TUESDAY JUNE 7TH 2011

Yesterday when we checked in to stay along the canal wall the gal in the office told us what was around in Campbellford. Ross didn’t seem to interested until she pointed to a large photo of baked goods at the local bakery. He set the alarm for us to get up early enough to check this place out and still leave as planned.

It was a short walk over a bridge to the opposite side of the town. As we crossed we could see the ODDYSEA floating peacefully next to the world’s largest two dollar coin.









We were not disappointed in the bakery.

And went a bit crazy. We ended up with a bag of goodies plus a container to hold the tarts. Mmmmm.

It was another nice day weather wise and a short travel day. Only 20 miles and 6 locks from Campbellford to Hastings, where we'll spend the night.

The red V symbols on the map represent locks. Notice at the Chutes at Healy Falls there are 3 red V’s. This is called a flight of locks. The 3 locks raised us a total of 76 feet.

You can see in this photo the water line mark on the tall blue gate in the front of this lock. We go in and are lifted to that mark. Those gates then open and we go in to the next chamber and are lifted again.

Ross figured as of today we have been lifted 365 feet since leaving Trenton.








The scenery today looks very much like Northern Minnesota with pine trees and cabins. Although they are referred to as cottages here and the owners as cottagers. There are not many folks around yet as school doesn’t let out here till late June.

The lock tenders usually know we are coming ahead of time as they call ahead to the next lock. Once in a while they forget. Since they don’t carry vhf radios you can’t radio them that you want to lock through, so you tie up next to the blue line (which you can see in the lower left of the picture) and then toot your horn 3 times. They generally come running. If not, you get off the boat and walk up to the office and ask. Whichever side of the canal wall the blue line is painted on tells you which side of your boat to prepare with fenders and lines to lock through. The tenders are very friendly and always come and visit with you.
  

 We arrived in Hastings in the early afternoon so had plenty of time to wander around the town. We even had time to walk up to the grocery store and buy some Fiddleheads!!! They sell for $4.99 a pound. We picked out what we thought would be enough for the two of us and the total came to 99 cents. Cheap enough if they turned out to taste terrible. No idea how to prepare them, but we figure you can’t go wrong sautéing anything in a little butter and adding salt and pepper. They tasted like mild asparagus. And yes we would definitely eat them again!!


Tonight’s entertainment was rigging the fish poles. We gave them a test run but it wasn’t the best spot to be fishing. It was very convenient though.

MONDAY JUNE 6TH

A  wonderful early summer morning. Pleasant temp, bright blue sky and faint breeze.

Our plan for today is to start our trip up the Trent-Severn Canal. This canal runs 240 miles west from Trenton to Port Severn on the Georgian Bay. The locks only operate from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m. so it will make for short travel days. We had some time before leaving so road the bikes to the grocery store for some bananas and eggs. I spotted these strange looking things while in the produce department. Fiddlehead Ferns. I wanted to buy a couple to try, in the interest of the blog. But the captain was in what my Looper friend, Cindy Shue, would call the “chop, chop, lets roll mood.” So I can’t report on what they taste like. I did some checking on the Internet and they are a powerhouse of nutrients. They are the curly part of the Ostrich Fern just as it emerges from the ground. Who knew?








 






















The locks are very narrow on the Trent Severn. They are 23 feet wide and our boat is 15 feet wide. We need to purchase another pass to travel through this series of locks. So once the boat is raised in the first lock Ross hopped off the boat and walked across the walkway of the lock to the other side and purchased our pass.





Most canal lock gates are operated by hydraulics and the push of a button. These gates are maple syrup powered! The lock tenders rotate these “sweep arms” around, which in turn cranks open the lock gates.






We traveled 30 miles today and 12 locks. Here’s a map of where we were. Trenton is in the lower right corner and Campbellford is in the upper left corner. you can click on the photo to enlarge the photo.


















I got really excited when I noticed these 3 swans in along the shore. I waited to take another picture and it seemed like the one had been feeding underwater quite a while. And hey, the other two hadn’t moved either. I’d been hoodwinked! They were decoys.




But shortly afterwards I saw this family of swans. It must be a nesting area for these beautiful birds because we saw many, many swans all day long.

This was our last lock of the day. It is called a fleet of locks in that after we went in this lock and the water filled to raise us, then the gates opened and we moved in to another lock and again were raised to a total of 48 feet total.
















Shortly before getting to Campbellford we saw these young guys enjoying the warm weather. There was a rope ladder so they could climb up this tower. I wonder if their moms knew they were out there?

I asked them if the water was cold. Two said no, but one shouted yes!












We tied up for the night along the wall at Old Mill Park in Cambellford.












On the suggestion of one of the lock tenders when he heard we were staying in Campbellford, we walked up to have ribs at Rubbs. We had planned to eat dinner on board, but after a long day in the sun I was glad not to have to make a meal and clean up. And the ribs were nummy.




Walking back to the boat we came across Canada’s largest two-dollar coin. (try to contain your excitement) The artist of the coin is from Campbellford. Notice the cup and spoon in Ross’ hand. He has now expanded his ice cream taste testing internationally.

SUNDAY JUNE 5TH

Happy birthday to me!!!!

The day started out cloudy and cool but the sun came out and it was a glorious day.  We rode out bikes about a mile to a little store where we could purchase fishing licenses. We have high hopes of having a few fresh walleye meals as we travel through Canada.

Ross goes to Canada goose hunting with his buddies each fall so is familiar with many of the things that seem foreign to me. Such as what the heck licensed dining is? I thought it meant the place was checked by the health department. Nope, it means they have a liquor license.






The American dollar not being what it used to be, we stopped at an ATM machine to get some Canadian money.

Electrical power here is referred to as “hydro”.

We are staying in a little marina called Carters. It’s very close to town so a short walk to the post office, restaurants, grocery store and liquor store. As Americans we are very limited as to the amount of alcohol we can bring into Canada. We walked down to the liquor store, which is operated by the government. The taxes in Canada are something else! A bottle of our favorite scotch back home is about $21. That same bottle in U.S. dollars here is approximately $32. Seems everything is taxed in Canada.

Ross figured out how to use Skype on the computer so we were able to call home for only 2 cents a minute. Sweet. We get charged something like 2 dollars a minute to use our cell phones.

For my birthday dinner we walked a block to Tomasso’s. We were told it’s the best place in the area to eat.
















Ross ordered their special spaghetti. It had everything but the kitchen sink in it and he was in heartburn heaven.

SATURDAY JUNE 4TH

We were ready and waiting by 7 a.m. for the last lock on the canal to open. Once we pass through this lock the next stop is the opposite side of Lake Ontario. With all the work we had done on the engines and them failing the first sea trial, our confidence level in them isn’t very high. Worse case scenario is we sink. But at least we’re in fresh water now so there won’t be any critters in the water swimming around viewing us as snacks. On the downside though is the water temp is only 42 degrees!

As we waited for the lock to open, we watched these IDIOTS making their way out on a railroad bridge that crossed the canal. Now it’s a Saturday morning before 7 a.m. Only explanation we could come up with as to why guys would be stripped to their skivvies trying to build up courage to jump from a bridge was they’re still all drunk from the night before. The lockmaster must have called the cops on these morons when he got to work because two police cars showed up right after this.













The New York canal system was originally built as a commercial passage from the East to the Midwest. The canals are narrow and now only used by pleasure craft. So to fund the canals users purchase a pass. Ours is valid for 2 days and cost 20 bucks.









It was a rainy day but Lake Ontario was very calm so it was an easy crossing. Did I mention that it was cold?

 Our destination was Trenton Ontario. As we crossed into Canadian waters we had to put out our quarantine flag to show that we had not cleared Canadian customs yet.

The rain had stopped by the time we reached Trenton. Once we got tied up in the marina Ross took our passports and went to clear customs. I can not even get off on the dock until the customs are cleared. There is a phone number to call in. You answer their questions (how many people, how much liquor, firearms?, has anyone been convicted of a crime, how long staying...),  give passport numbers and boat documentation number. You are then given a "report number" which we wrote on a piece of paper and taped up on our window. We found out that this is not the first time our boat has been to Canada as they had the registration number in their system. Oh, and FYI if you've had a DUI in the past 10 years you aren't allowed in to Canada. There may be a way to apply for entrance ahead of time but it involves paperwork and a lengthy process.



Once we cleared customs Ross took down the yellow quarantine flag and put up our Canadian courtesy flag. We will fly it most of the summer until we pass back in to the U.S.











This sailboat was tied up near us and we were fascinated watching them "step" their mast. Sailboats need to unstep their mast in order to pass under all the low bridges on the canal system. It was quite a process. This guy cranked a winch that raised it. They told me that many people have it done with a crane.























Half way up.















Almost there.

















Voila!

FRIDAY JUNE 3RD

On our way by 7 a.m. Felt very good to leave Winter Harbor behind. That place was….well, Tarzan said it best, “bad Ju Ju”.

We passed through 7 locks today, stopping short of the last lock before entering Lake Ontario. I was not on board earlier when Ross passed through the locks of the Erie Canal. Our friend LaFoote was along for that and I wish he was here now!! This was all new to me, and after being off the boat for so many months I felt very rusty doing things that had been second nature. Ross told me this lock had cables. Okay. Whats that? "Just loop the line around the cable and then cleat it back on the boat". Sounded simple enough. Except it was windy and you have to lie down on your belly to even come close to the level of the cable. Who came up with this idea? I'm sure it was lockmasters who find it hysterical watching the contortions of the poor Gilligans on their boats.











This was the view from one of the locks. Looks like a mini Niagra Falls. Thats a lot of gallons pouring over the edge 24/7.

This is the same lock as we were leaving.

Please God
let the lock gates hold!!!!














We tied up along the canal wall in the town of Oswego, New York. This is our last night in the U.S. for quite a while.

There are two other Looper boats tied on the wall with us. The ANNIE LEE and the TAHOMA. We all walked up town and had dinner together at the Azteca. A Mexican restaurant.

THURSDAY JUNE 2ND

About mid-morning they came to take the boat for the sea trial. This time the engines passed! So tomorrow we finally, finally get to start back on the Loop.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 1ST

Started the day with high hopes of being able to leave tomorrow morning. So we got busy cleaning the boat, re-provisioning, laundry and getting the dinghy off the bow and back into the water.

The story is, our parts didn’t come in till it was too late to get them put in and take the boat out for a sea trial. So I guess we can’t leave tomorrow as planned.

TUESDAY MAY 31ST

We returned to Winter Harbor from Boston as the canal is open and the Oddysea should be ready to go. They still needed to take her for the sea trial to check the engines though.

We arrived in Brewerton to see the Oddysea headed out for her sea trial. We were standing on the dock when they came back in. Several of the injectors had seized up so we’re back to more parts and more waiting.