Dicey Navigating in Beautiful Georgian Bay!

Since my last blog entry, the viruses in my computer won their battle against me and it has not worked at all. Once I finally got my new boat battery (July 16) and I no longer had to fight the daily “no power” challenges, I've been without the computer on top of my phone never working in Canada. Luckily, Brian's computer and phone both work, so I've been saved. We are anchored all by ourselves in a beautiful cove next to Victoria Island, just a mile from Parry Sound where the boat will be docked for two weeks starting tomorrow morning.

When last I posted, we were at the final lock, Lock 45, of the 240-mile-long Trent-Severn Waterway. This picture shows how rough the current is once you leave the lock, from the powerful Severn River flowing over the dam. It was “exciting” staying within all the twisting channel markers with that current controlling my boat. I was just lucky I wasn’t coming in against this current. I heard many boaters say they really struggled and felt out of control as they tried to navigate into the lock. It is the shortest of all the 45 locks, holding no more than a single boat on a wall at a time (at least boats of my size). Nothing about this lock has changed since it was built in 1910. They still open the gates and valves by hand.

Once out of Port Severn, we entered Georgian Bay, the start of the 30,000 Islands area. It began immediately – glacial rock humps everywhere to avoid! It seemed like the gods had scattered dinosaur backs and giant potatoes. Luckily my Garmin chart plotter was working, and they also have the narrow channels well buoyed. It was fun winding through the maze, and eventually we emerged into the open bay and made a sharp left turn to head toward the marina where I’d get my new batteries. We anchored out in a bay and took the dinghy in to explore a small town called Victoria Harbour.

$1.29 versus $864.
The next morning we went to the marina in nearby Midland, where I had an appointment for the batteries which they said they had in stock. This photo was taken just as we were entering the marina, as this Canadian rowing team was exiting. After they load-tested the batteries, there was good/bad news – only one battery was bad, but they no longer had my new battery (they sold them the day before). That meant we had to wait until the next day for a new one to be delivered. Oh well, we needed groceries. I needed to change the generator oil. I needed a bike ride. I needed to clean all the bugs off the boat. We needed the A/C all day since it was so hot (95)and humid.


My bike ride early the next morning was first to a nearby historic military town with a tongue-twisting name – Penetanguishene. Beautiful ride and harbor! Back into downtown Midland I noticed many murals painted on the city buildings. I took several photos of them, and then read later that the city has the most murals of any town in Ontario. This photo was just one of about 20 I saw.

We finally got the battery installed and departed at 3 pm on Friday, July 16. The bill for the battery, the three hours of service (which was about 90 minutes), and the original electrician’s visit in New York five weeks earlier to simply add water, came to $864. !!! All this because I didn’t add $1.29 worth of distilled water to the batteries that said right on them, in big capital letters, “MAINTENTANCE FREE”. It was an expensive lesson that “maintenance free” does not mean maintenance free when it comes to boat batteries.

We returned to the point where we had left the narrow channel two days earlier, and continued along the maze of waterways marked by rocky islands and barely submerged rocky islands! It actually was fun navigating through the maze, and it actually took both Brian and me to figure everything out – which color is the next bouy (you needed to stay to the left of the red ones and to the right of the green ones); where will I turn after that; WOW, am I supposed to go between those rocks; oh no, another boat is coming through this gap at the same time in the other direction! Anyway, it was an adventure, and it was a Friday night, so every Canadian boat owner was out there (and for the next two days too!). I hope this picture captures what we kept encountering, and wondering if I’d make it through without hitting bottom.

Speaking of everyone being out on the water, look at this overloaded boat!!

We stayed Friday night anchored off the Georgian Bay Islands National Park, which was Beausoleil Island. Talk about a crowded anchorage!! Boats of all shapes and sizes, everywhere! And so many “rafted” together, meaning tied next to each other with fenders protecting their sides. Brian and I feasted on Swiss Mac n Cheese, the version with Gruyere cheese, one of Annette’s specialties. Yum. Course, the three rum fruit smoothies made the evening memorable as well!

The next morning we dinghied in to the island for a hike, but after ¼ mile the mosquitoes tortured us into hightailing it back to the boat. We then headed back into the maze of narrow channels on our way northwest toward Parry Sound. It was similar to the waterways along the Trent-Severn in one respect – charming cottages were everywhere! Just about every rock island or shoreline had cottages, and each was unique and fun to see.


We decided to get out of the wind for a peaceful lunch, and made our way into one of thousands of pretty anchorages in this waterway. We were near a cottage where the two adults and their three dogs suddenly all plunged together into the water! The third dog was outside my photo.

We should have stayed there the rest of the day, considering the increasing winds. Once we headed back to the channel, we continued to encounter numerous boats, probably since it was a Saturday afternoon. And I must point out, the people on every boat passing in either direction wave to each other! Those friendly Canadians! Anyway, the wind became extremely strong, and when our course took us into an open, unprotected area, the full brunt of Lake Huron (sorta) was beating against us.

The swells were bigger than anything I’d encountered yet. Luckily we were heading into them at a good angle most of the time, so the boat did pretty well. But when the course would change to where the swells would be hitting us from the side, I had to prevent this position by tacking, similar to what a sailboat must do into a wind. It was a real battle and not fun getting tossed around, so once we got behind an island for a respite, Brian read the chart book and noticed what looked like it would be a protected anchorage just a little farther ahead. Yes! It WAS a great anchorage, and I was glad to finally be out of the heavy seas. We had to anchor twice to get a good position in that strong wind, but we finally could relax a little, over a couple cold ones. By sundown a few hours later, the wind had died down.


The next morning -- this morning (Sunday) -- I went on a 21-mile bike ride entirely on what I discovered was the Pottawatomi First Nation property. I had the road all to myself, save for a single car when I was nearly done.

Once back to the boat with the bike in the dinghy, I took a long kayak ride since Brian wasn’t awake yet. I took this photo of Breaking Away out in the little bay from the kayak. When I finished, I commenced with some chores and then Brian finally awoke and made us scrambled eggs. He said to me, "I've put in 8 eggs, is that enough?" Oh my yes! Now we needed enough salsa for that amount of egg. We did!

Brian selected today’s anchorage, just a mile from Parry Sound, where we are right now. It was cool how Brian took to reading the charts and followed where we were and where we were going, or could go. He also enjoyed piloting sometimes, to give me a chance to look at all the surroundings. The natural rocky landscaping is incredible. We continued along the channels and passageways, through so many twisty narrows. Every island has a name too, and we passed by one called Annette Island, and another called Flossie Island (Brian’s stepdad’s mom’s name).

One last photo of me passing through one of the many “narrows” (they all had names followed by “Narrows”, and yes, they were tight squeezes!).

We dinghied into Parry Sound and looked around, and then returned just as it was starting to sprinkle. It was a good thing, because once we got back here, it really started raining for the next 12 hours! I took a nap, we played gin rummy, had a big pasketti dinner, and now it’s time for bed. My next blog should be from Idaho once my computer gets fixed. I hope to get a phone that works too!

Amazing Big Chute Rail Lock

My last blog posting said that we were still waiting for Brian's luggage. Well, it arrived about 90 minutes after I posted, at 1:30 am Sunday night. The next day, Brian took a much-needed shower and had his own clean clothes, so see how happy he is??

We departed Fenelon Falls Monday morning at about 10:30, and we cruised all day until 9 pm. We went through 7 locks, and all the way across the big Lake Simcoe. There was lots of interesting terrain, and I was glad Brian liked to drive the boat to give me rests.

One extremely interesting spot we traveled was through this very narrow channel, which was the final section dug in the entire Trent-Severn Canal in 1920. They had to cut right through the rock base that Nothern Canada is known for. You could see the rock just below the surface on both sides, and the banks were piled high with the rock cut out when this channel was dug (by hand). There was no room for error, so we kept a close eye on the way forward. This went on for many miles, and we were lucky no other boats were coming the other direction. In a way, we were lucky that Brian's luggage was late, because if we had tried to go through here on Sunday, instead of Monday, we would have had lots of boat traffic and therefore lots of trouble!

This picture is out of order, because we didn't have our BBQ veggie-burger dinner until that night, long after the photos coming up next!

One of the day's highlights was the Kirkfield Lift Lock, similar to the Peterborough Lift Lock. This was actually more "thrilling", because we entered at the top and looked WAY down to the ground with nothing under us except a steel structure. And, once we started to drop, our speed was about four times faster than the Peterborough Lift Lock. Isn't this photo interesting, to see how high up we were? In a big "bath tub" of water?

Once we dropped down in the Lift Lock, the gate in front of us laid down forward, and then we could depart. Again, we traveled in narrow passages cut into pure rock. We descended five consecutive locks and then went out into the big Lake Simcoe.

Out on the big lake, we used the auto pilot for the two-hour cruise, giving Brian a chance to make us sandwiches. We still had a ways to go to the next lock's wall for the night, so we ate while underway instead of taking a break.

This is a picture of the railroad bridge that foiled our plan to stay at the next lock's wall that night. As we approached the bridge at about 8:15 pm, it looked like it was going to be too low for us. The books had said all bridges were either tall enough for me, or would be opened. Well, as I got closer and closer, I thought we were too tall. Brian went upstairs and when I was within 15 yards, he yelled out "STOP!" Luckily there was zero wind as I backed up and gradually turned the boat around. We had to back-track about four miles out to Lake Couchiching to anchor for the night, all by ourselves in the middle, in 5 ft of water. It was so clear I could look down at the anchor lying on the lake floor.

The next morning I went for a swim, then we headed back up the narrow river to our favorite little railroad bridge, and it was STILL closed! I honked my horn three times, and sure enough, I saw a man come out and do something at the edge of the bridge, then he walked to the other side and did the same thing, then he walked up the stairs to the control room at the top of the bridge. We thought good, he'll open it for us. Well, he did eventually open it, but it took about 10 minutes of us staying right there idling and waiting. Luckily, there was no wind, so I did not drift during our wait.

This picture shows the bridge finally opening, and we were cheering! As soon as we passed by, the bridge closed behind us. It turns out that they close the bridge for good every evening at the same time the locks close - 7 pm. And they open when the locks open, at 8:30 am, but they always leave it closed until a boater comes along who is tall enough to need it opened.

Our next interesting lock was at Swift Rapids, where there was a powerplant. This picture shows all the water emitting from the plant. Look how high it is! This lock descended 47 feet, the highest single traditional lock in the entire Erie or Trent-Severn system. Normally when we approach a lock, we're in 6 feet of water. This lock was at the end of a deep lake, and I entered in 75 feet of water.

This lock is the most recent in the entire system, finished in 1965. It holds 1.5 million gallons of water! Look how high the gates are, once we descended and they are opening for us.

This picure was taken before the last one. The lock operator let us get off the boat at the top, to sightsee this amazing spot. She took a picture of Brian and me just in front of where our boat was, looking WAYYY down below where we were about to descend.

Then yesterday we went through the incredible Big Chute Railway Lock. This came after some dicey navigating through many narrow channels where there were rapids and swirls and big DANGER signs. It was a beautiful day through lakes and rivers and cuts and cliffs, and then we got to this famous lock. A huge "rail car" dips into the water, and you drive the boat right up onto it and the lock operators lift up your hull slightly using slings. This photo shows the loaded rail car descending after it raised the boats up and over a road. It descends to the wide river below, where it again goes into the water deep enough to let the boats float, and we start up our engines and drive off.

This final picture shows how a boat leaves after the rail car drops into the water. Anyway, we docked at a side dock so we could get out and watch the whole process before doing it ourselves. When it was our turn, they took two smaller boats first and instructed one to go to the front left, and the other to the front right. I was the lucky one to come in last, right in the middle!! I didn't have to have any finesse handling. The operators just told me to either slow down, give it some more forward, give it some reverse, give it a touch more reverse (they said that one about five times), and finally they were confident they had my two slings positioned correctly under me, and told me to cut the engines. Then we lifted a few inches, and the whole contraption started up the rail line out of the water, over the hill, and down the other side back into the water. It was SOOOO COOOOOL!!!!

After that, we had a relatively short distance to this final lock (#45) at the end of the Trent-Severn Waterway. This is Port Severn. I must say, though, we had some dicey narrows to navigate, through rapids and sharp turns, to get here. Last night was great other than the bugs. Brian loved the role I had previously of turning on the vacuum cleaner and sucking up all the bugs he could find.

We'll leave here in a few minutes and go out into Georgian Bay. We will go to a big marina about two hours away, and tomorrow I'm scheduled to get new batteries. We've continued to have a heck of a time nursing the battery situation each day. It'll be great to get new ones. By next Monday night, we will be in Parry Sound at a marina where months ago I made a two-week reservation. Brian and I will take a bus to Toronto on Tuesday, stay with a Nestle Canada colleague (Andrea Papamandjaris), and then fly out next Wednesday. Brian will be going home to start his move to South Carolina for his new job. I'll be going to visit Janet in Idaho, where I'll accompany a jillion Amuchasteguis in attending a huge Basque festival called Jaialdi (Google it!), which occurs only once every five years. I'll return to Toronto on Aug 1, and meet brother Rick and sisters Janet and Cheryl. Breaking Away's adventures will continue with four siblings. Arrrrrrrrrr!

A glorious week to remember!

I should not have waited a full week between blog postings. This has been a fabulous week, starting with Brian's getting a job and being able to join me, then incredible scenery in the Kawartha Lakes region, peaceful nights, a fun visit from Nestle friends, Brian's lost luggage, swimming, kayaking, making new friends, searching for new boat batteries, and so much confusion/fun/beauty/memories!

My last posting was Sunday, July 4, the morning of the triathlon in Peterborough. That afternoon, Janet and I took a taxi to a cool Canoe Museum, and learned lots about the First Nation people and how canoes shaped their lives, and later, the lives of all Canadians who love canoeing. We were there for hours! We then went shopping and stocked up on some food, including ice cream. But by the time we walked home and put it in a warm refrigerator (from too many nights not plugged in to electricity), it was mush by the time we ate it. Oh well, made fruit smoothies!

The next morning, Monday, we were the first ones through the lock, with three other boats we traveled with through eight locks that day. After only a quarter mile we reached the famous Peterborough Lift Lock, built in 1904. This photo shows Janet, locking gloves on, ready to enter the "bathtub" awaiting us. The other tub is at the top on the left, loading boats from above who are locking down.

After we entered the tub and tied up, they closed the back behind us. This was a lock where we could tie up since the water level would not rise or fall. We were going to lift in the entire tub. This photo shows us lifting and just about to cross the tub lowering from above. They pump an extra foot of water in the upper tub when we're all set, and that extra weight allows the tub to drop and lift us at the same time since we're connected with water-jacketed pistons.

This picture shows what it looked like in front of us, at the tall wall we were about to climb. The other tub can be seen at the top left ready to come down. This picture was taken before the previous one, since we already were moving in that one.

Now we are at the top of the lift, looking back at the canal 65 feet below us. They finally lowered the front of the tub and we headed north with the other three boats. We got to be friends with them since we went through 8 locks that day. Anyway, the Peterborough Lift Lock was exciting and different. Brian and I will get to go through a similar lift lock tomorrow in Kirkfield. It doesn't rise quite as high, but everything else is the same.

It was very hot and humid that day, so after locking through the 7th lock, we needed to cool off. We tied to the wall as we exited the lock and took a swim. And had lunch. And rested in the peaceful scenery. Eventually we went on and departed from the course to visit Stoney Lake for the night. It was written up as a "don't miss" and they were right!

One issue I had been facing for a week was that George notified me that he had a medical problem come up, and would be tested on Tuesday, July 6. I had been back to making frantic phone calls to everyone to see if I could find a new boat mate to accompany me to Perry Sound in Georgian Bay if George indeed would not be able to join me. One possibility was Brian, but he could join me for only a week since he was still job hunting. So, I was busy trying to plan who, what, where, when and how Brian might join if George could not.

If you remember how I described the Thousand Islands area in the St. Lawrence River, Stoney Lake rivaled its beauty! Forested, islands all over the place, beautiful cottages on each one, spectacular summer living. We finally found a suitable anchorage, and hoped it would hold in the strong afternoon wind. (It's consistently windy in the afternoons and then calm all night and the mornings.)

That evening we swam to cool off, and the next morning took a long kayak ride to see the coves and cottages up close and personal. Janet even saw a mink!

When we got back to the boat, I turned on the computer and learned that Brian got a job!!! He had sent the e-mail late the night before, so I was the last to learn. But I jumped for joy and dance around and cannonballed into the water and celebrated. It also meant that he no longer was limited to joining me for only a week, so the problem was solved! This picture shows me swimming for joy!

After making plane reservations, motel reservations, and transportation plans for Brian to get to me, we lifted anchor and cruised a couple hours to a remote lock called Lovesick. It elevated only 3.5 feet, and was in complete wilderness. The lock operators came and went by boat. We tied up there and met wonderful folks from Newfoundland, a local chap who taught me boating lessons, and one of the couples who locked through with us the day before. We took hikes and successfully avoided the poison ivy, and sped around the lake in the dinghy.

A funny story occurred as we approached an earlier lock that day. I received a call-back from the dermatologist in Cincinnati who I was seeking to remove my squamous cell cancer in Sept. We were discussing an appointment date and I cruised right past the lock, set off to the left (west) in trees. After I hung up I kept looking for the lock, and finally reached the end of the waterway. I was totally perplexed how I had missed it. After turning around, I almost missed it again! It was truly hidden.


This is a picture of Debbie and Wayne, who visited us and drove us and partied with us and hosted us and fed us, and we had so much fun!

But before Debbie and Wayne came, we traveled from Lovesick to Bobcaygeon (pronounced Bob-cay'-jun). That morning, before elevating our 3.5 feet in the lock, we took a kayak ride to see nature up close and personal. No wildlife though. Then on to a marina just past the Bobcaygeon lock where I had called ahead a reservation. We needed a marina badly -- the batteries were getting so low that the refrigerator was not staying cold (we hadn't been plugged in since June 28th in Trenton). The boat was covered with dead bugs and spider webs since we hadn't had a water faucet in 6 days, so it needed a good cleaning. We needed to prepare for guests too. So, once we got to the marina, we went to work...cooling off! It was terribly hot and humid. We ran the air conditioner and did odds and ends until night when it cooled enough to scrub down the entire exterior of the boat and completely clean the inside. Janet and I were busy little beavers. And it sure was nice to have A/C.

The next day, Thursday, Debbie and Wayne arrived. Debbie worked with me at Nestle, in the Toronto office. I'd never met Wayne before. They were great. They brought Cajun shrimp and all kinds of stuff for lunch, and we ate in the comfort of the A/C. Later we went into town for sight seeing and groceries, and then the strongest wind came up, complete with rain, and caught everyone by surprise. Later we went back into Bobcaygeon and they treated us to dinner, right on the canal (where the photo above was taken). They slept in the guest room on the boat, and during the night it started raining and never stopped. So instead of taking a day trip in the boat and kayaking as planned, we packed and drove the 2.5 hours to their home in Toronto. We got to meet their interesting and hilariously crazy friends at their local pub, Debby made a fabulous steak dinner, and we thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience with our new buds.

On Saturday morning, a sunny and sparkling day, we dropped Janet off at the airport. What a wonderful time we had for the past 12 days! And she became quite the boatswoman, locking through 32 locks and helping land at docks and walls. Hated for her stay to end, but I also was excited to pick up Brian and have him with me for 12 days. We went to his motel, but alas, the airline lost his luggage. We had to tell them the name and address of a marina in the next town past Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls, and hope they would deliver his luggage later in the day.
So Debbie and Wayne drove Brian and me all the way back to the marina, those sweethearts. I made them lunch, but they couldn't stay. I spent an hour or more going over the boat stuff with Brian, and off we went! He drove for a while, but I took over and he napped. When we got to Fenelon Falls, it was so interesting to navigate along the narrow and deep river, past cottages and boat houses and cliffs, to the waterfall and lock. This picture shows Brian as we were waiting for the lock to open for all of us boats.

The high boating season had sure begun! Gone were the days when Bruce and I were alone in locks. The lakes were swarming with boats of all sizes. When Brian and I got into the Fenelon Falls lock, we had six other boats, including a houseboat and a yacht half again as large as Breaking Away that you can see in the picture. Two boats weren't even on the wall, just holding onto other boats. This lock was jammed all weekend.

Yesterday, too, the lock wall was all taken, so we went past and anchored up. The water skiers must have enjoyed watching us rock, because they sped past us all evening long, even doing circles around the boat. Brian and I kept waiting for his phone call that his luggage was delivered. No such luck. This morning we called and there was no more news, even if they'd located it yet. We dinghied to the marina to show our faces to those we'd spoken to about luggage being delivered there, and they let us call Air Canada on their phone (Brian had to conserve his phone since his charger was in the missing luggage). We then took a chance that a spot had opened up on the lock wall, and so we pulled anchor and returned, and there was indeed a perfect spot for us.

So, we've spent all day here waiting for the phone call, and luckily it came at about 8 pm! The guy said he'd drive his luggage out tonight. It's now 11:55 and he hasn't arrived yet. But it was a fun day for us. We went on a walk and saw the waterfall up close, we toured the village museum, I listened to a soloist sing on the lawn in front of the museum, I swam, I bought distilled water and filled the battery with THREE QUARTS!!!, we watched Spain squeak out the World Cup, and then had a yummy dinner at the dockside restaurant we'd been seeing all day long across from our boat.

Assuming the luggage does get here, we'll be off for a long trek tomorrow. If you need to reach me, call Brian's cell phone at (614) 582-2208.

Ontario Bliss

Our first five days of the Trent-Severn Waterway across Ontario have been stunningly beautiful and loads of fun. Today is the 4th of July, and we are in Peterborough, site of a major triathlon race taking place right behind the boat! We began the canal last Tuesday, with seven locks to break in Janet as the first mate grabbing the lock cables. She did great, considering the strong winds we had. We went through 10 locks the next day, again in strong winds. The varying scenery along the way has been awesome, with marshland, or rocky cliffs, unique summer cottages, winding "bayou" type water paths, and tons of locals enjoying their summer weather.

One of the highlights here in Canada has been the friendliness of the lock operators! It's as if we make friends with them at every single lock. They help us push off, they give us advice, they call ahead to the next lock to let them know we're coming, they chat about the day, the weather, anything! Also, they give us their cards. What that means is that the Trent-Severn operators have a total of 50 little environmental cards about different fish, birds, reptiles, geographic phenomenon, and they give you two at each lock. You try to collect all 50, and we're up to about 35. Each lock is a park, just as they were in New York, and the operators also decorate their locks and parks with flowers. In the picture above, there were even flowers directly on the gates as well as a stuffed bear.

This one shows me holding onto the rope that I've wrapped around the cable that runs the length of the lock wall. In two places, there were Step Locks in which two locks are adjacent, and as you leave the first, you are entering the second. I must say I've gotten pretty good at pulling Breaking Away up to the lock wall so that Janet can grab a cable with the boat hook at the stern, and then I grab a second one up near the bow. I then shut off the engine and we hold on for the next 10 minutes or so while the water rises. In strong winds, however, it's not always so easy. Once I could not get the stern close enough and poor Janet dropped the boat hook into the water trying to grab from a long distance (I was able to retrieve it later cuz it floats). Once the strong wind caused her to lose hold of the rope around the cable, and the boat's stern drifted to the opposite lock wall. Luckily we were alone in the lock! I was able to trade places with her and shove off the wall and the stern drifted back to the proper side. Somehow we've managed! Adventure after adventure.

After we went through 17 locks, we arrived at Lock 18 late, after the locks were closed for the night. But this was where we wanted to arrive for Canada Day last Thursday, July 1. The operators had told us that the town of Hastings had THEE BEST fireworks show in Ontario. We tied up at the wall just in front of the lock gates. We have now spent every single night along this canal trip tied to the walls just below or above a lock, since it's so pretty, and you get to use the lock restrooms. There is a cost to do this, either 90 cents per foot per night, or $9.90 per foot for unlimited use along the entire canal. I bought the package and sure enough, we have loved tying up to the walls and making friends with the other boaters here. Plus, you get to make closer friends with the lock operators, and they are so great.

Canada Day!! What a fun day we had! There was music in the park from noon to 4 pm, then the parade, and then the fireworks at dusk (9:30 pm). Thousands descended on Hastings for their big day, almost everyone wearing red and white, the Maple Leaf flag flying or printed everywhere imaginable (cheeks, hats, socks, shoes, clothing, aprons, etc.). The entire crowd sang Oh Canada to kick off the music from the park gazebo at noon. Janet and I carried our plastic chairs to the park and stayed for the whole thing -- fiddlers, country pickers, clog dancers out in the street, line dancers, old-timers on their guitars, each taking their turns in the spotlight. The parade was typical small-town fun. This photo shows the bag pipers who led off, but then came every club, boy/girl scout troops, old cars and farm equipment, the Shriners, and "Happy Canada Day" for all.

The fireworks were indeed fabulous! Matched any 4th of July show. We watched atop the Eschaton, a houseboat also doing the Great Loop, along with our new friends from the Shingebiss and Recovery Room (Loopers as well). All three of these boats and crews we met in Trenton. In fact, before we met them, I had taken their photo at the restaurant Bruce and I were eating at in Trenton. We got to compare trips and plans that evening waiting for the fireworks to begin, and now we've become friends and will try to stay in touch. Sure enough, we met up with them again here in Peterborough, although we are here for three nights so they are two days ahead of us now.

Peterborough has a little lake between Locks 19 and 20, and we have a great spot on the wall below Lock 20 looking out on its fountain that shoots 250 feet into the air. We took the dinghy across the lake to the marina to use their laundramat and to walk the downtown area. We also did some grocery shopping, and I must say, the variety/creativity of Breaking Away's cuisine in the past 6 days has been wonderful and new compared with two old men on board. YUM!

For the past couple weeks, one of the themes of this boat trip has been BUGS. I've gotten a new reputation for wanting to suck them up with the vaccum cleaner. At night they somehow find their way inside even though we have every window screened. Then in the morning, they accumulate on the front windows, and I need to vacuum them there too. Of course they are by the millions outside at night trying to get in, and in the morning thousands of them are lying dead on the fiberglass. I need to hose them down every few days.

Peterborough is famous for Lock 21, the so-called Lift Lock. Built in 1904, it is the highest of its kind, which involves filling two tubs - one upper and one lower - and then the tubs raise and lower together carrying their loads of boats. A little extra water added to the top tub gives it enough extra weight to lower it and raise the equally tremendous weight of the lower tub. This photo shows the boats loaded into the lower tub. A gate comes up from below to seal off the tub, and eventually they begin to move.

This photo shows the two tubs about to cross each other.

Janet and I then hiked to the top of the lock and took this photo as the boats were waiting to exit the tub, after they had risen the 65 feet. This lock was considered an engineering feat in 1904, and is still impressive to see. We will go through it tomorrow morning when we leave here. There is a visitor center there too, to see a show about the entire Trent-Severn Canal, its history, geologies along them way, and cultural wonders. The canal is only for recreational boaters, and Canadians are deservedly proud of it.

A major triathlon event right in our "backyard" this morning! I took a bike ride yesterday and come across dozens of good cyclist to ride with. They were scoping out the bike portion of the race, so I learned all about it and we were ready this morning to watch the swimmers enter the lake from Breaking Away's flybridge. We then walked the short distance to the transition area, and later the run portion went right past us here at Lock 20. Fun!