Starting the Trent-Severn

 Wednesday morning, July 18^th, we started toward the Trent – Severn Waterway.  Our destination for the evening was a mooring ball on the east side of the Long Reach.  A couple had posted on the AGLCA forum that they had recently set a mooring ball and invited loopers to spend the night.  So we took them up on it.  Turns out it is a couple in their 40’s with three children (17,15,10—I think I have that correct) who are considering doing the loop in the next year or so.  When we arrived Kenn was there to greet us and help us attach to the mooring ball.  His wife, Kim, was the physician at a boys’ camp her sons were attending, so we did not get to meet her or the sons.  However, Kenn and his daughter, Katie, a delightful budding hockey player, came aboard and we had a very pleasant visit.   One of the best stories was Kenn’s entry into the world of maple syrup this past season.  It was fascinating to hear how this is done.

Kenn and Katie leaving on their jet ski

Kenn's mooring ball on Long Reach

Thursday morning we left the mooring and, as you can see, we truly entered the Trent-Severn Waterway.

Going under this bridge was quite a thrill!

 This is one of the milestones.  We have heard so many people rave about the Trent-Severn that we can hardly believe we are actually here on it!  The locks are very similar to the ones on the Rideau, so no new learning curve there.  We went through 4 locks and tied up on the wall above number 4.  Rich and a friend, Mike Long who lives in Toronto,  are supposed to join us on Friday—that is if Rich’s plane decides to take off.  His last text was "four hour delay and holding".  Remember this is the guy who didn’t join us in Carrabelle for the Gulf crossing due to a gall bladder attack/surgery and then missed the Atlantic run to NYC because his flight was cancelled.  Do things really happen in threes?

Mike Long in port queen bee seat.
Mike brought two cool Canadian pillows and more .
The perfect gift for our boat!

Rich Ray in starboard queen bee seat.

As you can see, our new crew did arrive on Friday morning.  We let them have a few hours of relaxation and then trained them for the locks. Rich took over Tom's position on the back platform and Mike and I tended the front.  It was so nice to have someone else grab the cable so all I had to do was put the line around it and tighten down.

Rich in position on the back platform.

Rich, Linda and Mike--the crew.

A great spot to catch up with an old friend.

Friday night we arrived in Campbellford.  We went through 7 locks that day, the last being a double with a combined lift of 48 feet.  Looking down on where we started was quite a sight.

Raydiance at top of lock 12 after double lift. 

Rich and Mike with drop-off at their backs.

These boats were locking down as we were locking up.

Campbellford was a nice stop.  The east wall had 50 amp power, something we don't find often in Canada.  We visited the large tooney statue in the city park and had a fine dinner out followed by an excellent  game of Five Crowns.  Can you tell who won??

Raydiance on west wall at Campbellford.

Linda and Tom under giant tooney.
The tooney is Canada's unique $2 coin.

Suspension bridge near Campbellford.

Two of the best stops at Campbellford were the bakery (cream filled doughnuts and fruit tarts) and the chocolate factory!  Oh, the waistline!

Now how could anyone resist this?  Factory was right next door.

Saturday we fueled at Campbellford--at street prices.  Still higher than the states as Canada has more taxes, but the best price by far that we have found in Canada at $1.22/liter.  We lazed out and only went through three locks and a total of 5.5 miles before ending on the lock wall above lock 15 at Healey Falls.  Several boats were there enjoying the week-end, swimming, fishing, cook-outs.  We dined on grilled chicken, sweet corn from the farmers' market in Campbellford and purple string beans that turned green when cooked with the tarts for dessert.  YUM!

A cottage along the waterway. We all decided it would be a
fine place to spend a week or a summer.

A channel leaving one of the locks.  The waterway is often very narrow.

Many of these locks have hydraulic operated gates at the lower end
but manually operated gates at the upper end.

We tripled our progress on Sunday and went 15 miles and 3 locks ending in Hastings on the upper lock wall.  Several other boats were on the wall and we had a good visit with folks from Orillia who gave us pointers on where to stay and what to watch out for on Georgian Bay.  

Seaplane--not a bad way to access your cottage!

 Rich and Mike caught a ride back to lock 4 Monday morning with a man who runs the local tourist information shop.  They were a great crew--always willing to lend a hand and tell a story.


We are waiting to hear if Rich has another travel  drama.  Hopefully, this time it will go smoothly.

Bob Duthie says if birds are standing in the water, don't go there.
Good advice!

Wedding Trip to Maine

Banners at Killington Mountain
(Bill Gast you need to take your bike here!)

Tom and Linda at peak of Killington Mountain

We took a week off  from boating  to attend our niece, Leah’s, wedding in Wells, Maine.  With Raydiance  securely tied at dock in Collins Bay Marina,  a few miles west of Kingston, we hopped in our Jeep Grand Cherokee rental (thanks to Mike Long!)  and headed east.  The first night (Wednesday, the 11^th) we happened upon a wonderful bed and breakfast along the Champlain Islands—North Hero House.  Highly recommend it—delicious breakfast, comfortable beds and a beautiful location.

North Hero House

View from front of B and B

Vermont is absolutely gorgeous.  Our only timetable was to meet Rich in Manchester, NH Friday around noon, so we had lots of time to mosey around back roads and check out the Green Mountains.  We went by Killington ski area and decided to ride the gondola to the top.  View was great.  Then we happened upon Quechee Gorge State Park.  Pretty amazing drop! We kept seeing “Brake for Moose” signs, but the only moose we saw was wooden!

Green Mountains of Vermont

Quechee Gorge

Right! There are no moose in Vermont!

Friday we picked Rich up from the airport and Haley (having come by train from NYC) at Exeter and made a few stops along the coast of Maine at a fort and the beach.  Being the week-end the traffic was heavy which didn't put our chauffeur (a.k.a. Tom)  in a good mood.  So, on we went to Wells and cleaned up to attend the rehearsal dinner.

Rich and Haley at seashore

Hi Haley!  Are you locked in the fort?

Lighthouse on island at entrance to bay in Maine

Saturday sister Sarah joined us for breakfast and Nancy dropped in with her grandbaby, Maddie.  He is nine months and adorable.  We were put in charge while she helped Leah get ready.  What a trusting soul!  As you can see the baby tuckered out as did the caregiver.

Baby Maddox in our care!

Naptime!

The wedding was held outside on the grounds of the resort—rather warm, but the ceremony was short.   Leah looked stunning and Mike was very handsome.

Nancy and Leah

Grandpa and Maddie

Mike and Best Man

Nancy walking Leah to altar

Check out the starfish bride and groom!

Sunday “the fam” met in Portsmouth, NH for breakfast at Betty’s Kitchen.  Check out the sign.  Would you eat there after seeing that?  Actually it was very good.  How bad can lobster eggs benedict be?  I know, cholesterol!!!!

The fam after breakfast at Betty's
Haley, Aunt Nancy, Brian, Linda, Tom, Uncle  Rich, Aunt Sarah

Would you eat here?

  After parting ways with Haley back at Exeter and Rich at Manchester, we decided to explore northern New Hampshire on the way back.   This time we were in the White Mountains.  Coming across the road leading to the top of Mt. Washington, the highest peak in New England, we thought “Why not?”  So up, up, up the poor little rental car went, 6000+ feet with no guard rails.  It was chilly at the top (around 56 degrees), but the view was worth the drive and the brakes held up on the way down!!  The sign at the top tells that the highest winds ever recorded were on Mt. Washington—in excess of 230 mph.

Cog railroad leaving peak of Mt. Washington

High winds record sign

Yikes! No guard rails.

Rental car alone in parking lot.

View from the top

 We arrived back in Kingston late Monday night.  Tuesday was incredibly hot—a record 102.  And the air-conditioning chose to act up.  So Tom waited for the repairman while Connie and I went out on the town to celebrate my birthday.  Connie and her phantom husband (as we call him since we have never really met him!) had the boat next to us in Key West and Connie was part of the La-Ti-Da adventure.  They have a house near Kingston, so I had made plans to meet her upon our return.  Great woman with equally great boating stories!

Connie and Linda

Wednesday we left Collins Bay to begin the next part of the saga—The Trent-Severn Waterway.

Rideau Canal System

The Rideau Canal follows a park setting as it leaves Ottawa.

Swing bridge on edge of Ottawa.

We left Ottawa on July 5th heading out on the Rideau Canal System for Pirate's Cove Marina near Kempville.  We were very low on water and I needed to do laundry, so we chose a marina that was advertised to have both. Unfortunately the water was not potable and the washer broke after the first load. All in all, not a great choice for a stop.

The blue line before a lock

The next day we went through eight locks ending at Merrickville.  We had intended to go on, but the lockmaster said we could stay at the blue line early, so we opted to check out the town.  We were glad we did as the town proved to be interesting.  There was a Lions' Club campground next door to the dock and a sign in the park told that the first Boy Scout troop in North America was founded  through the Methodist Church  in Merrickville.

1st boy scout troop in North America

Lions' Club Campground

On Saturday, July 7th, we stopped at Smith's Falls for a short hardware store/fishing license run.  This message on the local Dairy Queen sign assured me we were in Canada, eh?   We spent the night on the wall at Poonamalie.  On a short walk around the docks, we saw two full grown St. Bernards that apparently were passengers on the 25 foot cruiser behind them.  I cannot imagine!

Large dogs on small boat

Very tight channel

Sunday after several more locks, we decided to stay in Upper Rideau Lake behind Loon Island.  We were the only boat anchored, but we were surrounded by cottages.  Tom tried his luck fishing both from the platform and the dinghy and did catch a few bass which he released.  I am still waiting for the walleye sandwich--white bread, walleye fillet, raspberry jelly, and vidalia onion.  We heard loons that night which was very cool and a bit eerie.

leaving Loon Island

trying out the new fishing license

These lakes are dotted with islands.

Mama loon and baby

Monday we met up with Ralph and Celeste aboard Say Good Bye.   There were some very tight turns on the run to Jones' Falls where we stayed the night on the upper lock wall.  A blacksmith shop with a working blacksmith  and a lockmaster/blockhouse with an interpretive guide were at this site.  We watched the blacksmith create a napkin ring which then led to the purchase of a set of four.

Raydiance on upper lock wall at Jones' Falls

Say Good-Bye coming through a narrow turn.

Blacksmith working on napkin ring.

Tuesday we decided to stay above Kingston Falls locks so we would have a short run into Kingston the next day. The sunset that night was gorgeous.

The next day we had to wait for upcoming traffic, so we got a late start around 10 a.m. down the last flight of locks on the Rideau.  After that, the river flattens out for four miles before coming into Kingston where it empties into Lake Ontario.

Coming into Kingston

Raydiance in last lock on the Rideau.

Running free on Lake Ontario

We left Raydiance at Collins Bay Marina for a week and rented a car to travel to Leah Farber's (Tom's niece) wedding in Maine.