JACKIE B III Going Loopy

Leaving Lovesick we were struck by the beauty of the area once again Approaching Bobcaygeon we began to notice a lot of cottages. The water was so clear and most people in this area really seemed to like Adirondack chairs. We were only able to tie up to the wall in Bobcaygeon long enough to go our for lunch at an outdoor Mexican restaurant.  A cruise ship was coming in and had the wall space reserved.  We spent the afternoon paddle boarding and stayed at a marina that night. More of the same beautiful cottage country as we made our way to Fenelon Falls There are actually waterfalls here and we were able to get a spot on the wall below the lock which we grabbed at once after our experience in Bobcaygeon. As we walked around town we happened upon STEAM in the park activities that I went nuts over. We had lunch in the brewery overlooking the craziness of the lock traffic. We took a chance and moved our boat above the lock.  We had a spot without power.  I went paddle bo...

The Peterson Lift Lock was built in 1904.  This is an amazing piece of technology. This was an amazing thing to experience. We saw many of these rental canal boats that people can take along the canal route. The canals could be very narrow at times. Then it opens up to lakes with lots of islands.  This church can only be accessed by boat. We went to Lovesick Lock.  Named for a lovesick native boy who was rejected until his friends rescued him. Note the blue line ahead of our boat.  While on the canal you can tie up before the line but tieiong on the line indicates you would like to go through the lock. Note our boat behind us looking back and the lock behind us for the next day. We crossed the bridge to the island where the lovelorn stayed for a while. The locals created a “hot tub” that was just a little warmer than the other waters around. Mike of course had to climb the cliffs. The day ended after some fantastic paddle boarding with a beautiful sunset. Our Journey...

Initially the weather looked pretty bad and we weren’t going to leave Hastings but then we decided we could make it before the lock closed so we went for it and are we glad we did.  This is the Canadian Canal Park we ended up staying in for two nights we liked it so much. The forecast was for two Foot waves.  This was not even close The lock in the park was so old and charming. This was the view behind our boat for our stay. The first night we rode our bikes up to the lift lock that we would be going through in a couple of days.  It is the largest lift lock in the world. The view up top was amazing. We were able to get some really cool shots thanks to our new friends Deb and Dan. The next day we explored Petersborough by dinghy. You can see Deb and Dan behind us in their dinghy.  It is a beautiful city with lots of art work in the many parks along the river. We ended the evening at a free concert in the park next to the marina where many of our friends were staying. ...

  We began to gather before the lock was open.  Eventually two more boats joined us.  The lock master put three boats in together.  Then We followed with four.   We were in like sardines.  But we made new friends on our way.  We ended up traveling like this together for 5 locks. It was a lot of work for me as I had to raise and lower fenders on different sides of the boats as some locks had port (left) side tie ups and others had starboard (right.)   Being the larger boat we always had the wall and the other boat rafted to us. These two rode along with us at every lock but one. (Yay , new friends!) Of course the scenery along the way was Gorgeous. After an extremely long day with so much locking, we all went to the local watering hole for happy hour and ended up back on our boat for movie night. We even had overnight guests as one of the boats with us is a center console with a bow tent and we had thunder storms over night. One of the best days so...

Being the last boat out, we were not able to travel with our new friends as we did not all fit in the lock together. We all started out together. We took our time and had to enjoy the swans. We arrived just in time to see them all go in the chamber. The water rushes out as they lower the water in the chamber so we can get out. But we went in and they raised us up. The photo above on the left is of the suspension bridge over the gorge. The doors for this lock are rather intimidating. So in we go and they closed the doors! We arrived in Campbellford and had a lovely lunch.  After lunch we went back to the gorge on our bicycles. This is the bridge and you can see the waterfall in the distance. Of course we have to figure out how we can get to the waterfall.  We climbed down into the river bed. ….and yes Mike did jump. All in all this was a pretty great day for a 40th wedding anniversary. Our Journey “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins....