July 27, 2017 - Ottawa to Kingston Ontario through Rideau Canal

The next section of the loop for us, The Rideau Canal, quickly became one of our favorite so far.  We met wonderful people, enjoyed not only the history of the canal but a slow and peaceful pace.  The Rideau Canal opened in 1832 and is 126 miles of rivers, lakes and man made canals that links Ottawa to Kingston.  It is North America's oldest continuously operating waterway.  It was built originally for national defense (mainly from America) and commerce but is now a recreational boating haven.  Including the Flight of Eight in Ottawa we went through 46 locks and several swing bridges over the last 2 weeks.  Ken and I both are so glad we chose to make this part of our trip.

The one cloud over the trip was that we had no invertor or generator, so we had to strategically plan each night to make sure we had shore power.  Most of the lock stations have walls that we could tie up to for the night but not all of them had power.  Before we left Ottawa, we mapped out which lock stations had power and the distance between each one.  That was that easy part.  As it is summer in Canada, there were many boaters on vaca who were also vying for space on the wall, whether they needed hydro or not (Canadians word for shore power).  We soon discovered that cruising in the early day and docking up before 2:00 in the afternoon was our best chance for getting hydro.  I have to say this strategy did not fail us, even though a couple of our days only consisted of traveling less that 10 miles.

The day we left Ottawa was sunny and perfect spring weather for the middle of July.  :)  We traversed 4 locking stations, a total of 8 locks, that raised us 70'.  Being a Saturday, we encountered kayakers, canoers, seadoos, houseboats and cruising boats.  Lots of traffic but fun.

Ottawa suburbs - Hartwell Lock

Ottawa suburbs - This city takes it's weekends seriously.  What a party!

Little story before I go on.  Ken's sister, Patsi, bought Ken and I a 'damn it doll', as a send off gift.  She is to be used in times of frustration, to be banged against your object of hate and not hurt anything or anyone around you.  Our first stop after we left Ottawa had to be at a marina, not a lock wall and Ken got to take out his frustration on the generator.  Thank you Patsi.  Between a few drinks and Ms. DamnIt, he ended up having a good night.

So on with our adventures.  The next day we made it to Burritts Rapids and docked up at the top of the lock which was a 10' rise.  We had power so we were happy campers.  The highlight here was meeting Joni Bristow and Harold Hallem.  They were out for a Sunday afternoon walk and we were chilling in the park next to the Independence.  They spoke to Roofus, our little human connector, and the rest was history.  Such a wonderful couple!  We found that they had just married the weekend before and of course, we had to celebrate with wine toasts and got down to knowing each other.  By the time we separated, it felt as if we had known each other forever.  But that was not the end of our day, as they came back and asked if we wanted a guided tour and see some historical points of interest.  We had a blast.  As it turned out, we ended up at their homestead for cocktails, which is absolutely lovely with ponds including fountains and lots of beautiful landscaping and colorful flowers.  We ended our evening with dinner in Merrickville, which would be our next stop tomorrow.  We had such a good time, we all agreed to meet again in the next couple of days, which turned out to be Smiths Falls.  They offered to take us where ever we need to go, which at the moment was the liquor store (of course).  We walked to several of the sites in Smith Falls, including the old locks, that are no longer in use and Centennial Park where we later heard the bagpipes being played.  We had dinner and parted with many hugs and thanks.  Truly a highlight of the trip.  It is about the people, after all.  :)

Burritts Rapids - Joni and Harold.  It was their 1 week anniversary when we met.

Burritts Rapids swing bridge - The lock crew moved this bridge manually.  Impressive to see.

After Burritts Rapids lock we made it to Merrickville, a less than 7 miles trip but again hydro was available and we took it.  We went through 6 locks for a rise of 47'.  Great little village.  We had a nice lunch in the local inn, ate wonderful ice cream, did a little shopping and later Ken bought the most fabulous fudge.  The best was the orange dream cycle!!  Yum, Yum.

Merrickville - we were docked across from the village center.  Very quaint.

We grilled out and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

Our next day saw us only go another 14 miles to Smith Falls but we had made it through another 5 locks with a 53' rise.  This is where we met up with Joni and Harold again and had a wonderful day.  Each day that past we were more and more relaxed, as we were feeling pretty good about our track record so far as getting hydro.  We were praying our luck would hold out!

Old Slys - 2 locks and a railroad bridge.  Something new and different.

Smith Falls - Taking the Foo for fresh air and exercise.  Really a combination of she walks a little and we carry her a lot.

We visited the abandoned Smith Falls flight of 3 locks.  They were replaced with a single lock that could accommodate a new fixed bridge that was built in the 70s.  The old locks have flower pots and grass now at the bottom but still pretty to see.  Joni and Harold were with us (below).

Our next stop was the Narrows Lock.  Another amazing long day of 13 miles.  :)  We only did 2 locks which took us up 15'.  We were really getting into this slow and steady pace.  This was beginning to feel like a real vacation.

Narrows Lock - Ken really liked this one as it had chains that open the lock gates vs. the wooden rams on the other locks.

The next day we went through the Narrows lock that took us to the highest level on the canal at 338' from the Ottawa River.  And we took Independence up every foot of it.  Too cool!  From there on we starting dropping with the rest of the locks.  Our next stop was Chaffeys Lock.  This was our favorite place to stay, mainly because we got to dock up not 6' from the bottom of the lock.  Every time they released the waters on the downside we felt like we were in a whirlpool.  We even got to stick our feet in the water and wait for the gates to open to experience it ourselves.  Water was cool and clear one moment then a raging rapid the next moment.  Loved it.

There is also a great lodge here call the Opinicon.  Beautiful grounds and buildings.  We had a wonderful breakfast and we were able to use their internet.  Yoohoo, as internet was very rare on the canal as well as cell service.  Maybe why we enjoyed it so much, we had to disconnect, whether we liked it or not. 

Chaffey's Lock - The Opinicon Hotel and Resort

Roofus got lots of fresh air and exercise.  She wore herself out walking more than she has in a long time.  Have to say, that by the time we were heading back to the boat, she bee lined it there.  I haven't seen her leap down steps in a long time.  But poor girl, she forgets her age as she slept the rest of the afternoon. 

Chaffey's Lock - Great pic of Independence.  Home sweet home.

Once we left Chaffey's we made the run to Kingston, the end of the Rideau canal.  It was time to get back to reality and get the generator fixed.  We had ordered the impeller from a supply place in Kingston and were anxious to get this done.  It was long day.  Went 33 miles and through the last 12 locks, barely making the last 4 in Kingston Mills and in fact, were in the last group of boaters locking through for the day.  Arrived at 6:30pm in Kingston.  Found a mechanic but there was no impeller.  Long and sad story for us and even considered the extreme thought of giving it up and wintering the boat till next year, as there was no way we could do the Georgian Bay if we couldn't anchor out.  After we had our pity party, we came up with a game plan.  Ken called Atlantic Boat Yard back home and got James to order 4 impellers for us.  Yes, you read it right, FOUR!  Ken wasn't taking any chances.  SMILE.  Our next problem was getting them from good ole' USA to Canada.  We learned our lesson with the wifi booster that it takes forever for the mail to cross the international line.  The solution came with Rhonda, the dock master at the Clayton, NY city docks.  She is Roofus's buddy, who gave her treats everyday we were there.  Clayton is only about an hour drive from Kingston.  She happily agreed to allow us to overnight the 4 impellers to her home and we drove down the next day to pick them up.  It was nice to back in Clayton and America, if only for the afternoon.  Roofus got Rhonda maple cookies and we bought her doggy treats for all the marina dogs.  It was a family reunion.  With that, Johnny, our mechanic, came the next morning to work on the generator.  I can't tell you how sweet it was to hear the generator start up and keep running!  Yoohoo!!  We were ready to go.  It took team work and our heroes were James, Rhonda and Johnny.  You're the best.

So here we are, ready to go and head for Trenton Ontario, the entrance to the Trent-Severn waterway.  We plan take a couple of weeks to cruise the 240 miles.  And for the first time since starting this adventure 3 months ago, we plan to anchor out tomorrow night.  Still don't have an inverter but with the generator working, anchoring can now be a reality. 

Post scripts from Roofus:

I have found a new job for myself.  Chief Taste Tester, Extraordinaire.  My humans grill a lot and I have taken it upon myself to make sure they don't get food poisoning and also to make sure everything is cooked to tender perfection.  I started with hotdogs and hamburgers, and have worked my way up to pork steaks and chicken kabobs.  Though not crazy about the green peppers on the kabobs, they are on their own for those.  Hey, it's a tough job but someone has to do it.  What a good dog I am!  Yum-Yum.....

July 14, 2017 - Ottawa, Ontario

I mentioned in my last post that we planned to anchor out a couple of days on our way to Ottawa.  We found a lovely spot near Lower Duck Island about 5 miles from Ottawa.  Anchoring went perfectly....Ken and I communicated well, the anchor caught on the first try and we had a nice breeze with temps in the 70s.  We were so excited to finally get to anchor out and our joy turned to crap when the generator wouldn't start.  We had been living without the inverter but now the generator wasn't working....what the hell!  Both are new and of all our worries, these to pieces of equipment were at the bottom of our list of concerns as both were brand new.  Needless to say we had to find a marina so we could hook up to shore power.  Sigh!  We were able to dock at a marina in Gatineau, Quebec which is literally across the river from Ottawa and the entrance to the Rideau Canal, our next step in the adventure.  An end to a very disappointing day but in every cloud there is a ray of sunshine.  It turns out that for the 150th anniversary of the Canadian confederation there was a topiary display in Jacque Cartier Botanical Gardens and guess what, it was next to the marina we were in.  Being the optimist I am, I thought it was providence, so we took time to explore the art works.  We were not disappointed!!

Replica of original train connecting parts of Canada.  Roof of mail and passenger cars all grasses.

Representing Prince Edward Island - Mom and baby foxes.  Adorable.

Representing Quebec - One of 3 ships that explored Canada from Europe.  The violets represent the waters.  Beautiful.

Representing Northwest Territories - Love the muskoxen.  Grasses representing their hide.  Too cool.

Representing Northwest Territories - Can you tell I liked the muskoxen?

China partnered with Canada and had 2 topiaries of their own.

One of the China displays.  It's a lion.  Detail incredible.

Representing Newfoundland and Labrador - Native Canadian birds, the Puffins.  So neat.

So now that we are limited to shore power until we can get the generator and/or the inverter repaired, our planning consisted of "so where in the hell is the next place that has shore power that does not involve a marina charging $3.00 Canadian a foot".  To our great fortune (I won't call it luck, as that has not served us very well so far), the Rideau Canal has a lot of choices to dock at the lock walls and some have power but are on a first come first serve basis.  But I am getting ahead of myself and need to back up to our entrance into Ottawa.

The entrance to Ottawa from the river has a majestic skyline as we could see Parliament Hill (the central government (the equivalent of our DC skyline), beautiful stone buildings and the Flight of Eight Locks.  The Flight of Eight are a series of 8 locks, one after another, that moved Independence from the Ottawa River into the Rideau Canal, a total of 79' rise.  It took us about 2 hours to traverse all 8 locks.  We discovered that, we along with the other boats making the same trip were a main attraction for visitors to Ottawa.  It was like being in a fish bowl and there were more and more spectators as we move up the locks.  Roofus took it all in stride, as she got lots of oohs and awws, and had her picture taken many times.  We were able dock to the lock wall with power.  Yoohoo!  It was only 30 amp but that kept the frig and ice maker running (our priorities as you will have guessed from previous posts). 

View of Ottawa and the Rideau River dumping into the Ottawa River.

Our approach of the Flight of Eight Locks from the Ottawa River into the city of Ottawa.  The Fairmont Hotel in the background. 

Sign at the Flight of Eight Locks that we are entering the Rideau Canal.

Locking through the Flight of Eight.  Last lock.  Notice the spectators.

Flight of Eight Locks.  Our fishbowl view of people looking down on us.  Weird but fun.

We stayed here 4 days and enjoyed every moment of it, other than again, as in Montreal, we found a mechanic who he never showed up.  So no repairs were made here.  We did have some excitement on our first night but not of the fun kind.  We had intruders on the boat about 3:45 in the morning.  We both woke up at the same time and then heard another bump from above.  Ken leaped out of bed, threw on shorts and headed up.  He found 2 kids on the boat, one on the fly bridge and the other was coming down the fly bridge ladder.  Ken shouted "Get the f.... off my boat".  Which they promptly did with one kid shouting "Run, there is guy chasing us in the nude".  Ken's shorts were white so guess he looked like he was in the nude.  Ken was furious and needless to say, did not get much more sleep that night.  The little shits had left foot prints all over the boat (literally foots prints as one was bare foot) which Ken cleaned off and then later found that one of them had thrown my Carolina chair over board!!!  Needless to say, Ken did not see that as a great loss and considering what damage they could have done, I agree.  But still....

Notice the feet prints of one of our intruders on the dive platform.  Damn them.

The following days were much more calm.  We visited Parliament Hill, rode our bikes with Roofus in her puppy bag, walked to the By Water Market (oldest open market in North America), met other Loopers (including a couple from Hampton, VA who know Steven and Emily Struck, the former owners of our boat, small world) and took it all in.  Great city, nice people (who speak English as we are now in Ontario) and awesome food (Beaver tails pastries was decadent). 

View from the stern of Independence of the Rideau Canal.  Gorgeous.

Parliament Hill.  Love the rod-iron gates.

Parliament Hill, the Peace Tower.  Notice the gargoyles below the clock.

Main gate to Parliament Hill.  Again, love the iron works.

We took a pic of the Flight of Eight looking back towards the Ottawa River.  Count them, all 8.

By Water Market area.  Colorful and the hanging baskets were beautiful.

Lunch in the By Water market area.  Love the hanging baskets.

Not a beer drinker but the Kickesippi blonde was awesome.  Ken enjoyed the amber.

Post Scripts from Roofus:

I have to say that this was a nice stop.  Even though I did not get to go out much, I got lots of leftovers.  It was nice and quiet without the humans there.  Got to sleep and enjoy my new passion for sleeping on pillows.  My favorite so far is the dachshund pillow, which we have had for a while but never realize how comfy it was (pic to right).  As for the intruders, I never heard a sound and was actually quite distributed that my humans woke my up in the middle of the night for what appeared to me to be much ado about nothing.  Humans, go figure.  But they love on me constantly and feed me, so really can't complain.  At least for now. 

July 10, 2017 Montreal to Montebello, Canada

It has been a while since our last update, mainly due to having problems with the wifi booster on Independence, some technical, some user but mostly with the postal service.  Never thought it could be so complicated to send a package between countries.  A bit exasperating for Ken but we are back on line or at least till be pull out this afternoon.  We plan to be on the hook tonight!!

Let me pick up from where we left off on the last blog.  We completed the 7 locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway.  Locks 2 and 3 are in America, The Eisenhower and the Snell.  They both had floating ballards.  On our first attempt to catch one we found our loop wasn't big enough but with help from the lock attendant we got firmly moored to the wall and made a drop of 42'.  The next set of locks, the Beauharnois Upper and Lower were our first rafting experience.  Me met another looper from Emerald Isle, NC.  He's doing the Triangle Loop, which is the Erie Canal through the St. Lawrence Seaway and down Lake Champlain.  It was pretty easy and fun to have someone on our shoulder (as the Canadians refer to rafting).  One thing there is no shortage of are the geese and even more goslings.  They are everywhere. 

Snell Lock - Above, like being in a canyon.  Below, moored to ballard 6.

Canada - Beauharnois Upper Lock and another flock of geese.

Canada - Beauharnois Upper Lock and our rafting buddy.

Canada - Beauharnois Upper Lock where we dropped 42'.

Once we left the Beauharnois locks we got our first glimpse of Montreal.  We still had the Canal de Rive Sud which took us around the rapids into Montreal with 2 more locks at the end of this canal but it was impressive to think how far we had travel since May.

Lac St. Louis - First view of Montreal

Canada - Canal de la Rive Sud - lots of commercial traffic but easy to stay out of their way as they move slower than we do.

Once in Montreal we had our marina in sight but had to fight 5-6 knot currents before we got to calm waters at the entrance to Montreal Yacht Club marina.  Just to give some perspective, we normally cruise at 10 knots so it was quite an adventure to keep moving forward.  The Montreal Yacht Club is in Old Port section of the city.  Great location to exploring, eating, entertaining but the marina itself is 5 stars as its facilities were awesome, the dock master, Debbie, and her crew were very friendly, and we had a loner car which we could not have survived without.  We used it everyday picking up or dropping off family, shopping, vet appointment for Roofus and exploring.  One of the first places we went to was Schwartz's.  It was recommended as one of the best places to get smoked meat sandwiches.  It was delicious.  We also tried our first puntine which is fries smothered in gravy and cheese curds.  Yum Yum!

Montreal - Schwartz's smoked meat and putine.

Sweets and treats everywhere we went.  No question about having some but deciding which one was the hardest part!

Family joined us for our annual 4th of July celebration.  Mom and Dad came in a day before the kids were due to arrive.  It was the start of many hugs and kisses over the next few days.  Due to flight delays, Melissa arrived a day before Stephanie.  By July 2nd we were all together running around town, eating and just a bit of drinking. 

Montreal - Mom and Melissa in Old Port.  One of my angels.

Montreal - Mom, Dad and Mel in front of Notre Dame Basilica

Montreal - My mom and dad with Ken and Mel at the 1967 Expo Biosphere.

Montreal - Independence all dressed up for the 4th.  She got lots of compliments.

Montreal - Mom and Stephanie. My other angel.

Happy 4th of July from us to you!

There was a zip line in the park near by where the more adventuresome of the kids, Mel and Scott, took a ride.  I went along for play photographer. 

Montreal - We found telephone booths all around the city.  Haven't seen one at home for years.  Mel had to try it out.

Montreal - The Clock Tower beach right in the middle of Old Port.  Loved the blue umbrellas.

Montreal - My mom and dad.  63 years strong and still holding hands!!!!!!!

After the kids flew home, Mom and I headed to Notre Dame Basilica.  The church is all wood on the inside and beautifully hand painted.  We spent a couple of hours admiring it all and took the opportunity to also pray in the chapel.  So glad we went.

Stained glass windows and panels so bright and colorful.

Now this is a pulpit.

By July 6th everyone was on their was home.  I am really grateful that we had this time together.  I love my family.  It had gone much too fast but we will all be together for the Christmas holidays.  Hopefully my brother, Jeff and Ken's sister, Patsi, can join us then, as they were not able to make to Montreal.

After 12 wonderful days in Montreal, we left and headed to St. Anne de Belleview.  We moored to the lock wall of this lovely and quaint town.  We stayed 2 days and enjoyed walking the waterfront, shopping at the farmer's market and just soaking up the ambiance. 

St. Anne de Belleview - Lock in the background.  It was the weekend so lots of rafting with party goers.  Both pics same view but one day and one with an amazing sunset.

Locking through the Carillon lock was an experience.  There were 6 boaters including us in the lock.  All rafted up to each other except us.  The party continued while we rose 65'!!!  And at the top of the lock we were greeted by spectators.  All very friendly.  Roofus got lots of waves and treats from the lock attendants.

We are currently in Montebello, Quebec (pic below).  Great stop.  Lots of vacationers, boats and sea doos going all over.  Weather is prefect, sunny and warm!   From here we are planning to anchor out a couple of nights then head to Ottawa and the Rideau Canal.

Post scripts from Roofus:

I have enjoyed staying still for a change, so really liked Montreal.  I got lots of hugs and kisses when the human clan got together and they were so busy going out and about that I got to stay home and rest.  A couple of times they were gone too long but they made up for it later with leftovers and doggie bags.  I have decided I like sleeping on pillows especially the round one, my human calls paper towels.  :)