Trent Severn times 4

The Trent Severn Waterway in Ontario Province must be our favorite part of the Loop because we've been up and down four times!  The beautiful waterway, colorful cottages and scenic sights make this a totally enjoyable part of the trip.  We hope to someday go back by land and see the fall colors on the Trent.

Here we are once again - at the start of the Trent-Severn.  This is one of Canada's national historic sites and is so magnificent that it has been named "one of the finest interconnected systems of navigation in the world".  Parks Canada maintains and operates the 43 locks and 125 dams of the waterway.

We met new friends, Lee and Suzan on Lazy Suzan at Trent Port Marina.  Trenton is a great little town with a fabulous marina, one of our loop favorites.  It is a new marina with wonderful amenities, including a snack and ice cream at the canteen.

Lazy Suzan and Blue Moon starting out at the first lock.

King in a double lift lock. The stain from leaking water make a giant colorful canvas.

Many houses are built on remote islands.

Kawartha Voyageur, is an Ontario Waterway cruiser.  The ship holds 45 passengers and navigates a 150 mile section of the Trent-Severn Waterway.  We watched the ship ready to enter the lock.  The front blue portion folds up in order to fit into the lock.  It looks like an iron.

Lee and Suzan in the Peterborough Lift Lock.  The lock in number 21 on the waterway and raises boats 65 feet in two identical bathtub-like caissons in which vessels are carried up or down. The lock was built in the early 20th century without the modern machinery used for today's construction projects.  The lift lock functions by gravity alone using the counterweight principle.  One caisson always ascends and the other always descends during each locking cycle.  We learned that in the winter months residents and visitors use the waterway below the canal for ice skating.

Bobcaygeon! A favorite stop with shoe stores and more shoe stores, cute restaurants, gift shops, music in the park all in a cottage country atmosphere.

See the really large orange chair below. Chairs are for sale at Bigley's Shoes in Bobcaygeon.  We were told that this is the Bigley family home.

We liked this house and boat garage.

A narrow section of the Trent-Severn.

Lazy Suzan navigating the same narrow passage.

There are two lift locks on the Trent-Severn, Peterborough and Kirkfield.  Lazy Suzan in the Kirkfield Lift Lock.

Most locks are operated manually.  King volunteered to walk around the crank which opens the lock door.

Suzan, Mike and Lynne.  Mike and Lynne are 80+ and live near Orillia, off Lake Simcoe.  They travel the Trent in a small C-Dory.  We enjoyed visiting with them and gaining the important local knowledge.  

Best seats to watch the Pipes and Drums parade in downtown Orillia with Lee and Suzan and Grant and Cindy, Canadian friends from As The Crow Flies.  We first met Grant and Cindy in 2014 in Peterborough, traveled with them on the Illinois and again in Florida.  Great to have them spend the weekend with us.

King and Grant off to catch fish!!

Enjoying visiting and dinner on Lazy Suzan.

The Big Chute Marine Railway is a boat lift at lock 44 on the Trent-Severn Waterway.  It works on an inclined plane to carry boats in individual cradles over a change of height of about 60 feet.  It is the only marine railway of its kind in North American still in use.  

Lazy Suzan in the sling.

Back in the water again.

Getting all our ducks in a row!

The end of the Trent-Severn Waterway, headed out into Georgian Bay.  

Beautiful Rideau Canal

July, 2016
The Rideau Canal, Canada Day in Kingston, Ontario and the Trent-Severn Waterway.

Our good friend, Tim, arrived from Austin for a week of sight-seeing in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Francie has a new job, so she had no vacation time, and could not come be with us on this trip. We missed her.

Ottawa is a busy city filled with activities, even a street fair with a Bar-B-Q truck from Austin, TX! Canadians made us feel right at home.

We toured Parliament Hill, the national library and the Peace Tower.  Approximately 3 million visitors each year enjoy Parliament Hill, the capital buildings of Canada. This is one of the houses of Parliament.

The view from atop the 300 foot Peace Tower.  Following The Great War (1914 - 1918) Canadians created a monument (the Peace Tower) for the service and sacrifice of the men and women who died serving their country.  

The trip down the Rideau Canal, a tranquil and picturesque 100 mile journey that includes 45 locks. The Rideau Canal is a World Heritage Site and is an historic operating canal in continuous use since it first opened in 1832.  After the War of 1812, the plan to construct a navigable waterway between Lake Ontario and the Ottawa River was conceived.  Most of the stonework and many of the buildings are as they were in the 19th century.

Scenic and narrow!

 An art gallery alongside Chaffey's Lock.

Tim standing by a sign showing the Rideau Canal map.

A beautiful park at Chaffey's Lock.

Fishing time. King & Tim enjoyed catching small mouth bass.  They tasted very good.

Final locks before reaching Kingston and Canada Day, July 1st.

We rode a ferry across Kingston Harbor to a Fox Island restaurant.  Pretty sunset.  

We toured Fort Henry, a strategic, elevated point above Kingston, Ontario.  The original fort was constructed during the War of 1812 to protect the Kingston Royal Naval Dockyard.  This is the view looking toward Lake Ontario and downtown Kingston, with us sporting  Canada Day 2016 t-shirts.

As Willie Says, On the Road Again

June 2016
Or, in our case it's on the water again, rather than the road.

After spending September 2015 to May 2016 in our RV in Texas, we have flown back to Syracuse, N.Y. to start looping again.  Blue Moon survived winter storage at Winter Harbor Marine in excellent condition.  We spent the first week cleaning and provisioning the boat.  Daily trips to Walmart were the order of the day. Gary flew in from Colorado to help with working on the boat and also to help us move the boat to Montreal, Canada.

St. Lawrence Seaway
June 1 - June 8, 2016
Crossing Lake Ontario, we started down the St. Lawrence River.  The map looks like we should be going 'up' the St. Lawrence, but actually the river runs from south to north down to the Atlantic Ocean.

We saw large freighters.

Little houses built on rock islands.

King and Gary looked for fish.

Another beautiful sunset from an anchorage near Boldt Castle.

Canadian Coast Guard ship in the lock with us.

Last day on the St. Lawrence on our way to Lachine Marina In Montreal, Quebec Provence, and on our way to learning a few words in French.

A boat under sail in wind and choppy water.

Quebec City
June 9 - June 11, 2016
While at Montreal, we rented a car and drove to Quebec City for three days.  We toured Old Quebec City, which was founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain.  The city is recognized as the cradle of French civilization in North America and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Quebec City has 702,000 residents and 95% are native speakers of French.  Most everyone we came into contact also spoke English.

Enjoying lunch at sidewalk cafes.

Quaint narrow streets are like a trip back in time.

More shops and cafes.

Travel from Upper Quebec town to Lower Quebec town at a 45 degree angle along the cliff face in a funicular (a sort of incline elevator).  The funicular, which is one of the oldest businesses in the region, has operated since 1879.  This is one of the only funiculars on the continent, and the only one we have ever seen.

Great views of the St. Lawrence River.

The Hotel Chateau Frontenac is a luxury hotel with historic architecture and beautiful views of Old Quebec City and the St. Lawrence River.  We walked around the hotel and enjoyed the view from this bar.

We enjoyed the Museum of Civilization which is situated in the Old Quebec area near the St. Lawrence River.  Sharon and Vicki taking a rest.

We drove to Ile D'Orleans, an island across from Old Town Quebec.  The island is located in the St Lawrence River, about 3 miles east of downtown Quebec City.  The island was one of the first parts of the province to be colonized by the French, and a large percentage of French Canadians can trace ancestry to early residents of the island.  The island has been described as the birthplace of francophones (people who speak French as their first language) in North America.

King, Sharon, Gary and Vicki enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the island, the river and also a wonderful lunch.

Montreal Old Montreal and Old Port
June 12 - 14, 2016

We learned the history of the city which dates back to the early 1600's. Most of Old Montreal was declared an historic district in 1964.  The cobblestone streets, however, date back some 350 years. Difficult to walk on, but great old shops and restaurants.

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue
June 15, 2016

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue is an on-island suburb located at the western side of the Island of Montreal. It was founded as a parish in 1703.  We purchased a Parks Canada Pass which allows us to tie up our boat at any lock wall.  We enjoyed our stay at the Sainte Anne lock wall.  We walked around the dock sidewalk and main street with inviting shops and restaurants.  It was my (Sharon) birthday and Gary and Vicki treated me to dinner! A special memory of a special town with special friends.  Special!

Ottawa River 
June 16 - June 17, 2016

We traveled about 15 miles to our next stop, the Carillon (pronounced Carry-On) Lock  and Power Station.  This is an impressive power and locking station.  We were told if the river was carrying gasoline rather than water it could fill 40,000 automobiles per second!  A daily tour of the hydro plant is available.

 Inside the lock, tied up to a floating dock, waiting for it to fill.

On to Ottawa
June 18 - June 22, 2016

A beautiful morning leaving First Nations Anchorage.

We began our day to Ottawa with the first locks of the Rideau Canal, called the "magnificent flight of 8 locks" which are framed by Canada's Parliament building on one side and the impressive Chateau Laurier hotel on the other.  This is the largest single set of locks on the entire Rideau system, providing a lift of 79 ft.

We had really looked forward to the lock flight, HOWEVER, it was a very difficult set of locks due to about a 20 mph side wind.  It took all four of us on the boat and three lock attendants to wrangle our boat up the flight.  Beautiful Canadian Parliament buildings on the left side of photo.

 A view of the eight locks from the top!

Safe at the lock wall, boats on the left bank.

Ottawa is a busy, bustling city that is preparing for its anniversary in 2017, therefore lots of construction.

The Byward Market is Ottawa's oldest neighborhood, which is centered around the nearly century old ByWard Market Square pavilion.  Here we found arts and crafts, food, cafes and street performers.  It was also HOT.

We couldn't resist, we purchased the Ontario fiddle head ferns.  Not really knowing what to do with them, but there is always Google.  I don't know if we would buy them again, but King ate them.  

The famous Ottawa BeaverTail is a restaurant that serves pastries that look like a beaver tail (it is a whole wheat pastry with sweet or savory toppings).  There was often a long line waiting to purchase, plus street performers to add to the enjoyment.

We decided to forgo the high calorie treat, so we went back to the boat.  Gary and Vicki toured Parliament, on the French language tour, and then left the next day for cooler Colorado.