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!!!