I'm sure you noticed the sudden end to postings on the blog...I was hatching a plot to surprise my daughter for her birthday....and it worked!!! We spent time with the Bemis couple in Charleviox and then made the quick run to Northport. Wednesday morning, August 12th, 8 AM our new friend Scot arrived with our new Thor Axis motor home and we headed to Elkhart, IN. Scot did mention that he thought this was the longest test drive he'd ever been involved with. ( 4 and 1/2 hours) Floyd signed papers. We got a few RV lessons. We bought necessities and headed for home on Thursday afternoon. We spent Thursday night in Joliet, Ill...on an RV campground that was once the Empress Casino complex (which a friend of mine built in 1992)...now Hollywood Casino complex. Then we toodles on to Grain Valley, MO (just east of KC). Arrived on Kelli's doorstep at noon on Saturday...she was more than a little shocked to see me standing there. In fact, I feared she'd be in such a panic that she'd go into labor right then. But she recovered quickly...and spent most of the rest of the day interrogating me about how I managed to pull off the surprise. Seems lots of folks were in on this...and she hadn't a clue.
It was a great birthday surprise....

We've spent time doing marathon laundry, getting hair cuts, manicures, pedicures, teeth cleaning...playing catch up...We are almost fit to be seen in public again. The rooms are still rocking a bit.

For now, the boating plan is that we will return to Lake Michigan around Father's Day and head south to complete our second loop. Then return to Lake Michigan...where we hope to continue to store the boat for several years and use it in the summers to play in North Channel, Georgian Bay, Lake Huron...etc. We love the idea of escaping Kansas heat...and maybe we'll have company.

Love Love Love being home....and once we get things situated in the RV, I think we'll love it too. At 25 feet, things are much tighter than on the boat. Plus there are no little nooks to tuck things in to...its in a cabinet or outside storage. No hidey holes inside at all. That will take some getting use to. Dakota seemed to settle right in...though when we are underway, he thinks he's a lap dog.

I do think I need to blog about RV adventures...but haven't decided whether it needs its own blog or I should just continue posting on this one....but for now, I'm shopping for RV things and anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby Boy Rappard #2...he-who-has-not-been-named is coming September 1...after 10 AM...

August 6…Captain Floyd had us up at 5AM…water is smooth as glass…and we are outta here. We couldn’t believe how peaceful and calm the water was…all 7 hours of our journey into Drummond Island. IT WAS LOVELY!!!! Cleared customs at 2:47PM…added gas-o-line (measured in gallons, eh!) …beer thirty on the aft deck…a little celebration at supper and we are down for the count. Even though we are back in the states…WiFi, phone coverage and internet on this island is bad at best. Hoping tomorrow it will be better in Mackinaw City. Rain is in the forecast this weekend and wind is due to change direction…so maybe we’ll have slow down again.  But we are excited to get to Charlevoix, summer home of Ted and Linda Bemis. We’ve got some serious catching up to do!!!!...and laughing, and eating, and drinking, and shopping, and solving of world problems!!!!

August 5…several boats left this morning, and even though it looked calm we stayed put. Several of us did comment that leaving was probably a bad idea, winds “out there” were still predicted to be higher than we like…tomorrow the weather looks really good. We are willing to wait. Today we began sorting and labeling sacks of items to go to Wichita…we’ve had an “RV” box and a “going home” box (which are both full) since we arrived in April. Things in the Crew quarters have gotten more than a little out of control…especially since the waves on July 31 sent everything crashing to the floor and left the shelf wet. Floyd has lost so much weight he needs to re-think his wardrobe…and I’m constantly changing thoughts about mine. So we spent most of the day sorting clothes into garbage sacks depending on where their destination would be…labeling according to where in the RV they need to go. WHEW! We are definitely subtracting weight for TUMBLEWEED. We still managed to take breaks and naps. We returned to the restaurant for supper. We think tomorrow looks to be the perfect day to head to Drummond Island and re-enter the USA. Departure at o’dark thirty!!!

August 4…and the winds howled. We’ve had it with fighting waves…4, 5, and some 6s last time out have us all just a little gun shy. So we are staying where we are…thank you very much. Yesterday we managed to spend time with Jazi and Stacey in the afternoon. Then Robby and family joined us for supper at Bouy’s, the restaurant close to the marina. Stacey gave us a wonderful children’s book she’d written about flying. Today we did manage to walk into explore the town of Gore Bay…located the grocery store for just a few essentials…took naps and read books. Not a very exciting day. Boaters who arrived today looked like they had been beaten…know the feeling.

August 3...As planned, Floyd revved up the dinghy to get Dakota to shore for his morning business visit. As luck would have it, he couldn't get it to stay running for the return trip...so he rowed, against the current and breeze! Got his workout before we ever left the anchorage. The up anchor went well...and we heard lots of boaters chatting on the radio as we pulled out headed 50 miles to Meldrum Bay. . All good signs. SEA VENTURE was behind us and JOELLA in front...JET STREAM wanted a report after we crossed Clapperton Channel. And then we knew why...the water turned nasty in a heartbeat!!! Dang, that weather man got us again. This time we are sure to have battled 6 footers. However this time, they were mostly on the bow...not so much rocky-rolly...but lots of slam-bam. Things didn't seem to fly out of place much...but we knew there was no way we were traveling all the way to Meldrum Bay in this mess. A quick call to Gore Bay...another rough hour or so and we arrived shortly before noon. A quick re-shuffling of the stuff...bacon and tomato sandwiches for lunch (our first home grown tomatoes this year)..nap time. We called our friends from PRINCE ARTHUR, as this is their home port. Stacy and Jazzy stopped by to see us...really, just had eyes for Dakota. Robbie and his dad head out tonight or tomorrow morning to finish bringing PRINCE ARTHUR home. There is a restaurant on site that's suppose to be good. I've offered to take Captain out tonight. We hope we aren't here long...but we are ALL sick and tired of fighting the wind, waves and bad weather reports. and I mean ALL!!!!

August 2...We awoke to no wind...calm waters...but since we had planned to spend the day here, we went about our business...breakfast. The parade of boats leaving didn't stop...and somewhere around 9:30, we wondered why we were staying. So we left. Just a little over 20 miles to Little Current...and they have three marinas...oh, and that swing bridge that only opens on the hour...what could go wrong! Yeah, right!!! First the wind began to pick up...then the rain came...then not one marina had any space for us...then the bridge tender couldn't tell time...Once we finally got through that we spotted a long dock  that sure looked pretty empty to us...so we pulled up! NO!!! They said..."this is just a service dock...you can't dock here!" and pushed us off...we couldn't even convince them to let us stay a while to walk the dog. We thought a moment about going on the 20 miles to Gore Bay...but decided against that. We anchored just outside of Little Current off Picnic Island. Finally got that to use the new anchor we got in Hammond, on Chesapeake Bay...oh, and practice our anchoring skills. Everything went really well. We about broke our arms patting ourselves on the back.  Dinghy worked great as we took Dakota to shore for his evening business. Plan tomorrow is to rise early and go to Meldrum Bay...51 miles...once again winds aren't predicted to pick up until after noon and with that early start we should be there. Monday is some sort of Canadian holiday...some marinas are full...others seem to have taken the day off!!!

August 1…a new month and a new day…a parade of boats left today…we were happy to watch them…I have no desire to be on the water today. We’ll take a stroll down (or up) the one street in town…stop at the little store for bread …and plan to go to the Sportsman Marina restaurant and bar tonight for dinner. I’ve discovered some wet clothes under the cabinet in the captain’s quarters…so it looks like laundry hanging in the fly bridge…and Floyd has a little drying action set up in the crew quarters…seems the windows or rub rail leaked a bit. But those should be dry soon. It’s a cool day and we’ve got windows opened.

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July 30…WHEW! We both agree this was the WoRsT day of boating ever!!! Totally makes us forget that day on Lake Michigan in 2011 when we got caught by big unpredicted winds…Thank god this day is over. Captain checked weather…wind was not predicted to kick up until afternoon…and waves were to be under one meter…so at o’dark thirty, we left Wright’s Marina and headed for Killarney. What a mistake! But an even bigger mistake would have been to try turning this big boat around in those big waves and going back…we were committed. And the waves were BIG…Bigger …BIGGEST we’ve ever seen. We are sure they were 4’ and 5’…and some 6’…on the bow quarter…lots of water thrown at us and lots of rocking and rolling. With Captain and auto-pilot George steering the course from the lower helm, Dakota and I huddled for safety and comfort on the sofa as everything skidded off shelves and resting places everywhere. Usually it’s just the pencil holder that takes a nose dive. This time even the items stored on the shelves at the dining table and in the crew quarters landed in heaps on the floor…even the three 25 pound bags of dog food. To say we were taking a beating was putting it mildly. Rather than try to put it back into place, we just let it go…figuring it’d be safer to re-assemble once we got to Killarney…that 5 hours took forever. It did settle down quite a bit for the last couple of hours. Enough so the Captain was able to make calls about staying in Killarney. We were refused docking at the first two marinas…seems there is some sort of MONK boater reunion this weekend…finally were able to get into Roque’s Marina…last one there. And then we arrived into Killarney Channel….narrow waters that start the link between Georgian Bay and the North Channel…three marinas…and about 8 boats circling waiting to dock…all on channel 68 hailing marina’s… people requesting fuel, pump outs…and one with only one engine…somehow we managed to avoid hitting any of them and got an answer from our marina… we missed getting into the first slip assignment because the current and wind were just too strong. Captain made a great saving maneuver.  They circled us around to the inside and we landed like pros that time. Dakota and I were a mess…not to mention poor TUMBLEWEED. But hey, it was only 12:30 and, believe me, no one wanted to eat. …so Floyd started at the front in the crew quarters and galley, I started in the back, captains quarters and head…putting everything back where it belongs. We found some things we forgot we had…and threw away some things we forgot we didn’t need…it was a thorough unplanned boat cleaning experience. We’ll be laughing about it someday…but not today. I’m just gonna say I took all my frustration out on the Captain…and I’m sorry. One wrong call in all our days of boating shouldn’t be grounds for the emotional beating I gave him. He didn’t deserve it…I’ve apologized profusely and I regret the way I behaved…tomorrow will be a better day!!!!

July 29…a day at Wright’s Marina…couple of loads of laundry, boat washing, visiting with locals about AGLCA, cigars, naps and, of course, a little Kawartha ice cream (could be our last)… locals are discussing wind and possible rain…looks bad for their government holiday weekend…and probably means we won’t be leaving tomorrow either. Marina has a courtesy car we can use for $1 deposit…grocery store down the way and a little restaurant…could be worse. Captain will be weather checking, for sure.

July 29…100 days living aboard the TUMBLEWEED…Dakota is finally getting the hang of it. This morning he stayed on the couch as we departed and has actually slept most of the morning on the fly bridge. Usually he is “on his spot” as soon as engines start and then just lays around  …alert to any movement we make. Beautiful calm this morning…and a lovely loon singing…we charted a path off shore…so we are out in the open as opposed to zig-zagging among the rocks. It’s gonna be another warm one as we are traveling with the breeze most of the day. Captain is a little worried about the wind kicking up significantly for the next couple of days…that could hinder travel plans. We’ll keep an eye on the forecast and certainly talk with the locals tonight before heading to Killarney in the morning. The marina tonight has WiFi and laundry facilities…and every one is saying don’t go…Captain will look again in the morning. We had Kawartha ice cream this afternoon and a nap instead of laundry so I’m counting on us staying around tomorrow. We zipped along at 9 MPH today and burned less gas than if we had gone our usual 7.5…Captain is amazed…and I’m thrilled!!!  

July 28…sleeping with the sounds of water rushing and gushing over the dam was lovely…things cooled off and we had a most pleasant evening all alone at the bottom of the last lock on the Trent-Severn. We didn’t need to wait for them to open…so we were outta there a little before 8 AM…twisty, windy, narrow channel out into Georgian Bay…Blue water, clear skies, warmer temps and NO LOCKS!!!! We stowed away those short black lines and finally the fenders are back where they belong. Captain bumped the speed up a little and we arrived at Killbear Marina almost 30 minutes ahead of schedule. This place has really nice docks but more are empty than full…and no WiFi. A big chandlery, a convenience store and restaurant…but, most importantly, Hershey’s ice cream…imagine that! We were most impressed by the handwritten sign next to the dumpster warning about the bear and reminding everyone to use the t-bar closing. We’ll keep a lookout!!! Restaurant menu didn’t do much for us…and we couldn’t find anything to buy but ice cream.  So just chilled on the aft deck…fixed some chicken fettuccini alfredo…and hit the sack.

July 27…What is it about plans??? Our clue should have been that the lock folks showed up and were actually calling us over before 9 AM. They determine who goes first based on boat size…so they wanted us in the harness first, followed by NEARLY PERFECT. We were “Johnny on the spot”…but once we arrived, they couldn’t get the railway car to start up and load us in. They pulled and punched all sorts of buttons, scratched and hem-hawed, called on the radio and phone…after about an hour, they backed us out and sent us back to the blue wall. Small problem…other boats had arrived and we no longer had a spot. Lucky for us, NEARLY PERFECT offered to let us raft to them. Lock master announced that it would probably be three hours or more before they were up and running. The electrician was coming from Peterborough to fix things. So we kicked back…I challenged the girls on NEARLY PERFECT to a RUMMICUB game…we snacked, giggled and discovered that Jennifer had attended school at Southeast with Dennis. Small World!!! We had lots of notes to compare about that whole situation. Meanwhile, more and more boats were arriving…the docks filled up…lunch was had…and finally the electrician arrived. Locks are wonderful when they work…and it doesn’t take long for things to go south when they don’t. At 2, things started moving…and we were once again “Johnny on the spot” at 2:30 when they called us over. Thank goodness, we weren’t part of the mob that arrived today thinking they’d lock through. We did think ourselves pretty brave to be the first boat over…it’s a scary ride!

This chute is truly a marvel! This lock is actually a complex system of straps and rams that actually lift your boat up out of the water (keeping it level), over a road, and carry you down a very steep rocky terrain and place your boat ever so gracefully in another basin. Cross currents make entering the railway car pretty tricky…but Captain Floyd made it look easy…not once, but twice. It’s like a roller coaster in slow motion…

And because we were so late leaving, we decided we couldn’t make Frying Pan Bay…so we finished the day at Lock 45 Port Severn…on the wall below the lock, ready to head straight to Parry Sound in the morning. It’s pretty noisy with water rushing over the dam right beside us. But we have great shade, a little park area, and we are positioned to leave before 9 AM. Oh, joy!!! We traveled 8 whole miles today…whew!!! We are done with the Trent-Severn…

We figured we have done 123 locks since June 24^th and spent 15 nights on locks walls. Captain Floyd thinks the fees were well worth the cost. He’s happy…everyone is happy. I figured we are nearing 100 days of boat living…by the time we finish this trip, it may be our longest boating stay. I think I’ll plan a little celebration for Wednesday…just like in elementary school, 100 days!!! Don’t tell…it’ll be our little secret.

July 26…puttered around and finally left Port of Orillia around 10 AM…two locks and planned to arrive at the Big Chute for a night on the wall. One small detail we forgot to factor into our plan was that this was Sunday…and we’ve been warned about weekend traffic on this end of the Trent-Severn…OMG…we waited an hour at the first lock and almost two hours at the second lock…in the heat (85 degrees) and with loads of other frustrated boaters. We arrived at the Big Chute basin docks and there were our friends on NEARLY PERFECT, another looper PLANE 2 SEA we hadn’t met, and a gold looper CHER III. Chatted and traded cards…inspected the shade awning that CHER III had (think I can do that)…then the lockmaster came by to visit. We decided that in order to make time in the morning it would be in our best interest to spend the night on the blue line…so three of us went at 7…leaving CHER III alone on the dock. She is headed the other direction and so not part of this plan. Floyd, Charlie and Jack had a little captain time….cigars…and we were done in. Tomorrow is the Big Chute and we plan to head into Georgian Bay …we want to stay at Frying Pan Bay, one of our favorite stops on the last trip. Shouldn’t be an issue, we are third in line so probably will be off the Chute in plenty of time for the 30 mile trip.

July 25… Floyd went to bed way too early last night…so at 5AM he is up and fiddling with the dinghy…repairs seem to have slowed the leaking significantly. So he hoisted it back in place and announced that we would be locking through with the group at 9. Special breakfast today consisted of Canadian peameal, eggs and toast. This was our first experience of slicing and cooking peameal…tasted like ham…but don’t try to cook the eggs in the drippings. Way too watery for that!! Even with the misstep we were ready to go with the crowd. MAZEL TUG, PENNY PINCHIN’, MR BOUY, and TUMBLEWEED…three step locks and out onto Lake Simcoe…we stopped for gas and a pump out and still managed to beat the rain into Port of Orillia Marina.  And then it poured…just long enough to allow us to check supplies and make our grocery list. 

Once the rain cleared, we were off to the Metro store. While there we talked to NEARLY PERFECT…probably see them tomorrow on the waterway. We just barely beat the second rain storm back to the boat. Big fishing tournament going on today…so lots of little boats gathered. We were a little worried about facing that crowd when we leave in the morning, but we discovered that it is over today. We spent some time downloading charts for Floyd’s I pad…somewhere in the last couple of days we ran off the chart. Interesting view!!! 

We were also surprised to find another 36’ Carver named TUMBELWEED at the marina…makes for just a little confusion when docking. We found the boat…but so far no one is there…

We skipped docktails with the other loopers tonight…headed into town hoping to find a store that might have a rug we could use to protect the dinghy floor…no luck. But we did find a good outdoor restaurant for burgers and wings.

We plan to head out in the morning…60 miles and four more locks then we finish the Trent–Severn …since it’s still the weekend we probably won’t push too hard tomorrow. We are ahead of schedule!!! Even more amazing!!!!

July 24…Said good bye once again to Graham and Deb…we left Fenelon Falls right on schedule…down the walkway come Jim and Elaine…we invite them to ride through the lock with us. Not our best effort…but Jim is amazed at how slow we approach…his only experience is in a houseboat…lol… we encouraged them to meet us at the next lock as well. We locked through with another, small faster boat… which we see several times throughout the day.

Our next lock is Kirkfield Lift lock…the twin of the Peterborough lift lock…but this time we are going down 65 feet…and our entry into the pan faces out…much more of a roller coaster feeling. Jim and Elaine get to ride that with us…Elaine sits right out on the bow with me…we are both snapping photos the whole time…Jim handles the stern line like a pro…this is great stuff, but alas, they must head home. They do designate Dakota an official Canadian as he is still proudly wearing the bandana. We assure them that we will take it off shortly and then he can wear it every year on Canada Day.

Three more locks…a couple of swing bridges and a couple of very tight canals (one where we had to announce on the radio that we were entering…warning….and yet we met a rental houseboat in there. He got way over into the trees…and we managed somehow).  We’ve heard stories at the locks all day that the lock at Fenelon Falls was down. Also that the swing bridge going through Bobcaygeon was experiencing difficulties…Glad we are past all that. At 2:30, we arrive at our stopping point…lock #39…we stayed on the wall here in 2011…a lovely lonely spot. We are ready for lonely. We are at the top of a set of three locks…nice breeze and even a little shade. Dakota romps and Floyd attacks the dinghy…I’m in manicure mode.  Not much traffic but a few boats do pass…and then around the bend comes loopers MAZEL TUG and PENNY PINCHIN’ …to tie up and spend the night…there goes the neighborhood. Before we finish supper another local boat arrives and we make room for him. REALLY!! I make nice conversation but make excuses so we don’t have to gather, drink or eat with anyone. By 8, I’m done…in and almost down for the count.

Tomorrow we plan to have special breakfast. This time it will include the Canadian specialty ‘peameal’…some sort of pork bacon rolled in cornmeal…we shall see…then load the dinghy and head to Orillia. Weather tomorrow afternoon is supposed to include thunderstorms and we must cross Lake Simcoe, known for shallowness which is not good in wind and weather. The only locks we’ll encounter are the three right here. Coming up on Sunday will be the ever famous Marine Railway lock #44…google that one…we are almost done with the Trent-Severn Waterway.

July 23…AUNT AGGIE and SEAHORSE head out…and the scenery around us immediately begins to change as new boats are already arriving…we prepare to go to breakfast…walk up the way to watch some big boats lock through and decide we can walk to the restaurant…I return to the boat to get my phone to let Jim and Elaine know our intentions. There is a guy just standing by our boat…I speak and he mentions that he once met some loopers from Wichita a couple of years ago…in Orillia…he was a retired police officer…yes, I say that was probably us…my husband is retired police. No, he says, this is not the boat. His wasn’t that big…oh, but his wife was a retired teacher. Yes, that’s me…who are you??? Graham…I use to work at the marina. OMG…it’s Graham and Deb…their boat was next to ours in the marina the week we spent in Orillia in 2011. They can’t believe how different the boat looks with new canvas. They are on the wall just in front of us!!!! SMALL WORLD!!!! We go off to breakfast but promise to spend time together today.

WHAT A GREAT DAY!!! Elaine and I do the town…I managed to help a couple of stores with their rent payments…ice cream and boat watching (SPIRIT JOURNEY and SEQUASIOUS lock through today)…talk, talk, talk, talk… drinks and hors de oeuvres on the aft deck with Jim, Elaine, Deb and Graham…we all walk across the bridge to eat at a restaurant that overlooks the falls…then, of course, another serving of ice cream…and good bys all around. Jim and Elaine are headed back to London…Graham and Deb are heading to Bobcaygeon…we are heading to Lock #39…my jaws hurt from so much chatter and my side aches from all the laughter…we have had a blast!!! What we love about this boating….the chance meetings and the great friends!!! We sure hope that Jim and Elaine will join us on board in Lake Michigan sometime. FaceBook and the blog will help us all keep in touch. We laughed because when we left Graham and Deb last time, we said we’ll never see you again…and then poof, we did. So we said it again! Hoping that we will!!!

July 22…I should mention that two big houseboats passed the marina headed to Buckhorn (one in the dark)…actually makes us glad we aren’t on the wall there…cause they are probably parked on the blue line…partying!!!

We are on the move as planned…7 AM…Dakota and I are below where its warm…it’ll be a couple of hours before our services are needed…well, except for taking coffee to the Captain (which we aren’t really very good at)…as it warms up the wind picks up…we are at the Bobcaygeon Lock just before 9 and join two other boats on the blue line…before the gate closes we are joined by ALWAYS HOME and AUNT AGGIE…somehow they squeeze all of us in the lock…fun to watch…and amazing to experience…we are off to Fenelon Falls…it’s a parade…we are joined by a house boat…but not to worry. There is plenty of room on the wall with electricity … AUNT AGGIE joins us for lunch on the aft deck…then SEAHORSE folks return and join us. We are all talking and eating and sharing stories on the aft deck. I failed to notice the little wasp like creature on my carrot…and BAM! Shock to the tongue!!!! OUCH! Thank goodness I have ice water handy!!!

Soon Jim and Elaine appear…bearing gifts…and I can’t begin to tell you how good it is to re-connect!!! They brought Chardonnay for me, a cute Canadian bandana for Dakota and some maple syrup for Floyd…we walk down the line to watch boats lock through and have Kawartha ice cream…breeze through town to scope things out. Elaine and I will return tomorrow to do our bit for the local economy. Jim and Elaine have a BBQ place they want to take us for supper. Off we go…Then we return to the aft deck to provide a meal for the local misquotes….Geesh!!! After doing a version of the Canadian folk dance, fighting them off…We make plans to meet for breakfast and call it a night.

July 21…it all works out!!! Floyd was up early (as usual) to re-mount the dinghy (which is still leaking…he says…”I’ve just begun to fight”.) 8AM and we are outta here…only boat on the blue line until 8:45…two or three loopers circling…and the house boat on the wall making noises.

Just a word about house boats…we have nothing against them…really…but they are overweight and always under powered…add that to the fact that this is houseboat rental heaven!!! They pay, watch a 5 minute video, and are turned loose in the canal system. Most never venture very far from where they were rented…and thanks goodness they are clearly labeled so you know what you are dealing with…but in the locks…OMG…we’ve seen them backwards…but most of the time they resemble the pin ball in the pin ball machine. So, in conversation with Looper friends TRANQUILITY who spent the night on the wall with these guys, we hear that they partied until 3AM and now are up, swigging coffee and smoking cigarettes in preparation for heading into the lock. OH JOY!!! Lockmaster takes charge immediately …house boat first …once he lands, then TUMBLEWEED, then fellow loopers MUSAL TUG, and PENNY PINCHER…seems to work…and the three couples on the houseboat quickly become our friends…we have this tiny lock and then comes the Peterborough Lift Lock, an engineering marvel that consists of 2 big pans of water that literally lifts boats 65 feet in the air. Once again, same order…though there for a moment we thought PENNY PINCHER was going to have to buy us a new dinghy (coulda worked) but I was quick with the boat hook and they managed to get stopped.  Our looper friends stopped here so we traveled the next 4 locks with the houseboat. They stopped at noon on a wall to rest up and prepare for the night …kinda made us glad to move on. We are all alone in the locks…wind picks up…but Captain Floyd is not worried. We push on…11 locks today…almost 50 miles…and wind!!! We make Buckhorn at 4:30 right on schedule but there is no room on the walls…well, there could be room if the houseboats weren’t so spread out. Lockmaster suggests the marina a mile ahead…phone and radio calls go unanswered…so we just pull up to the gas dock where we are greeted by SPIRIT, SEQUESIOUS and NEARLY PERFECT.  Mr. Grumpy, the marina owner, appears and finally relents to let us stay on the gas dock, no electric and the dog must stay on the gravel walkways. Oh, and $5 discount. I should mention that there are acres and acres of grass. It’s a trip keeping Dakota on the short leash but he seems to get it.

We make nice with the Loopers, cook supper, and crash. Tomorrow we only have two locks…then two nights at Fenelon Falls. Though folks have warned us that finding space on that wall is hard to come by…get there early. So we are planning to head out at 7AM…make the lock at Bobcaygeon when it opens…and be in Fenelon Falls around noon. If that fails, there is a marina there. We are getting together Wednesday and Thursday with Jim and Elaine, from London ON Canada. We meet them at the Looper Rendezvous two years ago and really hit it off. They follow the blog and have texted/e mailed several times. We are excited to spend some time with them.

July 19…We were joined by several other boats last night…most we think are heading our direction…we left the wall at Campbellford to be first on the blue line…we need to get this day started. Weather is predicted to kick up a thunderstorm or two this afternoon. We are hoping to go 60 miles which is a rrreeeaaallllyyyy long day for us…even without the 6 locks.None of which would be a problem if we could start at o'dark thirty...but the locks don't open until 9...plus it's Sunday, good boating weather.  Plus in the chart for today is Rice Lake…wide open shallow water with warnings about crossing in wind and storms.  It’ll be tricky…because once we leave Hastings, we are commited to going all the way. There are no stops for us in between. We are truly getting a little homesick for Kelli Suzanne…Last time we did the Trent-Severn, she was aboard with us. Sure made those locks easier for all of us. Plus she is ever the entertainer!!! But alas, she’s home with a 2 year old…7 months pregnant…and probably missing her mother as much as mother is missing her.

Hot and humid…and we did just fine…everyone seems to think the weather will hold…and we make good time in the locks… on Rice Lake the wind is right on our bow…feels like 20 mph…but we are going almost 10 mph into it…Captain decided we needed speed. Storm clouds gathered so we made all the necessary preparations to deal with that…it look very ominous all around and, of course, we got only a few sprinkles.

Not to worry…we cruised into Peterborough around 6…woulda been earlier but we had to wait at the last lock. There are maybe 8 other Looper boats here…and the party is two slips over from where we docked… hot, tired and stinky as we were, they still wanted us there. Several are leaving in the morning…the others are saying they plan to leave on Tuesday…so we’ll probably have company on the rest of our trip.

Floyd plans to make another stab at dinghy repair in the morning…then we’ll visit the local marine store and tour the town. We are hopeful that the Hot Momma restaurant is still there…lunch??? Or supper???

But for tonight we are off to the Souvlaki Hut…we know it’s not great, but we’re not cooking.

July 18...AND A NEW WORLD RECORD...gas/pump out/ 12 locks and 31 miles on a hot hot day on the Trent-Severn...we are trying to make up a day or two in here as we'd really like to be in Fenelon Falls on Thursday. Looper friends we made two years ago have arranged to meet us there...but that dang dinghy just won't quit leaking...time at the Peterborough Marina is a must (esp since there is a West Marine within walking distance)...so we shall see. The locks don't start until 9 ...and we'd like to go almost 60 miles tomorrow. The good news is there are only 5 locks...and lots of open water...the bad news is at 7.5 mph that's a long day...chance of rain is in the forecast...so we shall see... we shall see...

And the heat came...yesterday we were in jeans and sweatshirts...huddled against the cold. Today the sun was bright and hot from the get go. We are watching Dakota closely...making sure he stays in the shade. Since his hair is so short we are afraid he'll get a sunburn...poor shaved skinny baby..

Today was team work at it's best...we locked through the first 6 locks with a speed boat. Cable #5, Starboard side...lines, fenders, gloves, boat hooks...just like the book says.. Since the locks are just about a mile apart it didn't make sense for him to rush...they'd just make him wait for us...then we hit some open space and off he went...we had to wait a bit at lock #7 for 2 boats coming the other way...not a problem...we had planned to stop for ice cream there anyway...and there were our speed boat friends...eating ice cream too. Really a great day on the water...not much traffic and the locks were all efficient and most were open and waiting for our arrival.....slam, bam, thank you....it is just so much hotter at the bottom of a lock ...doors shut, no breeze or shade...and Ontario seems to have those pesky biting flies...we were dripping. And we sure missed Kelli. Last time we did this, Floyd had the two girl crew...he didn't have it so easy today...

Fiveish and we pulled up to the lock wall in Campbellford...plugged in those ACs and had a cold cold beer...a little left over pizza and a salad...showers and we are done in!!! Tomorrow is another day!!!

July 17…still the cool temps…and Floyd started laundry at o’ dark thirty…so we’ll be finished by 10…9 loads…all free and we use their supplies…we’d have spent $25 or more …woo hoo…we celebrated by having special breakfast today instead of Saturday. Laundry done and dishes cleaned, we (Dakota too) walked into town …post office, hair place (I have an appointment later this afternoon), and little grocery munging. Floyd is back to check out the dinghy repair. The new patch seems to be working…but guess what…there are several other small holes…so he’s applying duck tape, and saying prayers.

The sprinkles are starting…and we planned on carry out pizza for supper. Since I’m going back shortly for that haircut, I’m going to get the pizza and save us all a trip.

Then the rest of the day we can rest…tomorrow we plan to leave around 8…stop for gas and a pump out…then let’s do some locks on the Trent-Severn Canal. Should be interesting as we’ve seen posters about “Dragon Boat Festival” at 9 tomorrow…so we may be involved in that as well!!! But we aren’t a dragon boat…and we haven’t seen any around here yet.

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!!!

We met SANTA…Yep, he works for Pepsi in the off season. On the 15^th, in aisle 7 at the Sobey’s grocery store in Picton ON Canada, we met Santa…as we walked by, he was sitting on a few cases of Pepsi, making a list and checking it twice…for re-stocking the Pepsi products. We made a silly comment about him looking like Santa (which he did).  He came to life. In very animated style, he told a great story about his recent vacation in Mexico where he and a dad conspired to convince a male child that he was indeed the REAL Santa. Dad told him the kid’s name and about the big stuffed animal he had received last Christmas. Swimming by, he made comments to the kid. Calling him by name and asking about the animal that the kid had named “Ted”.  Said child freaked out!!! Santa even showed us photos.  What a hoot!!!

July 15…iffy weather was iffy…wind started howling around 2 AM …and stayed that way. So we decided to stay as well…The groomer was able to shift dogs around so we can get in tomorrow afternoon …which, of course, means an o’dark thirty departure…oh, for the love of dog…but it sure beats staying an extra day in Trenton. So we plan to give it our best shot.

We tried to do things today that we would have done in Trenton…Haircuts didn’t happen…but serious grocery shopping did…and lunch in town at the County Canteen was lovely.

I didn’t get to wear my new Canadian girl boating outfit, hey…today was a jeans and sweatshirt day for sure…but around here it doesn’t take long for the weather to change…just like home…

Just when things were getting dull this evening… a cruise ship arrived…the 48 passenger KAWARTHA VOYAGEUR…big mamou pulled right up next to us. They are going from Peterborough to Kingston…so they’ve been on the Trent-Severn and are headed to the Rideau…sure glad we didn’t meet them at bridges, locks or on those narrow passages…geesh, I don’t even get how they do that. Then before we got settled into that, a big sail training ship pulled in on the other side…17 teenagers…they didn’t stay long but their docking/undocking was exciting.  There will be photos…

Whew…if we had left this morning as originally planned, we’d have missed all this…

July 14…weather turned…before we could get away to make the 9 AM bridge opening in Kingston, rain showers and wind moved in. But they didn’t seem to last long, so we left the dock and made the 10 AM opening. And then the wind blew…crossing Kingston Bay was rough stuff. But Dakota and I were below cuddled and snug…Captain Floyd was at the fly bridge helm, grinning from ear to ear…so we left him there most of the day. Just before we rounded the bend into Picton, the clouds cleared and we had sunshine. Dakota and I joined him just in time to go to work.

Picton was totally my call…we stopped here 6 years ago…I remembered several places that have since gone away…but there were a few new ones to try.

Docked and ACs running by 4:30…Floyd and I hiked the HILL into town…busy place for a Tuesday. We did some serious shopping: new antler chews for Dakota, a few necessary groceries, a quick stop for a Linda shop (struck pay dirt on some things that I can wear as first mate that will let me be Canadian, hey), the olive oil store, and nice dinner at Portabella. Oh, and ice cream at Scooperman’s. It wasn’t Kawartha…but we thought maybe we needed to get into ice cream shape…

Weather tomorrow is looking a little iffy for our trip to Trenton…but the more we check it the better it gets. We think the weather should clear by or before noon so we can still make it. As long as we get there tomorrow sometime we’re good. Dakota has a grooming appointment on Thursday morning. Those are hard to come by…so we hate to miss that. Looper friends who came up the Erie Canal, mail and a dinghy repair kit should be waiting. We hear the new marina is opening tomorrow…but we’d be just fine to stay in the old one. Stay tuned to see how this works.

SUMMARY OF OUR SMALL TRIANGLE LOOP… We left Waterford NY on June 26 and arrived in Kingston on July 13…18 days, 542 miles, 72 locks.   The Triangle is Waterford to Sorel to Kingston back to Waterford. Since we’ve already done the stretch from Kingston to Waterford, we see no need to back track down the Erie Canal.  Once we made the turn at Sorel, every travel day has brought us closer to home.

We used several Canal Systems: NY, Champlain, Richelieu, St Lawrence, Ottawa and Rideau…plus two big commercial locks run by the Canadian government.  We spent most of our time going up in the locks…and they were baby locks for the most part. The big Carillion on the Ottawa River was certainly an exception. Several flights of three…a couple of fours…and the BIG flight of eight right in the heart of touristy Ottawa. Antennas down on the Champlain system…and we even ducked going through a couple of bridges but really our height and depth was fine.

Getting through Canadian customs was not nearly the hassle we were expecting…People had built that up to ridiculous proportions…we should have known better…we’ve done it twice before…and while we wish we had brushed up on a little French, we had no issues communicating when necessary. 

We've also still be trying to keep to the "Belly Fat Cure" way of eating...so far Floyd has lost almost 20 pounds and 3 1/2 inches around his waist...I've lost 6 pounds and 3 inches...we are looking and feeling better...


Friday we start the Trent-Severn...oh, and there will be Kawartha Ice Cream!!! Yes, we plan to fall off the wagon for a while. We'll get back on eventually...but not when Kawartha is around!!!

Love it when they have free WiFi...so long until the next one!!!!

July 13…Loved that night at Davis Falls…met another Gold Loopers and several folks who live along the Trent –Severn but are headed to Ottawa and beyond…we locked through and headed out by 9:15…to the music of a lonely loon…he sang and followed the boat for quiet some time…OMG, how absolutely lovely. Always loved teaching the short story, “How the Loon Got His Necklace”…and this was a sure sign of good things to come.

It is gonna be hot again today. Floyd decided to “go Canadian” (shirtless)…but I’m in a tank top that can go another day…so no swimwear yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Scenery today seems a little like Georgian Bay…rocks, islands, narrow passage ways…it’s Monday so not much boat traffic. Locks are ready for us and except for the go fast boat from Davis Falls who catches up and locks through with us a couple of times, we are alone. Speed limits through the twists and turns among the rocks slow us down…but we are still making really good time until we hit the last flight of locks into Kingston. They just started a group down, so we’ll be waiting at the top for them to finish and then bring a group up…should be about an hour and a half. It’s hot but the Blue Line area has plenty of shade and grass so we get off with Dakota to enjoy the land.

Sure enough, right on time, they are ready for us…and we can still make the marina in Kingston before their 6 PM closing. It is nothing to write home about…small and full of character boats. The point of interest is the fire boat manufacturing operation located there…all sorts of fire boats, labeled and ready for shipping….pretty interesting stuff. We saw a boats labeled Kuwait, Washington,DC, NYC and Savannah. Totally missed that Kodak moment.

Floyd is able to visit with a man about our dinghy leak…he has names and numbers so there is hope that the problem will be solved soon…supper on the aft deck…showers…and once again we are OUT. I’m thrilled that there are NO locks for me in the next travel days…and a layover day in Trenton to enjoy Floyd’s birthday, get Dakota groomed, do laundry and go grocery shopping, hey. A do-nothing kind of day!!! HA.

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July 12…moment of panic when Linda yells about the Rideau salad floating by the boat( Captain thought it was maybe something to worry about.)… then another moment when the Captain thinks he’s misjudged the bridge opening…but not to worry…it’s all good…and we continue to be made aware that often what you say is misinterpreted / misunderstood by the other. Luckily it hasn’t caused us trouble just tension…unnecessary tension … we must be getting old…lol..

First narrow part…and poof, around the bend comes a small boat…rocks on both sides…and he’s not giving way…little bit of excitement there…coming out of our second lock in a narrow channel…we encounter a boat more our size…once again, he has way more room to maneuver than we do…but he just keeps on coming…cement walls 20’ apart…and we know we are 12’ wide…exciting!!!! Oh, it’s gonna be a fun day, hey.

A little excitement today provided by our sweet Dakota…got excited by people and dogs at a busy lock and hopped off the boat. EEEEcckkkk…didn’t last long…but scared us and him. Then coming through another narrow section with lots of tall trees, he got spooked. Hopefully this will pass.

So Chaffy Lock where we wanted to stay is full full…so we went a couple of miles further to Davis Lock…#39…on a very low pier with power…gonna be some AC running tonight!!!! Several folks here headed the other direction…and the kids working the lock are super friendly (and bored with nothing to do). Dakota is the hit…oh, and some little dog named Pippen, who found a turtle…then jumped in the marsh water after it…and then rolled in the dirt…glad to NOT be on that boat!

Tomorrow into Kingston most of the locks are grouped together and it is only 33 miles. But can’t start until 9....YEAH!

July 11…still plan to do our 40 miles and 11 locks today…and we are joined in the first lock by three other boats. The next several miles and locks are a parade…first in is first out…the rest follow in order…easy up…oh, is that a little fawn grazing by the canal? Why yes, it is…and she/he is gone before anyone else in our little parade gets a peek. One fast boat zips by us once we find some open space…TRAVELER  diverts off at Merrickville…where once again we are the tourist attraction…locks here are a flight of three…piece of cake…Now just the two of us are together until we reach Lock 29A at Smith’s Falls…where we stop for the night and they continue on.

Today has reminded us of sweet grass/swamp of the Carolina’s…biting flies and scenery…nothing about it to entice you to hang around. We laugh about learning the Canadian folk dance…hopping around and waving your hands to beat off the deer flies. Bug repellent moves to the top of our list…… geesh, I hate bugs…especially those that bite, hey. I do manage to escape below for awhile…I’m still trying to find a dog groomer in Trenton.

The lock wall at Smith’s Falls is in the town park…no electric…and it is HOT…strong breeze helps…but the shade is on shore instead of us…but there’s is lots of it. A short walk to town…purchase of bug repellent with serious DEET…and supper at the Rob Roy Pub. We are back in the shade of the park and Dakota is running like a wild man, winning hearts and giving out kisses. Whoo Hoo…a dog groomer is found…Mosquitoes are held at bay tonight by this wind and our Canadian strength repellent…Floyd cranks up the generator long enough to charge everything and runs AC enough to cool thing off. And then, yep, you guessed it…we are OUT. These locks are wearing us out, hey.

Tomorrow we have only 4 locks in the next 33 miles …let’s do the happy dance, hey.  By the end of tomorrow,  we’ll start locking down instead of up. This will get a little trickier as we’ll be starting with just inches of concrete and an inability to grab our own cable. Parks Canada folks will just step up to help, I’m sure. Looking at the chart  gave the Captain a thrill…Wide parts with narrow channels…follow the markers to avoid the stumps hiding outside the channel markers…his kind of challenge…not mine!!! Should be another hot one…I may have to join the Canadian women who boat in their swim wear…trust me, I’ll be more covered than most of them….

July 10…busy day today…9:10 and we are through that short bridge and headed west…it is like being on a boat driving slowly through Eastbourough…or Crestview…no fixer-uppers on this route…lovely park areas and well kept BIG houses…Dow Lake Marina is tiny…but our gas stop offers Dakota a chance to play with a four month old bearded collie named Vera. Don’t worry Pippa, you are still number one in his books…but they romped and wrestled enough that he was worn out the rest of the day. And that’s always good…but particularly today…after lunch the scenery changed to more rural settings…9 locks and 40 miles later we arrive at Burritts Rapids. Lock #17…where we have planned to spend the night on a lock wall with electric and a restaurant. But evidently lots of others made that plan as well. The Captain from TRAVELER offers to let us raft to him as they are full and don’t want us below the lock on the blue line…after talking to the Lockmaster, they found a lonely spot. So up we go (which is what we wanted to do anyway)…and they made room for us on the opposite side from everyone else…and managed to find one plug for our electric. We are delighted…in the shade…across the canal from the party animals (hehehe)…Dakota can run a little. We relax and practice our social skills (though the boaters below the lock on the dock aren’t too happy with us because they let us go up…they’ll have to wait til morning.)  Clean up and it’s time to try Lock 17 Bistro. It is better than most.

On the walk back, we stop by the camp fire to chat with the locals…it’s good to be among those who speak English, hey. Hehehe…plaid clothing and “hey” …they are a different breed. Oh, and they HATE the Frenchies…they have other bad names for them. Next weekend starts the holiday time for those workers in Quebec…last two weeks of July most of the big companies shut down so the Frenchies can have vacation. We hope to be into the Trent-Severn by then…thus avoiding the rush of boaters that swarm the St Lawrence. We got to experience that rush on our last trip into Canada…once is enough.

Floyd soon has serious second thoughts about that evening cigar on the aft deck…yep, the national bird of Canada invades….Mosquitoes as big as your thumb…We can’t light the OFF lantern fast enough…and we hear them laughing. A quick change of plugs, we crank up the AC and battle for our lives inside for about an hour. Floyd even kept evidence of his kills…Dakota and I offered trash can burials. Soon we are ALL are out like the lights.  Tomorrow is another busy day. Since it is Saturday on the Rideau Canal, we expect to encounter lots of other boaters.

July 9….Short night…boaters behind us or someone in the park partied til the wee hours…makes it hard for us old folks to sleep…Cooler temps will make this slow rise more pleasant.

As we peeked out this morning, there came our PRINCE ARTHUR friends…with tips about this flight of eight…so Robbie and Floyd climbed the hill to visit the lockmaster. Stacy, Jazzy, Dakota and I watched another boat arrive…now there are four of us. Once we start, there will be no stopping….they tell us the UP process takes two hours. “Going up” group of four goes first today…we are told to always enter and leave the locks in the same order…we are first and port side…ready, set, go… No relaxing this morning… third cable from the door…fenders at the rub rail…but then fenders constantly need adjustment as often getting to the top of the lock wall leaves only inches of concrete separating us from grass…It is truly a fascinating set of old locks…I’d say there were thousands of tourists along the banks and at the top of the Wellington Street Bridge watching the operation. So today in Ottawa, we were part of the tourist attraction!

Sure enough, two hours later and we are at “our spot” in downtown Ottawa. PRINCE ARTHUR   joined us on the wall and requested some assistance lowering their mast in order to meet clearance requirements on the rest of the canal.   We were also able to share some Skipper Bob notes with them. They don’t plan to stay. We freshened up a bit and headed off in search of lunch and to see Parliament Hill as well as visit the largest open-air market in North America.  Hard boat work and playing tourist required a bit of a nap late afternoon.

We are planning to try the new “meat” tonight…”rosette escalope de boeuf”…looks like steak wrap/ London broil…The pork souvlaki last night was good so we have high hopes for this one as well.

Tomorrow we head west… hard to predict or make plans about how far or how fast we can go…too many locks and low bridges…our original goal was to go 40 miles a day…but who knows???  We do plan to make a stop for gas/pump out tomorrow…but there is no need to rush as the bridges and locks won’t operate before 9 AM.  In many ways, these Parks Canada folks are my kind of people!!!

July 8….breakfast and grocery shopping…we hope this is our last true French encounter…as today we cross out of Quebec province into Ontario… while it hasn’t been bad…it has certainly given personal experience to the phrase “strangers in a foreign land”.  Grocery shopping is our most interesting experience…fruits and veggies are lovely…meats are usually well displayed and labeled in both French and English…the rest is a crap shoot. Floyd says even the photos on the boxes are in French!!! LOL…we’ve decided to do without a few things…but basically we’ve figured it out. Plus we are really liking the exchange rate…80 cents American to the Canadian dollar…we win!!! Though gas sold by the liter at $1.50 takes it all back!!! I’m guessing that we’ll be spending lots of time tied to lock walls as we’ve already bought a seasonal mooring pass for that…and marina’s charge by the foot. And sometimes even at marina’s, there is no electric…I’m just hoping the temps stay cool…that’s why we’re here, of course.

The ride into Ottawa was uneventful and just like we like it…cool and sunny…smooth waters…except for boat wakes. Can I mention the three ferry boats crossing back and forth back and forth…timing on that was a little tricky, but Captain Floyd, once again, proved superior!!! Long pleasant hours of boredom…no moments of excitement or sheer terror!!!

We arrived at the Ottawa lock wall as planned…after closing …so we will spend the night on the blue line at the bottom of the flight of eight…yes, you heard me…eight locks…one leads to the other…up 80 feet into the heart of downtown Ottawa. Lock opens at 9:00 AM and depending on which way goes first…we plan to be on the lock wall at the top by noon. We’ll spend the rest of the day playing tourist then head on toward Kingston on Friday. We walked the lock and picked our mooring spot tonight after supper. All looks good….

July 7…Lock opens at 9:30…and we are third in line to go through…it’s just a 3’ lift…but seems to take forever…people getting off boats to buy ice…making change…buying permits and passes. This lock and really the rest of the locks we encounter will be part of the Canadian Parks System…just like the Champlain Locks. Much more friendly and willing to serve…we are ever so glad. The locks are small…and this one has four of us rafted inside by the time we get all settled. PRINCE ARTHUR is who we are rafted to and they speak English and travel at about our speed. We figure we’ll be seeing each other at the Carillion Lock twenty-six miles away at mid day. We quickly make friends and they decide to stay at the Montebello Marina with us tonight. Father Jack, son and DIL, Robert and Stacy , and little Jasmine (5^th grade)…they just bought this MONK trawler in Quebec City (three days ago) and are taking it home to Gore Bay, Ontario.

Carillion Lock is the biggest in all of Canada…65’ up…which is a pretty formidable view from the bottom…we have to wait about 20 minutes …but that just allows me time to get Dakota off for a little play/relief time…it all works! This is just the second time we’ve encountered a lock where the gate on the lower side is lifted over the entrance and vessels pass under it to lock through. It is very much like looking at the wrong side of a guillotine.  There is a small floating dock inside the lock…so it is even better than the floating bollards we are so use to… PRINCE ARTHUR, TUMBLEWEED are secure…then a couple of others come zipping around the corner and they come right in. Sixty-five feet of water takes some time….but the ride is smooth and easy. We have 30 more miles to go before the marina tonight. A couple of rain showers and howling wind …but we figure that is wind is made worse because we are headed into it.

We figure we’ll be seeing PRINCE ARTHUR  plenty for the next week or so…Jassy fell in love with Dakota…and they wear each other out at the marina…good timing…more storms moved in one at 10 ish…another at around 11…then temps cooled and we all slept really well!!!! It was a long day!

July 8…Wednesday…short trip up the hill to have breakfast and visit the grocery store…we head to Ottawa today. No locks til we get there and there is docking at the bottom and at the top…so either way we are good. 

July 6… out of the marina by 8…AIS shows no freighters coming or going from the lock area….Saint Lambert Lock…up 18 feet…we are there by 9…followed by three other boats…We’ve been warned to not use the credit card machine as if it doesn’t issue the receipt, you pay twice.  You use the special phone at the lock wall to call but the lockmaster says they are doing maintenance on the bridge and we’ll have to wait about an hour…oh, then just another 45 minutes or so…finally…almost 11 and we get into the lock. By this time there are five of us…we are rafted to a 39’ Meridian who speaks English…we are all secure and then here comes a sail boat, ever so slowly…so we wait for him.  This lock charges $30 …cash or charge…so once at the top we wait for everyone to settle up before going.  The next ten miles is in a canal around Montreal to another big commercial lock, St Catherine. We meet a big sea going freighter in the narrowest part (of course) and figure that he is the reason we finally got our lift…they needed the lock ready for him.  At St Catherine Lock, they are waiting for us…and the sail boat…up 32’ this time…and another $30. But it is Canadian money, which today is about 80 cents to the dollar. We go cheaper than they do.

We opt to go on another 23 miles into the mouth of the Richelieu River to the town of Saint Anne-de-Bellevue..There is a 3’ lock there and plenty of lock wall in this town for 35 boats. We find space on the town shore side and tie up…we are on a boardwalk that appears to be main street St Anne…lots of restaurants, people, boats, jet skis….and it is hot. No AC/electric tonight.  We get lots of advice from locals about where not to eat…Klondike!!! And according to them, the pubs at our end are among the best. We pick one…and then think why??? We fix better and cheaper on the boat. What were we thinking??? The party never stops…we are still hearing folks walk by at 3 AM…and it’s hot…not one of our better nights.

July 5…All is quiet at the marina…Floyd went off to solve the security gate key issue and check on the ferry. We could easily make the 11:30 ferry into Montreal, so that’s the plan. Once there finding the hop-on, hop-off bus was not so easy…we walked in circles for about an hour then decided to stop at an outdoor café for lunch/brunch and see if one went by us. Sure enough, every 15 minutes or so, one went by and stopped right at the corner…so we bought a ticket and rode. It was a delightful two hour tour narrated by Richard …Old Town, the Olympic area, a big park, Hippy fest, Jazz Fest, … we saw it all and really were not tempted to hop off. We thought that very unusual for us…we can always find something interesting to investigate. Montreal just didn’t seem to spark that in us. We checked out a couple of souvenir shops and came away empty. Somehow managed to walk right by the bakery…we are still trying to lose weight. (Floyd’s lost over 20 pounds to my 6…but the belly fat is melting away…) Floyd, on the other hand, finally found a liquor store. He bought consumable souvenirs…and now he’ll sleep better knowing his supply of Jack won’t run out.

Waiting for the ferry we noticed the pressurized water-boot demonstration…we have seen a couple now…the newest way to separate tourists from their money…we think Kelli could be a star at this…but she probably needs to wait until after this baby is born…

We were able to give our second day bus tour passes to a couple of young ones from NY…and arrived back at our marina around 5:30…where most of the boats around us had changed. We are now among the residents…guess they didn’t know the marina rented their slips when they weren’t here???? Hmmm, interesting!

Tomorrow we pass around Montreal with the large ocean going freighters…two large locks in a canal…and we are low man on the totem pole. Some we talk to say they wait up to 5 hours…and no going ashore…poor Dakota. And we are hoping the temps stay lower than predicted. We’ve studied the maps and charts…Skipper Bob book gave Captain Floyd another route over to St Ann de Bellevue…we’ll be on a wall in small town Canada tonight.

July 4…8 ish AM…we gave them a bit of a break… Fired up those engines…and not one head appeared…clear, calm and sun is shining…water on the St Lawrence is glassy smooth…Big ships are moving and some boaters …current is against us about 1 knot (that will increase through the day somewhat)…but that little breeze was on the bow…we were plenty cool…about an hour in and we both opted for longer pants and jackets…more and more boats on the water but it is Saturday and the sun is shining. All chatter on our radio is in French…don’t understand a word!!!

The last two hours of our trip as we got closer to Montreal the boat wakes became an issue…in fact, we thought it was just as rocky rolly as the bay going into NYC…we were amazed…the big ship wakes were not nearly as bad as the other boaters. Too many people on too many boats going too many directions and going too fast… because the current is increasing, our speed is decreasing…which makes it even more rocky rolly…poor Dakota got seasick. Always a not pleasant event! But one we have learned to be prepared to deal with.

Our arrival at Port de Plaisance Marina in Longueuil was an event for the record books. The entrance from the river is a fight of boat traffic and river current…once inside the break water,  we were looking at one of the busiest gas docks ever…big and little boats, lots of people, dogs, and dock hands, of course, speaking and yelling in French.  Lucky for us, a big slip emptied at just the right moment, and we scooted right in…gas-o-line, pump out and two nights stay, please…I took Dakota to shore where he regained his sense of land…and we were in our slip by 3:30..

It is a big place…and it is a great weather weekend for folks to be on their boats…oh, and fireworks at 10PM. Yes, it seems the city is hosting some sort of fireworks contest…and tonight is the Italian entry. We love the irony of it…Americans in French speaking Canada on Independence Day enjoying Italian fireworks…lol…and it is the third time in so many days we’ve had fireworks…this time I don’t think we’ll be on the front row with smoke blowing in our windows. We are so blessed that they don’t seem to disturb Dakota much either…he just goes to bed.

We did discover that there is some sort of key the marina forgot to give us for the gate at the entrance to our slip. Better check that out when they open in the morning.

So the typical Fourth of July fare for us…burgers, brats, potato salad, deviled eggs, and baked beans. Lots of Frenchies coming and going…boats headed out into the river to watch those fireworks…oh, and yes, there is drinking involved. The y put on quite the show….but we thought the fireworks were a bust but it was just because there were too many trees between us and them…though they made quite the racquet.

Tomorrow we head into Montreal…we think the ferry leaves from this marina…to play tourist. One day is about all we plan to do. We’ll probably do a “hop-on-hop-off” bus tour…hope we can find one in English.

early night…we have work to do tomorrow…but just like at Fort Edwards last week…people people people…and fireworks. But then the band music returned…don’t these folks have to work tomorrow??? We don’t really know when it finally stopped…we went to bed.

July 3…we slept like rocks! Even Dakota was a slug this morning…Frenchies are all gone … we lollygagged around and spent time letting Dakota run loose in the park and chase and chew sticks. At the crack of 9:55 AM we pulled away from the mooring wall only to hear TRITON on the radio announcing their arrival on the other side. We talked briefly…but kept on…it was a great ride…smooth waters…wind has died down a little and the sun is finally shining. Lovely homes and little towns dot the waterway…only one cable ferry today…and we only have 14 miles to the marina in Sorel…we’ll be on the St Lawrence River…they say it’s a great stop to get groceries…and we need them.

Our dockage into the marina here was just a bit tricky…those winds hadn’t died so much…but we didn’t buy any boat parts so all is good. That close grocery store was a long 30 minute walk…and the sun is shining…we aren’t complaining…but geesh, we were ever so glad we had that wheelie cart…lugging groceries is not fun.

Tonight we are in party marina on Friday night…no one speaks much English and we don’t speak much French…the older boaters are having a pot luck at the picnic area (lots of wine and drinking songs) and the younger ones are playing loud music and dancing on the docks. I’m talking Michael Jackson, Alabama, and Alan Jackson…oh, and some French things…they’ll pay for all this when we fire up our big engines at 0’dark thirty in the morning… hehehe…

From here on we are headed home…mostly west and/or south…We head to Montreal tomorrow…against the current on the St Lawrence…we plan to visit the city briefly…then there is a busy commercial canal with two huge locks we have to transit. We are studying the books about all that. Stay tuned!

St Ours lock at the end of the day…and we tied to the floating dock there to spend the night. Quiet rural setting…with two other boats of French speaking Canadians…they pretty much help and then leave you alone…cause you don’t speak the language.  Picnickers, fisherman, dogs and children… it was a busy little park area…and then who should go whizzing by with a wave and giggles…those men on PANDORA II…lol…no damage…and they went from being thirty minutes ahead of us all day to thirty minutes behind…then boom bang…two more French speaking boats arrive…one is nicknamed Captian Boom Boom…lol…not the most graceful docking…

Turned on our phones to check in …discovered all our Looper friends are stuck on the flooding Erie Canal...Dee is gonna buy a condo by us…and Ryne misses Gma and Papou…We had steak and veggies on the aft deck…it was a great ending to a great day. 

JULY 2…our 100^th anniversary (months, that is!)…Locks open at 9 (these are my kind of people)…Sun is shining but wind is blowing…temps are cool…we are making preparations to leave the dock when a sailboat (PANDORA II) and a small motor boat (HORSE WITH NO NAME) zip right by and we hear them talking to the lock master…we pull out and join the line and here comes TRITON a boat we saw in Waterford…not the way we had hoped this would start…Lockmaster lets us all through the low bridge but then makes us and Triton wait on a wall, while they lock the other boats down. So we will be locking through with TRITON all day…could be worse! The canal is very narrow…speed limit is 6 mph, sometimes only 3 mph…we are being passed by bicycles and electric wheelchairs…even a rather fat man on a really slow Vespa went zipping by us on the cart path next to the Canal. Locks and bridges are mostly timed to be open and ready for you when you arrive…We had great fun practicing our very limited French…(Dakota even barks in French now) …we had to wait on a couple of walls for other boats to pass but really it gave us time to be social with TRITON and give Dakota a grass break.  We loved it…lock workers could not have been more helpful…smooth and slow ride in every lock…wind kicked up a couple of times but we handled it just fine…Down 80 feet…10 miles in 5 hours…then we trucked on for another 20…hey, the sun was shining and Dakota had already had several potty breaks.

Charts and books we are using said more than once to “watch and be very careful going through the bridge at Beloeil” …and we did…but as we flew by, there stuck in the shallow section,  was PANDORA II…we had serious flashbacks of a bridge we encountered in Marathon…the police and another rather official looking rescue boat was there…and there really was nothing we could do…so we went on. Into the land of cable ferries…three small towns…three small cable ferries…be careful of passing too close…you’ll get caught in their cable…

St Ours lock at the end of the day…and we tied to the floating dock there to spend the night. Quiet rural setting…with two other boats of French speaking Canadians…they pretty much help and then leave you alone…cause you don’t speak the language.  Picnickers, fisherman, dogs and children… it was a busy little park area…and then who should go whizzing by with a wave and giggles…those men on PANDORA II…lol…no damage…and they went from being thirty minutes ahead of us all day to thirty minutes behind…then boom bang…two more French speaking boats arrive…one is nicknamed Captian Boom Boom…lol…not the most graceful docking…

Turned on our phones to check in …discovered all our Looper friends are stuck on the flooding Erie Canal...Dee is gonna buy a condo by us…and Ryne misses Gma and Papou…We had steak and veggies on the aft deck…it was a great ending to a great day. 

Lots of Wi Fi issues in Canada…so you’ll be missing photos…but here is what’s happening so far….

July 1… Canada Day…Today is the day…we have just a few miles to travel and then we pass into Canada…a stop at the Customs Wharf is required…yellow flag to fly…no one leaves the boat but the Captain. He has gathered passports, Dakota’s rabies info, boat registration, counted cigars and liquor bottles…we are a tad over the limit on that…

It is cloudy, cool…windy…and we are the only boat at the wharf…two very official looking 12 year olds (I’m sure they were older as they wore guns) escorted the Captain into the office…less than five minutes later we were outta there…amazing!!! They didn’t care that he was over his limits…we boogied outta there so fast that Floyd forgot all about that yellow flag until we were 30 minutes out.

And then the rain came!!! The plan was to arrive at St Jeans Marina before it started…yeah, well, that didn’t work so well. We were drenched!!! And docked on the fuel dock…no slip for us…and one electric cord (three attached together actually) strung through the puddles. Not worth the money, that’s for sure. We had wet clothes and coats hanging everywhere…the sun would shine and then the rain would return. During one sunny moment we walked down to Lock 9 of the Chambly Canal to purchase our seasonal canal pass and the seasonal mooring pass. These passes will be good on Chambly, Richelieu, Rideau and Trent-Severn Waterways.

We are excited about this Chambly Canal…10 miles…9 locks and 9 low bridges …predicted 3-5 hour travel time …in what we would call “baby locks”. Hand operated…French speaking…the list of Canal preparations is enough to make the First Mate jittery…they use their own lines but want you to have yours ready…fenders on both sides…boathook and gloves…locks are 21 feet wide and 100 feet long (very small when compared to those we traversed on the Mississippi)…we are hoping no other boats appear.

 Of course, as we walked back to the boat it rained! More wet clothes…though I had opted to just wear my wet ones on the trip…you know who didn’t…LOL…and we kept hearing band music…well, even in the rain, it is Independence Day in Canada…Oh, and we noticed a large U-haul type truck full of pyrotechnics and people 200 yards across from us on an island…you guessed it…fireworks at 10:00PM.

Dakota and I ventured out once more…trying to get our steps in while the sun was shining…only to get drenched again…Don’t know where we managed to hang all these wet items…but somehow we did.

Marina had a nice restaurant...so we ventured up to try it…yes, menu was entirely in French and our waitress barely spoke English…but we were amazed at how much we understood….strangers in a foreign land…had a lovely meal and then waited for those fireworks…cause man-oh-man, we have front row seating for this one. If the wind blows or they have a miss fire, we are toast. Dakota was not impressed. We were sort of looking forward to an early night…we have work to do tomorrow…but just like at Fort Edwards last week…people people people…and fireworks. But then the band music returned…don’t these folks have to work tomorrow??? We don’t really know when it finally stopped…we went to bed.

June 30.... Mooney Bay Marina....lots of boats...no dock hands...we couldn't even raise them on the phone. Good thing we can manage just fine by ourselves...Floyd and Dakota finally started the long walk from the gas dock to find help for adding fuel...and someone appeared...fueled and then showed us our slip....and then disappeared. Once again, we managed just fine...thank you very much.  We picked this place partially because of the listed restaurant...and even asked about it when we made the reservation call...they just forgot to mention that it is only open Thursday thru Sunday. hhhhhmmmm, it's Tuesday! 

I spent the afternoon doing laundry...Floyd finished a couple of chores and made preparations for Canadain customs inspection tomorrow...shouldn't be a big deal as he is a pretty strict rule follower! I'm the troublemaker...like you needed to be told! Lol

And the French boaters are here!!! In fact, we ae hard pressed to find an American boat in this crowd. A big 62' cruiser arrived late afternoon...stirring up the entire marina ...he's got way too many toys and gadgets...and crew! Fun to watch...easy to look at...can't understand a word they say! What are we thinking??? 

ADVENTURE....Challenge....giggles I'm sure!! 

Our ride to Point Bay Marina was uneventful ... Just the way we like it....passed Fort Ticonderoga ...another chance missed for fort-lovin' Floyd....

Point Bay was a big place....in the middle of nowhere Charlotte, Vermont...not much help when it came to docking...and no restaurant...but a lovely view of Lake Champlain. Dakota won another heart...and she wanted breeder info, so maybe one of his relatives will end up here.

We continue to be in the area close to Clinton Penatentary. For some reason our phones keep reminding us of just how close we are...haven't decided if that's a heads up about strangers or a warning that they might have room for me....lol.

We are loving the depths we see on the chart plotter...today 399... Oh, and zebra mussels have started to appear so the water should begin to clear too. Floyd has requested more sunshine and less rain. It seems that we've spent more time at lower helm and in rain gear than anything else. I don't really mind the cool...as I'd rather be cold than HOT...and I have a new sweat shirt!! Lol....

Mooney Bay Marina is on tap tonight...June 30... Tomorrow we celebrate Canada Day by entering Canada...French speaking Canada....we could be in serious trouble here...we have added an international package to our cell and data service...stay tuned to see how that works...what you may get is comments and no photos for this stretch....we'll see how it tallies up.

PHOTOS... So the weather is never as bad as they predict...and this time they were way off. Rain that was suppose to start late afternoon didn't start until after 10PM... Heavy downpour wasn't...it was a nice gentle rain...gone by 8AM... So we headed north...saying goodbye to our new friend Bill, who is in line to babysit sweet Dakota....that line continues to grow!

As we came through lock 11...only one side of each lock door was working...and we didn't see anything there that we thought would have been a good place to weather wait....

Same issues at lock 12... And through the town of Whitehall...we are convinced we made the right choice to wait at lock 9...

On to Chipman's Marina, where we are docked in front of our Norfolk friends we often hear and travel with but have yet to get face to face time with....Jon and Lynn on ZENDO...across the dock at Norfolk at the Looper Rendezvous ..on the wall at Delaware city ( but they weren't really there) ...left with us to go to Cape May...but stayed at a different marina...traveled with us to Atlantic City...but stayed at a different Marina...pulled into NYC but were gone in a flash....left Waterford the day we arrived...we like to call this "looper Hopscotch....though sometimes it is mostly hop....here we are...finally enjoying docktails. They had a great guide book to the route north so we made a few copies of important pages...like the French to English translation pages!! We had a wonderful visit...once our sweet Dakota finally settled down....they will follow us up Lake Champlain and then plan to take a right turn at the St Lawrence and head to Quebec while we'll go left to Montreal working our way to Lake Michigan..so it was great while it lasted...but it didn't last long. I'm sure our wakes will cross again somewhere some how...that's how this boating stuff works!

We are waiting on the 40' sailboat that docked overnight on the fuel dock to leave so that we can fuel up (at American prices) before heading north..we had hoped to get away by 10 AM...that's not gonna quite happen....another night on the Vermont side of Lake Champlain, then one night on the NY side before we enter Canada. We got stung big time by Version on our last rip through so we will probably error on the side of caution this trip through...most all  of July will be spent in Canadain waters...and yes, we'll probably get to re-experience the Frenchie holiday travelers...what are we thinking???

Stay tuned to see how we fair in French speaking Canada...Hetty Bailey, we need you!

Saturday morning...called the lock, he said "come on over...but if you see a barge, you'll have to wait.".... So, of course, by the time we got there, we saw a barge. Waited ever so patiently for him to lock through...when another appeared behind us....we were thinking bad thoughts about having to wait again....and having to wait all day ...following them up the canal...when the lock master announced that he'd let the pleasure boat (that's us) go next...and oh, this barge and tow are not going far...just up the canal to get fuel and off load.

Woo hoo...it's our lucky day....but first we have to get by them...again, the narrowest, barge crowded, tow boats working area....makes me ever so glad I'm not the boat driver.

 In and out of lock 8...lock master never said a word.

At Lock 9, the guy was all about the weather...we commented on his lovely area ...he said it is usually busy with locals....and how where we were going wasn't the best place to be in high water....he suggested another place...as we exited, I got to drive while Captain considered alternatives. He didn't like what he saw...called the lock master at lock 12 who recommended we turn around and stay on the wall at lock 9... The highest point of the system...and a lovely open rural area.

Hey, we're good with that. Bill, the lock master, has become our new best friend. Offering to take us to town or whatever...but we are good....So 11AM...and here we are ...all alone on the wall at Lock 9... No electric...but descent tie up...and wide open running room for the crazy Dakota...so we'll run him several times today...cause rain is a-coming. They say 3-5 inches...serious downpour tonight and tomorrow....slacking off on Monday. Shouldn't be an issue when you are at the top of the system. Right?

Friday morning...June 26.... 8:45 Floyd and two friends took a taxi ride to hit West Marine when it opened at 9.... They were back on the dock shortly...where Floyd gave it two tries to fix the leak in the dinghy floor....didn't work so well....but since we have another kit and another idea, we thought it best to get on down the line.

Today we entered the Champlain Canal system.....67 miles and 11 locks...to Lake Champlain...then Canadain canal/locks to Montreal...Ottawa...Kingston...Trenton...etc...we had high hopes of going 37 miles today....6 locks...several 17' bridges...and spending a quiet night on a free lock wall in Fort Edward NY...said good-bye to Jorge and Barbara....Dakota's girl friends Mona and Lily...and off we went.

It was a calm, cool, clear ...beautiful...day to be boating...we've learned a thing or three about "locking thru"... And lock masters were courteous enough to be ready when we got there....and then....and then...we got a radio call from "BEAVER" (  though it sounded like Beva)... Seems he was a large empty scow headed our way...heads up! Of course we were in the narrowest, barge crowded, guard gate section of the canal...somehow, Captain found a small spot to tuck in and maintain while he passed by...still right on tap to make that planned destination.

5:45 PM...We round the bend, slip under two 19' bridges....to be greeted with the town carnival, tents of vendors and music...

yep, seems it is Heritage Days in Fort Edward....so much for peaceful night on the free dock. It was like being in the middle of Fredonia Homecoming without the parade...Riverfest Wichita at its finest...we joined two other boats who seemed to be there on purpose....had the best spot for people watching and scouting out the action...music was to our liking and not too loud...and then someone mentioned fireworks at 10...people people everywhere. Floyd got to answer lots of questions about how you get a boat this size outta Kansas, where we'd been, where were we going, etc....while I scored 2 purses, 3 headbands  and a tie-dyed t-shirt for the lil man...

10PM...right on schedule...the fireworks fired up...

loudest we'd encountered in quite some time...Dakota headed below...we oooohhhhed and aaaahhhhhed appropriately....and then poof, people are gone...music is over....carnival is quiet....

We plan to leave between 7-8AM on Saturday...weather the next couple of days is full of serious rain...we want to be tucked in safe and sound.