Lovesick Island

8 more locks, beautiful scenery and a long day.  It started off cloudy but promised to clear up and get warm—promise kept.  Right at 9am we entered Ashburnham Lock # 21 with Pura Vida (42’), Captain’s Choice (40’) and a little run-about cuddy (about 20’). Since we are 44’, it was tight in the 100’ Lock and that  configuration is how we stayed the whole day.  Pura Vida led the way and the run-about pulled up the rear.  You would think that that through 8 locks we would have it down pat—not.  One time I looked up and Captain’s Choice was holding our anchor off their dingy. There were all sorts of shapes—do the front boats want to pull up tight ?, going to the 3^rd cable to wrap my rope behind—in one the 2^nd rope was gone (confusion), and where the lock people were very helpful the first 20 locks these just let you wing it.  We came through Peterborough Lock which is the largest hydraulic lock in the world, completed in 1904-each of the 2 pans weigh 1300 tons when 1 fills and the other goes up/down—way cool and fast .  Then on to Clear Lake and Stoney Lake scenery superb—a mini thousand islands with clear brown-ish water. We sit on the wall at Lovesick Lock – on an island with 2other boats full of grandparents, their kids and their kids, they are out traveling the canal for a week, staying on lock walls, building a fire to grill on, swimming, fishing –makes us miss our kids.  Mark and Karen from Captain's Choice are tied on the lock up top--they came over and we compared notes. Tomorrow off to Bobcaygeon (bob-k-jun) to a fun little town--claim to fame a big shoe store. 

Great island home on a big pink and gray rock

 


Going into the Peterborough Lock

View from the top of the Peterborough Lock

Beautiful sunrise at Lovesick

 

A day off in Peterborough

Rain, 2 loads of laundry and a visit to Boaters World proved to make me want to lay around and finish my Candice Bergen book (a Fine Romance). But now I mourn—this was a really fun read and it is going to be a hard act to follow.  Fitz finished the latest Jack Reacher/Lee Child book today as well.

Band Shell from which  Randy Bachman played  last night

 

Bi-centennial Fountain

 

Fireman's Memorial

 

Fun Group 1 (there is Sunny Days out the window)

 

2

 

3

 

 

Garden on the grounds

It rained all day but we went around the marina to get lots of pictures to share here. Tonight it is docktails with the Loopers at Freya and Don’s.  Kat in the Hatt traveled here with visitors they picked up in Hastings-future Loopers, Mark and Jo-nel.  They had a cold, windy travel day and are ready to have a cocktail and trade stories. Freya and Don are Gold Loopers-meaning they have already completed the trip at least once and they have great stories and a lot of local knowledge.  There were 12 of us in the aft salon of The Last Resort quizzing them.  It was a delightful evening.   Tomorrow is a travel day and we may anchor out a couple of night and will definitely be without Wi-Fi for a few days.  With Wednesday being Canada Day, I am not sure how much room at the inn there is going to be in this week’s travel. 

Peterborough

Along with Gimme Time (AJ and Amy), we took off for Peterborough bright and early-8am.  The rainy, windy weather was moving in around 3pm and tomorrow it is supposed to be worse and cold—60 degrees or as they say here 15c.  We blew out the turbo’s as we crossed Rice Lake for about 20 miles then up skinny waters for another 20 miles and reached Peterborough before the weather moved in.  The Peterborough Marina is awesome –the kids that run it are eager to help and with the wind blowing like it was today it was all hands on deck.  Freya Petersen and Don Bennett are  Harbor Hosts for the AGLCA (Loopers) they gave us wonderful welcome bags with goodies and information about the town.  Sunday evening  we will meet up with the whole group docked here for docktails 5 and then on Canada Day (Wed.) all are invited for dinner and cocktails that they are providing—we will most probably be gone and will be sorry to miss but these Harbor Hosts are great.  The marina’s park has free concerts every Saturday and Wednesday night. Tonight Randy Bachman (of Bachman Turner Overdrive and The Guess Who—music of my youth) is performing in concert free tonight.  As I write, it is raining hard—wasn’t sure the concert would come off--

Fly Fishing from a paddleboard on the Otonabee River

Camps along the Lake

 

Harbor Host Freya with Fitz and AJ and Amy

 

 

Rainy concert out our port

 

Storm clouds moving in--we were glad to be in the Marina

but it did and it was great!  Being the wusses we are we sat in the boat and listened—Let it Ride, No Sugar Tonight, American Woman and a weird version of Undun .  We had the best seat in the house.

Hastings

6 more locks down and we pull up to the wall in the tiny burg of Hastings with our running buddies—no one feels like fixing dinner.  We are told the only place to eat is a little joint called Banjo’s so we picked up fellow travelers, Karen and Mark and the 8 of us make the short trek across the river. All the servers had on T-shirts that said “Order what you want, Eat what you get”—alrighty.  It took a little while to get a table and the attention of our server but once we did she was worth the wait.  Asked her name—she said it was Barb, but she had always wished her parents had named her Bianca.  So, of course, she was Bianca the rest of the evening.  Many of us ordered the special-- Arctic Char cooked in a bag—exquisite.  Fitz ordered the sandwich special and it came with fries with gravy (closest to poutine we have come).  When Bianca brought this she asked him if he would like vinegar—he asked her what she would use it on—she said “you’re not from around here are you?” Apparently they not only put gravy on French Fries but vinegar as well.  We fell into bed fat and sassy.

These geese were outside our door at Hastings--there are as many geese as people here!

Getting ready for Canada Day-July 1st, notice the giant ice cream cone

Terry calls these Pigeon Perches
 

Campbellford, Ontario

After 6 more locks,  we come into Campbellford where the landscaping is precise in front of the water front homes and the town spans both sides of the canal.  We pulled up on the wall behind Gimme Time and Cat in the Hatt where we registered with the Chamber of Commerce who run the show,  dispense local knowledge and give us Wi-Fi access.  We went to the Stinking Rose Pub for dinner along with the other boaters where we ordered a few flytes of the local brew and literally everything on the menu.  The Pub offered the best people watching so far –locals playing Uchre, the town matriarch holding court at the bar and one waitress (Meaghan) took care of both bar and food.  Next morning, sporting a little cotton mouth, we are off to Duer's Bakery.  Within a short walking distance of the dock, we had been told the bakery put out the donuts around 8:30 and they were gone by 11am--we stood in a long line and bought way too many but they were so worth it--similar and maybe a little better than our Krispy Kreme.  We did the hour walk to the Raney Suspension Bridge to walk them off.  Our last inverter battery should be delivered noon-ish and then we will take off for Hastings--a very fun stop.

Locks 11 and 12--double lock last one before Campbellford

Locals playing Uchre --adding to the fun

Great name for a Pub

Fun time was had by all

Big statue of the 2 dollar coin (Toonie)

Long and winding canal--a very rural start

Frankford is our first stop along the Trent Severn.  This canal system goes for 240 miles, 44 locks and if we pace ourselves we will enjoy a week to 10 days of cruising the scenic sites.  First day we did 6 locks, all timed to get us immediate access and they will handle 2 boats at a time.  Gimme Time with AJ and Amy from Charlottesville, VA shared all 6 locks with us.  While locking up, AJ and I had a fun time discussing baseball since Vanderbilt and UVA are playing for the NCAA championship in baseball tonight.  Neither of us are great baseball fans but know good sports programs when we see them and I happen to think Vanderbilt’s baseball coach (Tim Corbin) is about as good as it gets.  Go Dores! A sweet lady named Stella happened upon my blog a week ago and emailed me about our trip.  She lives in Frankford, near Lock 6 and came by to say “hi” right after we got tied up for the day.  She reported seeing The Duchess of Chaos (the boat with the family with 5 children and a dog aboard) last week coming through—good to hear they are moving along and apparently doing well. She is English and told us a little of the local lore. A lot of people that live in this area were born and raised here and many are part of a group called Empire Loyalist (U.E.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Empire_Loyalist







All the locks are opened and closed  with swing gates operated by the informative lock masters 



Stella
 

 – they are sort of snobby so it is hard to live here if you weren’t born here.  Along many of the locks you can just tie up for the night at a minimal cost and so that is what we have done tonight. Attached to the lock is a park where people come to swim and camp.  There is a food concession stand and we walked down for and had  ice cream for happy hour.  This picture shows a lot —first notice it is really expensive but the real fascination are the local dishes.  Peameal is a kind of ground bacon rolled in cornmeal and fried.  Pogo’s are corn dogs, Thunder Crunch—a fried chicken sandwich, Pop—cokes, Poutine is french fries with cheese and some kind of gravy and are served in some of the best restaurants as well as parks. 

Trenton

Left anchor at Picton around 9am and by 2pm we were tied up at Trenton—at the start of the Trent- Severn.  We picked up some gusty winds the last hour of the trip so we were glad we had not waited until later.  Coming by Belleville, via Big Bay into Trenton we noticed a big airplane circling—damned if  we didn’t see 5 parachutes come  out (with people attached) and drift to the ground—next door to our marina is the biggest Canadian Air Force Base—we have now seen jets fly over too –cool.   Craig at Fraser Park Marina greeted us with a great staff of kids and we are settled in for a couple of days.  We had mail (thanks Nick) and our Canadian Canal Pass sent here and all were waiting on us.  We thought we were going to be here last Monday (had made reservations) but as we told Craig,  weather and scenery made us a week late—this was not the first time he had heard this and he graciously took us in.  There are lots of restaurants and stores within easy walking distance of the marina.    Fitz has already had a communications burp—he was buying a part and asked for it to be put in a sack—3 times, louder each time—finally the guy said “Oh you want it in a bag”.   The Dollar Tree, where everything is now $1.25, is within easy walking distance as is the Metro Grocery.  Today was stormy early and the wind was gusty so we will stock up with groceries and bolstered with a lot of local advice we will plan the next couple of weeks. We have met up with Loopers-- Gimme Time and Cat in the Hat and will head up the Trent-Severn tomorrow morning with them. 

Heading into Trenton and Fraser Park Marina

Craig and his staff got us tied up and braced for winds and storms

The kids were great to help with Terry's project--change out the inverter batteries



Ozzie Bell not only took Terry to the battery store but was a font for local knowledge on the Trent-Severn

Leaving Kingston

Beautiful Kingston Skyline from Fort Henry

Kingston's Confederation Park--next to our Marina

The bands march daily at Fort Henry

To leave behind the big city of Kingston with its Tragically Hip Way (named for a Canadian band supposedly big stuff—Fitz and I have never heard of them), the educated (Queens College, Royal Military College, St. Lawrence College) and imprisoned (big prisons here) of Canada was hard to do after just 2 days but we are anxious to get to the Trent-Severn.  We also leave our traveling buddies-Rahn de Vous—they are traveling up the Rideau.  The weather window presented itself and we took off.  We bought the Canada plan for our phones so we can text and call but that is about all.  I have become addicted to the Navionics and weather apps on my phone and once we left the Confederation Basin Wi-Fi,  I could not get either so we are winging it like the pioneers of 5 years ago.  Around 2pm we pulled into a fantastic anchorage in Picton Bay at Hopewell Mills inlet.  It is beside an abandoned marina (sorta spooky) but it made for a deep, calm, well protected anchorage (albeit a little buggy).  Sunday morning we put down the dingy for the first time since we were on the Chesapeake and went into explore the little town of Picton.  This little burg had more boats than people but was very picturesque. Fitz heard from the kids to wish him Happy Father’s Day so he fell asleep with a smile on his face—Life is Good.  

Home of John A. MacDonald--hero of Canada in the 1800's

Welcomed by the egret in Picton

Our anchorage was great--and down the hill from a bar

Picton is so far  from a big town, I am surprised that more don't fly in

Picton

Canada

This country girl has never been to Canada so I am really looking forward to it.  There was a terrific/calm bay right off Boldt Castle and the night promised to be calm and warm so we anchored (for the first time in a year) and enjoyed a wonderful evening. Bright and early we took off with Rahn de Vous through the middle channel and Kingston, Ontario, Canada.  The ride down Middle Channel, through the Navy Islands, down the Bateau Channel was a bit confusing.  We crossed paths with 2 cable driven ferries-- once they are docked at either end, the cable drops to about 30 ft. deep and we can then cross.  Weaving in and out of many of the 1800 Islands that make up the 1000 Islands area was interesting and full of beautiful summer homes and the converging waters made for some churning water. By 1pm we pulled into Confederation Basin in the Kingston Harbor, we checked in with Canadian Customs and declared all our alcohol.  They were unconcerned with our open bottles so we just confessed to our bottles of wine.  Seems they will let alcoholics slide.  In Canada we are now a number—20151690323….Kingston is a pretty big town with lots of restaurants and shops.  It is the home of Canada’s only military academy and has a lot of historical sights (they love the War of 1812 up here) and museums.  We will spend a couple of days here.   Today is Craig’s birthday and our 39th anniversary so we are going to Chez Piggy--it was started by a guy who played with the Lovin Spoonful back in the day named Zal Yanovsky.  He and his wife opened it 33 years ago and now their daughter runs it. 

Mom and babies

Karen and Craig Rahn-- running buddies--they now head up the Rideau Canal

Sunny Days liked anchoring out

Homes in the 1,000 Islands sometimes take up the whole island

 

Leeton Castle (otherwise known to the world and locals as Boldt Castle)

This was a magical day.  Beautiful/perfect weather took us from Clayton to Leeton Castle and, oh my, the castle was magnificent.  We went up the St. Lawrence Seaway to Heart Island (about a  

Last sunset in Clayton

2 hour cruise), under the Canadian/US bridge—I-81—to a Cinderella-like castle.  Along with Karen and Craig aboard Rahn de Vous , we toured the main castle in the morning and then around noon we had a picnic on the grounds.  In the afternoon we went to the yacht/boathouse and the children’s playhouse (2 billiard rooms, bowling alley and bedrooms), then the powerhouse and hennery—oh my, to be a billionaire.  Then we went about 500 yards across the bay and anchored for a calm, perfect night.  All day long we thought about our grandchildren (Leeton and Holden) and how they would love this setting.  Tomorrow we will head into Kingston, Ontario—check into customs and dock at Confederation Basin Marina for a couple of days before we head to Trenton and the Trent-Severn Canal.  Great first castle of the trip and first anchorage of the trip.

 

Heart Island

Leeton/Boldt Castle

Children's Playhouse