from inside the lock, too.

Actually, they are probably trying to take your mind off the view of the lock walls. As Elaine would say, "Euwww!"



Along the way we met a couple in a SeaRay, Phoenix IV. They live in Orillia and were going to Bobcaygeon for the night. We were stopping short of that at Buckhorn. Since they ran faster than we, they kindly checked out the lock walls at Buckhorn and arranged to have people help us tie up on the wall below the lock. We'll try to catch up with them when we get to Orillia next week. They have plans to do the Loop, too.

It was around 6 PM by the time we got into Buckhorn so we saved our looking around town for the next morning.

Saturday, July 26 - Again we lingered this morning...looking around Buckhorn. Checked out the bakery located at the convenience store and bought some sandwich rolls and a Chelsey roll for breakfast. It was probably around 11 AM before we left, but we only had a couple of locks today and 16 miles to get to Bobcaygeon. The issue, on this pretty weekend, was whether we'd be able to find space on the lock wall at Bobcaygeon. Buckhorn Lock called ahead to see what the availablity was before we left...but a whole new fleet of rental houseboats would have gone out on Friday so our guarantee of a space was questionable. Bobcaygeon is a resort town who's claim to fame (from our sources) is Bigley's Shoe Store. Kind of like the shoe store in Asheville, NC. You want a particular shoe: it's there. And on this weekend everything was at least 10% off. (The REAL sale starts next weekend, though, a long weekend for Canadians.)

So...we passed through more pretty country. Cottages, rocks and evergreens. When we reached Bobcaygeon we could see the space for mooring below the lock was full. We paused on the blue line while Wayne went to talk to the Park personnel about space above the lock. Turns out, one of the boats below the lock was leaving in a short while so we were able to wait on the blue line until a space opened up. We've had great luck finding lock walls so far!!!



We no sooner got tied up than a thunderstorm came though. We napped during that time, then got up and walked through town. Wayne went back to the boat early while I checked out the shops, including Bigley's Shoe Store.



One of the art galleries in town (closed, unfortunately, when I walked by) had what looked to be an oil painting in the front window. I don't know whether this house actually exists somewhere up here or not...but having seen the cottages built on tiny stone islands so far, I'm going to watch out for it!



That evening we talked with a man who's biked across the US and Canada to raise money for autism. His oldest son, now 15, is autistic. He biked across the US in 2001 and was on the Today Show with Katie Courrick (and Rod Stewart was there for a concert!) It took him 90 days to do the US and he raised 1.3 million dollars. What an amazing story. He's a police detective and was given time off to do the biking. He isn't a "biker". He got help from an Olympic trainer who helped him prepare for the trip. The trainer told him to shave his legs so that if he fell, he wouldn't get an infection from the hair. He told of shaving at work because he didn't want his wife or family to know...and how there was so much blood around the bathroom afterwards that he had to wash the place down. Then he got in the shower and OUCH! the cuts were hit with water. All of that...and in the last week of his US trip he was lamenting the fact that he had shaved his legs all this time and hadn't had a fall. You guessed it. Next day he fell...went over the handlebars and cut his leg in the process.

He told us the Kawartha Dairy is just a little ways down the road. Guess what's for breakfast tomorrow??? :-)

That evening I finished up an Anita Shreve book, All He Ever Wanted, and started Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye in honor of being in Canada. Wayne read on Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation Speaks. Oh, yeah...and we prepared ourselves for the noise we might get from the houseboat behind us with the "Bachlorette Party" banner. How convenient for them that a houseboat load of guys pulled in two boats back. Stay tuned....


Sunday, July 27 - Up early, as usual...in spite of the fact that we both heard a little activity during the night from the bachlorettes. :-) Apparently a good time was had by all.

We wanted to pick up a few groceries this morning and do some more walking in town. (Yes, we nixed the ice cream for breakfast thought, on consideration.) It was a beautiful morning...cool. We walked around the town area and wound up at the Subway for lunch sandwiches. I hit the local grocery for a few items, knowing we'd be at lock walls in remote areas for the next few nights. We locked through at Bobcaygeon around 11 AM and set off for a 20 mile ride to Rosedale Lock. As we got out on Sturgeon Lake the wind picked up giving us more a feeling of "open water" than we'd had in some time. It wasn't bad...just different. I made some coffee and we had our Subway sandwich...topped off by warm Chelsey bun from the day before. YUM!

We only went through two locks to get to Rosedale Lock...and we decided to stay below the lock, saving the locking through until tomorrow morning. The site is remote with cottages nearby. Very comfortable. We settled easily into the afternoon...a little painting for me, a little cleaning on the boat for Wayne. We grilled chicken out that evening and had a salad with it for supper.

Monday, July 28 - We were in the lock at about 9 AM this morning...when we noticed a pay phone at the lock office! Hey, we needed a pay phone! We pulled over to the mooring wall below the lock and I made arrangements for our stays in Orillia and Port Severn...and arranged for our mail to be delivered before we hit the Georgian Bay. We probably won't get mail again until we get back to the states.

Having all of that business taken care of...we left Rosedale Lock at around 10 AM. We crossed Balsam Lake, highest point on the Trent Severn Waterway, and made it to Lock 40 by around 2 PM. On the way we saw more beautiful cottages and some really narrow canal areas!




We moored on the upper wall at Lock 40 right in front of Shoebox from Florida. Janet and Bob have been cruising for 23 years and are now living partly on their boat (which is trailerable) and partly on their 5th wheel. We talked that afternoon with Janet and got some great advice on the upcoming trip to the Georgian Bay.

We got the bikes off and took a ride down to Lock 41, the last lock before we cross Lake Simcoe. The evening was wonderfully cool at the lock and we enjoyed sitting out on the back deck and watching boats come through.

Tomorrow we plan to cross Lake Simcoe to Orillia and stay there for a while before we head up to Port Severn and the Georgian Bay....

Tuesday, July 29 - Shoebox and Segue were ready to lock through at the earliest opportunity this morning. By about 9:30 AM we were out on Lake Simcoe...and it was completely calm. We took a picture of Shoebox on the water that morning...


You'd think I would have had my fill by now of water and cloud shots...but you'd be so wrong. They all look just a little different, and so beautiful.



We were in Port of Orillia Marina by 12:30 PM. There we met Lilo and Lou Wegner who were visiting Orillia that day by boat from their home port about an hour and a half away. We struck up a long conversation with the couple and ended up visiting with Lou later that day and ordering some wine from a Canadian winery with which he's affiliated.

Just as we've sought our the "best" burger on this trip, we've also been on the look out for the best fish and chips. We may have hit it in Orillia. Tor's Seafood fish and chips was wonderful for lunch...and the slaw was almost as good as the Vidalia onion slaw we had with Carla and Jay in Beaufort, SC. We took a walk around town and spotted places we'd visit later in the week. I took a nice, long walk along the boardwalk and the trail that runs along the Couchiching Lake up here by Orillia. There are some nice biking trails here that will take us for miles along the lake. We're going to enjoy our stay here!

While I was out for a pre-dinner walk, Wayne met a man on the dock who brings a hawk down to the marina twice a day to let it fly around and clear out the seagulls. "And, sir, what do you do for a living???"....

We were out on the deck that evening, enjoying the cool breezes, when Rick and Sharon from Phoenix IV came by for a visit. We'd met them in the locks above Buckhorn and knew they lived in Orillia. They'd spotted Segue that afternoon as they came in and came by to say "hi." Rick was a captain in the Toronto firefighting department in charge of hazardous materials containment. He and Sharon are ready to start the Loop so we spent a nice evening sharing experiences with them. They've invited us to their house for dinner on Friday evening.

Wednesday, July 30 - We woke up to rain and decided the laundromat might be our best stop this morning. We loaded up and walked up a couple of blocks to the site. By the time we'd finished (and made several phone calls) the sun was back out. That afternoon Lou stopped by with our wine sampling and we spent an enjoyable hour or two talking with Lilo and Lou and tasting one of the wines.

We talked later that evening with Ted from Interludes. Ted and Maricha have purchased a small farm in Panama and are leaving their boat in Wisconsin this winter to go down and live on their new place. This is the second time we've met someone who's moving to Panama. Jim, the harbormaster at Adventure Yacht Harbor in Daytona, was the first...and he believes Panama will be the next big retirement place for many Americans.

Thursday, July 31 - Another load of laundry this morning, and Wayne worked on cleaning the outside of the boat. Then we hopped on our bikes and went to the movies! We'd checked out the route and it looked very doable. When Wayne asked the young man at the marina if it was a reasonable route he was told it had two hills in it...but he allowed we looked healthy enough to do it. Hmmm. What he didn't say was that the two hills are consecutive...and there's not a lot of breathing room between. We made it just fine, but we walked those little one-speed beach cruisers up a couple of sections!

The weather for our stay in Orillia has really been very nice. It seems there's always the remote threat of rain...and if you're not in a breeze the sun can get very warm. But there's a cool breeze blowing most of the time that is very refreshing.

The marina, the Port of Orillia Marina, is owned by the city and has probably a couple of hundred spaces. This coming weekend being a holiday, almost every space has a "reserved" sign on it. Today we're seeing more boats come in by the hour. It will be interesting to see the goings on this weekend.

Friday, August 1 - August already!! The month of July has flown by!

This morning we took the bikes out to find a couple of hardware stores and check out the large marina at the Narrows to Couchiching Lake. Orillia has several biking trails that made this trip very easy and a pleasant ride. Having found the few things we needed, we went back for lunch at the Chinese buffet before I took off for a closer look at the shops in town and the local library.

At 4 PM Rick came by to pick us up. Rick and Sharon live in a beautifully renovated home on a canal just off the Narrows . Their new boat, Phoenix IV, is parked just off their back yard. They had lived nearer to Toronto for many years before finding this house and moving. Rick worked very long days as a firefighter (on four days, off 14) making his commute back to Toronto feasible. He has finally retired and they are planning to leave on the Loop in August of 2009. Like us, they can untie at their home and travel for thousands of miles by water.



We had such a good time visiting with the Chaykos and getting to know them better. They cooked a delicious meal on the "bar-bee"...and topped it off with Sharon's homemade Black Forest Cheesecake. Yummm! We're hoping we get to return the hospitality when they travel the Loop down our way.


Sunday, August 3 - Well, in spite of a threat of rain almost daily, the weather in Orillia has been wonderful. Today, as I sit outside the marina office to finish this blog segment, I am in shorts and a sweatshirt. The cool breeze can almost be too cool if you're in the shade or not moving around a lot.


The marina was packed last night. There's a carnival going on in a park nearby and people are out picnicking and walking/riding/skating. We've enjoyed having a few days to recollect and get some things done while positioning ourselves to pick up mail in Port Severn before we hit the Georgian Bay. We'll leave tomorrow morning for the Big Chute Lock and possibly go through (or at least stay there). Tuesday we're off to Port Severn, not far, where we'll receive the mail (hopefully) that day. As soon as we have that, we're ready to take off for big waters. We anticipate being in upper Lake Michigan in about 2 weeks time...and it may very well be that long before you see a new blog post. Don't worry...I'll be clicking away as we go....

Westport, Ontario, to Belleville, Ontario

Thursday, July 10 - We went back into town this morning and picked up some supplies. Hit the bakery again for some treats...raspberry tarts, more sausage rolls, biscotti-like cookies , oh, my ! (we'd better get away from this place soon!)...And we left Westport around noon with Iceman...looking back over the town. I like Westport and would visit again. The marina is trying to make a difference for the town...and I hope they do!


This would be a short day on the water because we were only going as far as Chaffey's Lock. We were settled in at the upper side of the lock by 2 o'clock. The setting is beautiful! And the scenery we passed today was gorgeous. Lots of evergreens, lakes, rocky shorelines, little islands with cottages...and some really narrow passages!




Wayne (of Iceman) told us to get ready for a photo op as we rounded a corner. This ferry is self-operated and runs about 50 ft. across the gap to the other shore. Drive up on it and pull it across on a chain.



Pierre and Pierrette had told us about having dinner at the Opinicon Resort Hotel, which is within easy walking distance of the Chaffey's Lock. The Resort has been owned and operated by the same family since 1921 and all the food is prepared on the premises. (http://www.theopiniconresorthotel.com/index.html) Reservations can be made at the Opinicon General Store for the five course, fixed price evening meal. We scheduled a dinner for four at 6 and then walked around the area.

We walked to the Cedars Art Studio and talked with the artist, Eleanor Pinsonneault. She, her husband, and her dog live in the house that she was born in and she paints in a studio area attached to the back. It's a lovely little studio. Eleanor works in acrylic, oils, and pastels...and her work varies in style (www.eleanorpinsonneault.com). She had both originals and prints for sale, in addition to note cards. I was tempted to buy a print...but as is often the case, I decided, instead, to try and duplicate the style in a watercolor.




The water at Chaffey's was so clear you could see clearly the rocks, weeds, and fish. A family of three came and swam for a while that afternoon by the boat. The water temperature is 78 degrees, by our measure. Still a little chilly for me!

Dinner at the Opinicon that evening was a real treat. Soup (tomato, mushroom, barley), salad (various options at a salad cart), appetizer (fried pickerel), entree, dessert (many choices on both) and a variety of non-alcoholic beverages. Our table had entrees of prime rib, Cornish game hen, and omelet...and everyone praised the meal. The total per couple, without tip, was around $35. We waited outside on the porch before the meal...





Friday, July 8 - We left Chaffey's at 9 AM not really knowing where we'd end up that evening. To go all the way to Kingston would mean doing 35 miles and 13 locks.

We got to Jones Falls and had half an hour to wait before the lock could take us. That was fine because we got a chance to see the blacksmith shop. We picked out a bottle opener to purchase and Iceman's Wayne wanted one, too, so the blacksmith made him one while we watched. That was neat!



When we got to go into the locks they really packed us in. Four larger boats and one smaller one in the middle!




The landscapes today were beautiful, just like yesterday...






And lest you think we don't have road signs up here for the twists and turns in the channel...


Karen and Wayne on Iceman were going to Upper Brewers for the night, so we went that far with them and said our goodbyes.

We got down to Kingston Mills Lock at around 4 PM and saw four boats waiting to lock through. As it turned out, we were going to have a 2 hour wait, most likely, to get into the lock...and then the time it would take to go through 4 locks... 45 min. to an hour.

We decided to shut it down for the night and stay at the upper side of the lock. The weather was calm and (except for the occasional nearby train) it was a quiet site. We'll lock through in the morning.

Saturday, July 12 - Well...we locked through the 4 locks at Kingston Mills, waited 45 minutes for the bridge at Kingston to open, and traveled a total of 65 miles to get to Belleville. We entered the locks at 9 AM and got to our slip at 5:30 PM.

It was a pretty drowsy day on the water, actually. We weren't close enough to shore to look at houses...the weather was gorgeous so we weren't spending time worrying or wringing our hands...We've been known to turn on XM Radio up on the bridge and listening to rock as we go, but we didn't go that far today. We talked about our plans for the Trent-Severn and Georgian Bay. Read up on some places to see. Finally got Lucy up on the bridge to keep us entertained. (Lucy usually heads for our bedroom when we start the engines in the morning and she sleeps there until we settle in for the day.) Today she slept on my lap!

We're staying the week in Belleville, hopefully to have some canvas work done. On coming into our marina we were helped by Bill and Catherine on Seaero. They live in Belleville and Seaero is docked next to our boat while they have some engine work done. They came over for a visit after we got settled and we took several pages of notes on places they've enjoyed on the Trent-Severn. Monday we'll pick up a rental car for the week and set about getting our "house" in order!

Montreal to Westport, Ontario

Monday, June 30 - Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue is around 37 miles from Montreal, with two locks in between. We left the Montreal Yacht Club around 8:30 AM and had made it through both locks by 12:30PM. We were tied up on the south wall at St. Anne's by 3:30PM. We wondered if we'd be able to find room at the wall...but a lot of people were there for the day only and were leaving about the time we came. By 6 that evening there were several spots still open. This wall is one of the places covered by our annual mooring pass that we purchased for our stay in Canada. Without the pass the rate for the night would be 90 cents/ft. We plan to use the mooring pass often! Granted, there are often no provisions for electric or water...but it is convenient and paid for!



Today, being a holiday, was a little "crowded" towards the end of the trip. And this is what the locks looked like as we went through...





We spotted this cute dog out for a ride that evening...





Tuesday, July 1 - It's Canada Day! Another holiday. We had decided to stay at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue for one more night to let the traffic settle down on the water and to take the time to look around the town. We were told there would be a small parade around noon. But...around 7:30 AM the work crews began to take down a bridge between us and the lock. Guess they didn't get a holiday...OR they were being paid extra to work! At any rate, the atmosphere at the wall changed completely. It wasn't "feeding our souls" so we decided to continue traveling towards Ottawa.

We usually plan our course the evening before...so we pulled up the charts and started planning the day. Surprise, surprise...the electronic charts kinda dropped off the map at the Carillon Lock. Oh, we had a "blue line" to follow, but it didn't quite match up to the markers on the water...and there were no water depths indicated at all. Ordinarily this wouldn't be a problem because we usually have back up paper charts. As you recall, we changed our minds about taking this course (instead of taking the Erie Canal) so we hadn't purchased paper charts for the areas of Canada we were now cruising.

OK, we'll leave a little later this morning. In the meantime we went back to the marine store we'd visited yesterday on our quick walk around town to see if they had the paper charts we needed. They had one...but not the ones that would help us today and tomorrow. We picked up a few groceries (remember: never pass up the chance to get groceries) and headed back to the boat to prepare for going through the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Lock.

Luckily for us, we were ready to cast off at around 11:15 AM and the lock had just opened for passage. We might have had to wait for hours! From there we went to the Carillon Lock, a deep lock, at 65 ft., with a door that lifted up for us to enter under. As we approached the lock we could see it was open, but wondered whether we could make it there in time, or whether it would have room for us. YES to both! Again...we were spared a wait and made it through smoothly. It was strange, though, seeing the lock door lower behind us...



We headed on down to Hawkesbury for the night. One guidebook said there is a public dock and another guidebook said it was an anchorage with complimentary daytime docking. There was a nice, long public dock with only one small boat docked so we decided to tie up there and check with the Chamber of Commerce office right on the site to see if overnight tie ups were OK...and it was OK.

We'd made it to Hawkesbury by about 4:30PM...pretty good time considering the locks and the current.

Hawkesbury was celebrating Canada Day! They had a carnival set up at a park just across the road from the dock and families were pouring in to enjoy the amusements. Several people stopped by to visit and comment on the boat. One man, a boater himself, offered to bring us some of his paper charts for the trip to Ottawa. We assured him we'd probably be able to find what we needed at a nearby marina, but he went home and came back with two of the four we needed! We'll mail them back to him when we've completed that portion of the trip.

A musician set up at a little venue very close to the dock and we wondered if we'd need to close up the windows on the boat early...but we really enjoyed his music. He had a synthesizer and an electric guitar and most of the songs he played, we knew. I went on to bed at my usual 9:30 and Wayne stayed up long enough to catch the fireworks that evening.

Wednesday, July 2 - First order of business this morning was to locate the missing paper charts. Wayne set out at 8 AM to find a phone and contact the local marina. When he had trouble completing the call, he just got directions and walked. Meanwhile, Michael, our friend from the night before who'd loaned us charts, came over to drive Wayne to the marina. When he realized Wayne had already gone, he sat with me and went over his favorite places in Ottawa and the Rideau. Wonderful information! Wayne returned with the needed charts and we set out for our day to Ottawa.

The distance from Hawkesbury to Ottawa was almost 60 miles. Ordinarily we could do 10 mph at 1500 rpm and be there in 6 hours. As it was, with the current against us, we left at 9:15 AM and got to the bottom of the Ottawa 8 locks at around 5 PM, 8 hours later. We stayed on the "blue line" that night, a section of dock just before the entrance to a lock, meaning we were ready to go through the locks when they opened next. This set of 8 locks has to be done in sequence.



Once you enter the first one, you have to go through number 8...no place to stop. The locks don't close until 7:30PM...but we really didn't want to go through the 90 minutes (minimum) trip this lock would require. We tied up and ask the lock assistant if we could "sit it out" for the night on the "blue line" and he said that would be fine. (Each lock has an area marked off in blue for those boats wishing to lock through on the next opening.) See the blue line?



Already we're impressed with the look of Ottawa. We passed by the Rideau Falls on our way...



Ottawa is the capitol of Canada. Tomorrow we'll go through the locks and hope to find a space on the canal wall right in the city. We're looking for wi-fi connections and a telephone, first. Then maybe a tour. We'll stay two nights, most likely.

Thursday, July 3 - We were ready to do the 8 locks! There were 3 boats ready to go through, including us, and the lock gates opened that morning at about 8:45AM. The largest boat was a houseboat...a true water cottage. Next was Segue and then a smaller boat.

It was pouring rain. We had on our rain suits, pants and jacket, and set out to climb the locks!

Oh, there were hairy moments. Like when the houseboat ladder got caught on the cables in the lock and held it down as the water was rising.



They had to lower the water in the lock to get it unhooked. By the time we got to the top of the locks the rain had stopped, but the wind was blowing a cool breeze and we were both chilled to the bone. We found a spot on the canal wall, tied up and headed out for some lunch. That afternoon we found a phone and a wi-fi spot so we could catch up on blogging and emails.


Friday, July 4 - Fourth of July...by the calendar. Needless to say, it wasn't much acknowledged up here. We woke up at 7 AM to the sounds of a drill on rock...a-gain. The nearby bridge was being worked on. We talked about leaving Ottawa, ready for some rural solitude...but decided to spend another night and make ourselves busy during the day so we wouldn't notice the noise. Poor Lucy, though, had to stay home with the racket.

We found a bus tour that morning and enjoyed the nice weather in the open air top of a double-decker. We saw the changing of the guard ceremony as we were waiting for the tour to begin. We stopped at the By Market, a large, outdoor market with all kinds of produce and products. After we lunched at a pub, Wayne went off to do more Internet work and I bought some fresh veggies and browsed the market. I topped off lunch with part of a "beaver tail," a local delicacy of fried pastry with sugar and cinnamon topping that the tour guide told us about (she probably owns part of the franchise). It's a lot like a funnel cake, for those in the South.



That evening we firmed up our plans for the next day's journey and caught up on some reading.

Saturday, July 5 - We left at around 8:30 AM, knowing that the bridge just down the "road" would have to be lifted for us and it didn't open until 8:30. The trip out of Ottawa was beautiful! The canal meanders through the city with bike and running trails on each side, beautiful landscaping and, occasionally, homes. We are so impressed with the access Canada provides to be outdoors. Walking and biking trails are everywhere. And, with this week being the beginning of their summer season, people were out all over the place taking advantage of the resources.



We had in mind going all the way to Burritts Rapids, 40 miles away. With a speed limit in the canal...and no wake zones...and the current against us (a-gain)...and 7 or 8 locks...and the desire to get water and fuel...well, we weren't sure we'd hold out for the full 40. We were leaving at the same time as Sandpiper with Bill and Ann Levine. One of our "life chores" for the day (gathering water) was made much easier when Bill arranged for us to follow his setup and get water at the Hogs Back Lock while we were in the lock! The lock attendant ran a hose from the lock house to the edge of the lock (we were headed up) and we handed him our hose by boat hook. Viola!! Check that one off!

I may have mentioned that there's an ice cream parlor on nearly every corner in Canada. Well, this ice cream boat is something we haven't seen before!



We stopped at Hurst Marina for fuel and a pump out...and left there around 4 PM knowing it was another 17 miles to Burritts. We'd decided to ask the lock if we could stay on the blue line that night if the other mooring spaces were full. Turns out the ones below the lock were full, but they had a spot for us on the upper side so we locked through and found ourselves in a lovely rural setting with about 5 other boats.



We've been so impressed with the helpful, friendly, competent staff of Parks Canada, the organization that handles the Rideau Canal, the Chambly Canal and the Trent-Severn Canal. They call ahead to let following locks know you're coming, for instance, and will assist you in finding a spot somewhere around the locks in the evening. Many of the full time employees work a 66 hour week during the summer season (6 eleven-hour days) and "bank" the extra time so that they get paid the same amount year-round, even when they're not working during the off-season.

We met an "off duty" employee of Parks Canada this evening who had come to pick up his daughter when she finished her day as lock helper. (They hire students during the summer to help in the locks.) He gave us some great advice for the rest of the week on the Rideau...and we assured him that Parks Canada has a winning formula for picking employees!

So...our first full day on the Rideau (not counting the entrance to Ottawa) was a long one, but we have a plan. The "juicy" part of the Rideau is ahead of us...the picturesque towns and lock houses...rural canals.... Today's trip was fascinating because it was new territory, but we're looking forward to seeing the images we've seen in guidebooks that describe the Rideau Canal. Tomorrow...we're off to Smith Falls.

Sunday, July 6 - Woke up this morning and it was a beautiful day again in Canada. So pretty...and our spot here at Burritts Rapids was so nice, picnic table and all, that we decided to take the day off and stay another night here. Sandpiper had spent the night across from us and were leaving that morning for Smith's Falls. Sandpiper, Double SS, Bella Luna and several other boats are forming a group that will travel together for a while. That's what's so nice about this trip: there's no set way to do it. Some like to go in groups, large or small...while others tend to do a solo trip, interacting along the way, but not committing to a daily schedule. We fall in the latter group! Part of what we enjoy about doing this trip is the challenge of figuring out where to visit and how to get there.


Wayne ended up working the bigger part of the day rebuilding a motor for one of the heads, so I'm not so sure he had a true "day off."

I walked into the little town of Burritts Rapids and visited the General Store. I talked with the clerk who told me all about the Rideau Canal having been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site last year. I'd heard the phrase before, but we certainly hadn't considered that designation when we decided to visit the Rideau. She's concerned there's not going to be enough resources (money) put into the area to make it work. Once a place is named a World Heritage Site, she said, it has certain obligations and standards to meet in order to stay a World Heritage Site. She said Parks Canada, the agency that runs the canal, has no money to invest in things like guides and signage for tourists. She's already seeing more people come to Burritts Rapids by boat and by bike...but often they come in asking questions about where the trails are, for instance. As I left the store I noticed it is for sale, as is the house immediately next to it. Across from our mooring spot there had been a restaurant and a laundromat...both now closed and the building is for sale.

When I got back we had an early lunch, then I spread out my painting supplies on the picnic table and painted all afternoon. It was SO-O-O nice! People were all over the lock site that afternoon picnicking, swimming, and fishing. Most of the people we talked with were from the area between Ottawa and Kingston. They bring their boats up to one of the locks and spend the weekend relaxing and cooking out. We didn't see any campers, but tent camping is allowed, too, at the lock areas.

We talked at length with a couple who live on Lake Erie and trailer a boat to a different area each summer for a couple of weeks. They've been to a lot of the places we've been already or will soon see.

We grilled some chicken for supper and finished off a good day.

Monday, July 7 - We were ready to leave when the lock attendants came in at 8:30AM. We'd already gone through the lock at Burritts Rapids to get to our spot, but there is a swing bridge about 5 minutes up the way that is operated by the same crew.

I'm not sure I've mentioned before that the Rideau Canal is 126 miles long from Ottawa on the Ottawa River to Kingston on Lake Ontario. There are 44 locks along the way to go through. Some are single locks and some are grouped together so that you leave one lock and go right into another, like the first 8 step locks we went through in Ottawa.

Today, we thought we'd end up at Smith Falls for the evening...but we were interested in stopping in at Merrickville, only about 6 miles (and 5 locks) up the way. We got there around noon and decided to find a place to tie up and see the town. We docked at the long wall in what's called the "pond" area by town and decided this would be a nice place to spend the night.

Walking into town we passed lots of antique stores (Connie, you would love it!) and settled on the Goose and Gridiron Pub for lunch. The weather was lovely that day, though a little warm. If you found a place in the shade, however, the breeze felt really nice. The pub had an outdoor patio by the side, in the shade, and we enjoyed a lunch of pizza and a reuben sandwich.



We stopped at the small grocery store and picked up a few things, and looked for a wi-fi source in town. Wayne was told the public library had Internet access so we took our groceries back home and walked back to visit the Merrickville Public Library and a public phone.

The library door was open when we arrived, but we found out soon that the library was only open at that time for a special children's program...and the normal hours that day were 6-8PM. A parent who was waiting on his son said the library does have Internet access, but he thought you had to have a password to access it. We sat down on the back porch and fired up one of the laptops to see if we could access the link, but couldn't. So...we'd come back later. Meanwhile, we walked a short walk back to the community center and a public telephone to catch up on some calls. While there, the parent biked by and said the librarian told him there was wifi access in the library and that if we sat on the front porch we might be able to use it outside. It worked! We checked our emails and went back to the boat to sit in the breeze and dangle our feet in the water!

Tuesday, July 8 - OK, today we would make it to Smiths Falls. We left Merrickville at around 7:30AM, timing it so we could be ready to lock through the Kilmarnock Lock, about 7 miles ahead. Four locks later and we were in Smiths Falls before noon. We'd talked to a lovely couple from Ottawa as we went through the locks, Pierre and Pierrette Parisien. They've been cruising the Rideau Canal for years and gave us lots of good advice on places they'd liked.

We were in need of a pump out today and needed water, so when we had gone through the first lock at Smiths Falls we stopped at Victoria Park and took care of those needs before we settled in along the mooring wall on the opposite bank. What a beautiful setting this was....



Pierre and Pierrette helped us tie up right behind them and then they started giving us the low-down on Smiths Falls. With directions to Walmart, a Chinese restaurant for lunch, and a laundromat...we were armed for the day!

First stop: lunch! We biked to Wong Chinese Restaurant for a lunch buffet, and it was delicious. On to Walmart for a few items and later to the public library (beautiful building, again) for wi-fi access. That evening we enjoyed sitting around and talking with Pierre and Pierrette and their friends.


We were even entertained with bagpipes...



Pierette is crazy about dogs and had Lucy "eating out of her hand" when she served up black coffee with a little sugar...Will we be up all night with the caffeine?

The weather forecast indicates a possible storm tonight. It's very windy and grey.

Wednesday, July 9 - We lingered around Smiths Falls until about 10:30 AM. There's a swing bridge at the far end of the town waterfront, just before Lock 31, that has timed openings during the morning hours and was due to open at 11 AM. As we were getting ready to pull out so were Karen and Wayne Franklin on the boat Iceman 46. They were going to Westport, as were we, so we decided to run along together that day.

Interesting story about the boat name: Wayne used to tend the ice ("Hey, Iceman!) for his curling club. According to the Brittanica Concise Encyclopedia on Answers.com, curling is a "game in which two teams of four players each slide a round stone by means of a gooseneck handle on the top over a 138-ft (42-m) stretch of ice toward a target circle. The object is to deliver the stone closest to the centre (called the house). Each player delivers two stones, which average 40 lbs (18.1 kg) apiece, often applying a curl to the stone's trajectory. The player's teammates use a broom to sweep the ice ahead of the oncoming stone in order to facilitate a longer slide or to adjust the arc of the curl. Blocking and knocking out an opponent's stones are important strategies of the sport. Curling originated in Scotland in the early 16th century. World championships have been held since 1959 and are usually dominated by Canadians and Scandinavians. In 1998 curling became a medal sport in the Winter Olympic Games." Now if I'd been keeping up with my Olympic winter sports I'd have known that!

So we traveled for a while with Iceman until he decided it would be a good idea to rush on up to Westport to see if there would be space at the little marina for our two boats. He radioed back when they got there and had a spot saved for us.

As we made our way through this section of the Rideau (Ree-dough, as I've learned to say) we passed through what begins to be the prettiest part of this canal. At one of the two locks we passed, the Poonamalie Lock, we spotted the prettiest house and grounds. Turns out it was the lockmaster's house. When I commented on how nice a house and setting this was he said he felt very privileged to live there.



There are two little towns in this section of the Rideau that seem to attract visitors, Westport and Portland. Both are a few miles off the route...but we wanted to see at least one. Westport had been a recommended stop by many people, and we weren't disappointed. A walk around town took us by two nice bakeries where we bought muffins and sausage rolls for breakfast. I loved the clothesline behind one of the bakeries...



There were art galleries and gift shops along with post office, grocery store, bank...and a library with the cutest door handle....



We grilled hamburgers out this evening and visited with the Franklins and their friends who live in Westport part of the year. Tomorrow we're thinking we'll leave around noon and go to Chaffeys Lock for the evening.