Thursday, June 27, 2002
 Departed Trenton around noon (after another
round of ice cream cones and a port-side boat scrub - compliments of Marj
& Gene, world class crew!) and entered the Trent-Severn Waterway.
We've been looking forward to this for weeks. The tranquility was
mesmerizing for the first eight miles, to Lock 6, where we tied up for the
night. We're making progress at about the same rate as this fellow we met
along the way.
Pearce bought a fishing license, watched the locals
pulling in Bass all around him while whatever was in the river ignored his lure,
and declared, "It's OK, I caught a fish once..." (Someone threw it to
him). Maybe somewhere up the line someone else will throw him one. We can only
hope.
After supper and a game or Trivial Pursuit we were entertained by an impressive
fireworks display put on by the local firemen... a precursor to Canada Day
weekend. It's like our Independence Day festivities in the US, fireworks and
barbecues... lots of fun!
Friday, June 28, 2002
Going through a lock is not only fascinating because
of the mechanics of how each one opens and closes gates and lets the water in
and out (more on that later), but we have an opportunity to talk to the
lockmaster and his assistants. Today as we locked through #7 at Glen Ross,
the lockmaster told us that his assistant, who was beginning her 2nd day, is the
grand daughter of the former lockmaster. He and his family occupied the
lock house for many years until traffic became so frequent that another hand was
needed. Since the government did not want to build another house for the
assistant, it eliminated housing for the lockmaster and converted his house into
an office and public rooms. The young lady told us that her aunt's bedroom
became the rest rooms, so she now asks her niece, "Are you keeping my room
clean?"
As we rose up in this lock, we spied a convenience store across the road which
displayed an ice cream sign. Breakfast had been several hours ago and the
crew was hungry, so after exiting the lock the captain maneuvered Kibon to the
west wall, and we enjoyed delicious "single cones" which were two huge
scoops. The owner of the store lived behind the lock house, and the
clerk's family lived across the road. This is a small community of less
than 100 people. The ones we met were friendly and talkative.
Another highlight today was going through our first real "flight"
at Ranney Falls. This one was two locks that follow each other. We
entered the first lock and saw a 24 foot high wall topped with the lock doors
another 24 feet high. Pearce said, "It's like being in a cave with no
top." Marj said, "It makes one feel so
insignificant."
The water filled the first lock, the doors opened,
and a boat came through. We exchanged places, the door closed, our waters
rose up while the other boat's waters went down. We both continued on our
way, 48 feet apart in height. We continued on to Campbellford where we
spent the night on the wall at the municipal dock. The special at Capers Restaurant,
just a two block walk from the dock, was Prime Rib. Superb! Well worth the
walk
Saturday, June 29, 2002
We're getting far enough away from civilization that cell phone sites have
become tough to find. Since we decided to forgo the expenditure of $6000 for a
satellite internet connection, we're stuck with a 14.4 baud connection. Uploads
and downloads are slower than that turtle. Much slower! Most of the time
non-existent, which is why these pages are coming in spurts.
We spent a leisurely day locking (another flight at Healey Falls), sightseeing,
and fishing. Somehow a batch of little Blue Gills and Yellow Perch jumped
into the boat -- enough to clean, ice down and plan for dinner -- finally
justifying Pearce's new Canadian fishing license.
As we moved on, the scenery subtly changed to include more rocks along the
shoreline and large stands of conifer trees. Many of the port and
starboard marks are embedded in concrete pilings that mark rocky ledges.
Today is the first weekend after school let out for the summer. It is also
a long holiday weekend -- Monday, July 1, is Canada Day. There were many
boaters on the water and families were gathered on their docks and lawns for
barbecues. All of the homes are immaculately kept, be they small cottages
or lavish estates. Although the speed limit is 10 kilometers, Pearce
occasionally sped up a bit through open water to satisfy the mosquitoes (ski-doo-ers)
who wanted to jump our wake.
Tonight we are docked at Lang's Marina, a bucolic spot on Rice Lake devoted to
families and fishing. It
reminds us of the summers spent in Maine and New Hampshire. The lake is
filled with islands big and small, inhabited or lonely. Thanks to our stalwart
hunter-fishers, we're finally having our fish fry at sunset on the boat as
it sinks slowly in the west.
Sunday, June 30, 2002
Didn't want to leave Lang's. Roy and Ann are the perfect
hosts, but thinking that the thirty or so miles to Peterborough would take
awhile (we've become used to 10 kilometers, remember), we readied to leave at
around ten. Someone (Pearce?) had left the transom water on after cleaning his
fish, so we had to re-supply. Actually a good thing because the Rice Lake water
tastes a lot better than Oswego water where we last filled up.
Kay was writing this log for Friday and Saturday while Pearce and Gene drove and
navigated through Rice Lake to the entrance of the Otonabee River. Marge
was engrossed in the galley proof of a novel that friend Jack Turner had sent.
(Hey, Jack, someday we will send you a critique when we get enough input... so
far, the voting is pretty positive!). We had to slow down again as we
passed the First Nation preserves and the areas where locals were fishing or had
moored their boats. The charts talked about swampy areas and rocky
ledges. We saw both and finally arrived at the next lock, #19, the
entrance to Little Lake and Peterborough. We are docked within sight of
tomorrow night's Waterfront Festival of Lights. We plan to stay here
another day to enjoy the celebration for Canada Day. The Swing Shift, a
big band, will play tomorrow and will be followed by a display of fireworks.
(Hope no one minds if we also celebrate July 4th a few days earlier).
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Special Canada Day Pix:
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Cruisin' The Loop Aboard Kibon