First month now over :(

June 30 - July 4

Brandon, Hermione and Ellen joined us on June 30 at Picton, Ontario. The next day Brandon and Hermione went off in their car to explore while we took Ellen with us on the boat to Trenton. No locks that day. That was the day we saw the full rainbow over Trenton harbor, Venus and Jupiter together in the night sky, a huge full moon, and fireworks. Couldn’t have been better. 

The next day we did the first 8 locks of the Trent-Severn Waterway. Brandon and Hermione stayed on board, and we were all pretty tired by the end of the day. The other two days they went exploring in their car while Brian and I traveled alone, but they joined us in the afternoons to spend the evenings on the boat.


Friday, July 3, 2015 - Percy Reach (Lock 8) to Hastings (Lock 18)

For some reason, July 3 was awful. Lots of little things went wrong. It started between locks 8 and 9 when we discovered that one of our red ball fenders was missing ($80). Don’t know how that happened. Around noon we stopped in Campbellford, a nice little town, but we should not have gone into the grocery store there. It’s a very small store, and everyone in the whole town was there. We bought just a few things, but the lines were long and we were both tied in knots by the time we left. At the next lock there was a 45 minute delay while we waited for another boat - that never came. At another lock, there were already two boats waiting, so we had to wait a complete cycle before we could go through.

At another lock, NINE Seadoos were already in the lock, tied onto the starboard side. Pearl “prop-walks” to starboard, so we prefer to tie up on that side too, but we had to tie up on port. Before I could secure the boat onto the metal line, she started to pull away from the wall. Brian put it into gear, but our stern swung into the middle of the lock. It was a scary moment, but we quickly got it under control and no one was crushed, thank goodness! I know I screamed, but I keep hoping that no one heard me. Later in the day the current pushed our starboard side into the jetty that separates the dam from the canal, making an enormous noise but not damaging the boat. The current is very swift there, and it got us. Finally, at the very end of the day, as I was getting into bed, I banged my head on the low overhang, and at that point I just wanted the day to end. 


Saturday, July 4, 2015 - Hastings to Peterborough

On July 3, Nan and Brian traveled from Portland, Oregon, to Toronto to join us on the 4th - not a holiday in Canada. We met at the Peterborough Marina around 2:00. Brandon, Hermione and Ellen arrived, too, but they had a campsite nearby. We decided to walk to lock 21, the Peterborough lift lock, since we were going through it the next day. It raises and lowers boats 65 feet in two things like parallel bathtubs, adding water to make one heavier so it goes down while removing water from the other one so it rises. We climbed the stairs to the top. The lock master was very friendly, especially when he found out that it was almost my birthday, and he let us see everything up close. For me it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Later, to celebrate the Fourth of July, we had ice cream at supper time, then ate chalupies and sat on top of the boat to listen to the outdoor concert. The mosquitos chased us inside around 9:00.


Sunday, July 5, 2015

My birthday was wonderful. I got to have breakfast with Brandon, Hermione, Ellen, Nan, Brian, and of course, my Brian. We bought a new red fender. Brandon’s family left and the rest of us continued west in the canal- including the Peterborough lift lock. Late in the afternoon we had cake in Lakefield and Brian Wagner played his guitar for us on top of the boat. A perfect evening.


July 8, 2015 - Fenelon Falls, Ontario

Very little internet and plenty of company has kept us from posting on our blog lately. It’s hard to believe, but the first month of our trip is already over. It has been wonderful. We had visits with Nelson, then Brandon, Hermione and little Ellen, then Nan and Brian Wagner. We saw Lynn and Kevin Dempsey near Lake Ontario, and met lots of neat people who are also doing The Loop. We’ve traveled 814 miles and gone through 63 locks.

Tonight we are in Fenelon Falls, Ontario, above lock 33 on the Trent-Severn Waterway. Yesterday we dropped off Nan and Brian at Bobcaygeon (lock 32) - a really fun word to say - Bobcaygeon, Bobcaygeon. They were heading to Niagara Falls and on to Tanglewood. We continued on through pouring rain to this cute little town. It is full of happy Canadian vacationers and the canal is filled with houseboats full of big families. In Canada the lock masters help the houseboats tie up in the locks, while in America they are not allowed to give any advice or aid. I suspect, however, that most of the houseboat drivers are beginners, so Canada has decided that it is better to help them before anything goes wrong instead of after. The water is clear and cool and fresh. 

Two nights ago the mosquitos were HORRIBLE! We were at lock 30, Lovesick, sitting on top of the boat with Nan and Brian when it got dark around 8:45. On some sort of signal, all the mosquitos in Ontario came out to attack us! We raced inside and slammed all the doors, but many had already entered. Brian and Brian spent a couple of hours playing “swat the mosquitos”, and by then several other species had also come inside. Nan got the most bites. The next night we closed up every window and screen before 7:30 and successfully kept them out. The mosquitos are not bad here because they probably do mosquito control in the towns.

We have a few more days on the Trent-Severn Waterway, including Kirkfield, the second highest lift lock in the world and the highest point on the canal at 840 feet, plus the Big Chute where we will put the boat onto some kind of train to cross over the rocks. 


Friday, July 10, 2015 - Lake Simcoe

Lake Simcoe - one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Deep blue water, so clear we can see the fish below. Cool but not so cold that we couldn’t go swimming. Quiet, but lots of people are nearby in small boats for the weekend, spaced far apart. Naps, novels and a wonderful dinner of lamb chops, leftover pad Thai, corn on the cob, and fresh tomatoes. We are anchored in the southeast corner of the lake, loving it - but mindful that in a few months it will be frozen solid and probably covered with ten feet of snow.