Boating on the Rideau Canal

On Thursday June 14th we headed for Toronto, on our way to the Rideau Canal.  We changed planes in Cincinatti, and checked into an airport hotel in Toronto.  We had dinner nearby.  The Toronto Raptors were playing for the NBA championship, and we watched the entire game, which was very competitive.

A brief history lesson:  The Rideau Canal was built around 1830, to help defend Canada from the Americans, after the war of 1812.  It runs from Kingston Ontario to Ottawa, the national capital, linking the Ottawa river with Lake Ontario.  It is a UNESCO world heritage site.   The canal has been in continuous operation for almost 200 years.

On Friday, we took the UP express train from the airport to Union Station in Toronto.  We wandered outside to find a beer garden, where we ate and listened to a young singer-songwriter, Sabrina Soares.  It was a happening place, and many people wore their Raptors bling.  We caught the train to Ontario, and got off at Smith Falls.  We took a taxi to the Best Western, and ate at the Roosterant, a local diner.

Our boat for the week

Saturday was rainy and windy. We dropped our suitcases at the Le Boat office, and walked around Smith Falls.  We started at the Rideau Canal museum, and proceeded to the Eastern Ontario Railway museum.  Richard ate the first cinnamon roll, one of many throughout the trip.  We were able to get on the boat about 3 PM.  Sterling walked us through the boat, which was large and very nicely appointed.   Due to the wind, we agreed to do our training run and launch on Sunday morning.   We made it to the 5 PM mass.

A lock at the entrance to the Tay Canal

Sunday started with some practice docking, and then we went through the first lock.  Sterling said goodby after the first lock, and we were on our way to Perth.  Sandi's ancestors were believed to have come to Perth after landing in Quebec.  We docked in Last Dual Park, where the last duel fought in Ontario took place.  Perth was quiet, with most stores closed.  We visited the historical society and tourist information center.   Richard took a photo of Sandi with the mammoth cheeze.  We strolled along the river, and visited a few shops.

Monday we walked into Perth, and were at the library when the doors opened.  We went through some archival information, but did not find her family's name.  Richard had another cinnamon roll, and we headed back down the canal, aiming for Westport.  We made it to the narrows lock just in time to be the last boat locked through for the day.  Westport has an island with docks on it, and a pedestrian bridge to the mainland.  We were able to buy groceries before the store closed; everything closes about 5 PM.

Tuesday morning we paid our docking fee, and headed for Chaffee's lock.  We found a place to dock near the lock.  A lockmaster and another boater helped us tie up.  Wayne, the boater, was a wealth of local information.   We walked over to the Opinicon resort, and made a reservation for dinner.  We enjoyed watching the world go by, including the wealthy lady who rescued and restored the Opinicon, a historic fishing lodge.  The grounds are beautiful; the ice cream shop was a nice touch.   We had dinner in the dining room, and walked around the resort.  The cabins have been fully modernized, but kept their turn of the century charm.

Opinicon

Wednesday we decided to head for Colonel By Island, a Parks Canada island named for the man who led the effort to build the canal. At the narrows lock, we experienced a little of the wind that sometimes shuts down the lock.  The lockmaster said that he had locked through several trawlers in the last couple of days, headed to the island, and suggested that we would find no space for our boat.  We decided to stop by the island and check it out. It was a bit of a challenge to navigate into the group of islands, with numerous shallow areas, without any navigation buoys. When we arrived, we found only one other boat, so we pulled into the dock.  The other boater helped us tie up, and said that the trawlers had left in a group that morning.  We took a hike around the island, where we saw many trees in strange shapes due to a 1985 tornado.  A couple of small boats stopped for a brief visit, but otherwise all was quiet.  We enjoyed a good dinner on the upper deck.  We were serenaded by the haunting cry of the loon.   As it got on to evening, the wind died, and it was very quiet.

On Thursday, the rain started as we set off.  Our first challenge was to navigate out of the group of islands into the main channel. Our next challenge was visibility, as the defroster did not work. Sandi kept wiping the windshield.  We found our way to the entrance of the Tay Canal, where we chatted with the friendly lockeeper, who seemed unaffected by the rain.   We heard about a fallen tree blocking the canal.  From the upper lock, we saw the fallen tree, and decided not to proceed until the lockeepers had cleared the channel.  They tried to clear it with a kayak, but ultimately had to go get a saw to remove the tree.

We called Le Boat about our defroster; they walked us through the switches, but ultimately told us to pull the fuses to reset the heater.   After we were safely at the dock in Perth, we were able to pull the fuses, and get the heater working.

We strolled into Perth, and first hit the library, where Sandi was able to take care of some business.  We then stopped at Coutts Coffee for a warm drink and a sweet.  We visited the Book Nook, where Richard bought a mystery by the well known Canadian author Louise Kenny.   We had a lengthy chat with the owner of the Irish/Scottish shop, who was pleased that Richard knew how to pronounce Donegal.  We stopped by the visitor information center, where we met Debbie, the archivist, who may be able to help Peg tracking down family history.   Finally, we had dinner at O'Reilly's Pub, where we enjoyed the fish and chips special.  By that time, the rain had stopped, and we strolled back to the boat.

Tay canal

Friday we strolled into Perth for coffee and sweets.  We headed back to the locks, enjoying once again the wetlands around the Tay River, and the Great Blue Herons that we saw.   The lock crew was training summer help.  When we got to the lake, it was windy, and the wind made it more difficult to keep a course.  We went through two more locks; the lock at Smith Falls had a dozen students being trained for the season.  We gingerly backed the boat into a space between two other boats.  Sandi did laundry; Richard cleaned the upper and lower decks of the boat.  We had a nice dinner at Whim restaurant.   We are tidying up the boat to give it back on Saturday morning; we will be checked out at 8:30, with a taxi at 9, and a train to Toronto at 9:30.

Saturday we took the train to Toronto, and a taxi to the Clinton and Bloor B&B in the Koreatown neighborhood of Toronto.  We decided to head downtown for the Toronto Jazz Festival, which was on Sandi's life list.  We saw several bands; the best was the Hot 8, a brass band from New Orleans.  We had dinner at a taco place near our B&B, Asados.

Sunday morning we had breakfast at the B&B, and went to mass at 11:15.   There was an indigenous event at Fort York, and we took a streetcar to get there.  We participated in the event, mostly by drumming in a group.   We strolled down to the water, and then took the streetcar to the Kensington neighborhood, which was downright funky, kind of a cross between Greenwich Village in its heyday and Key West.  Lots of young people strolling around, and people with rainbow colors from the Pride parade.  We visited a couple of used bookstores on our stroll back to the B&B.  We had dinner at a Korean BBQ place suggested by our host, Albert.

Monday, Richard flew home, and Sandi went to work.  We had a great vacation.