Day 99 - Sat 4 Jul 2015
Anchored – Manotick, ON

[photo: you do not see many general aviation aircraft in the sky up here, but the occasional float plane is still visible]

Happy Independence Day to our fellow Americans!
The road traffic and occasional train made a bit of noise last night, but nothing too bad. Clyde got a little walk near dark but the grass strip is right next to a busy road, so I had to be next to him the whole time. We slept pretty late (0600) and awoke to the loud voices of some fisherman wetting their lines on the dock within 10 feet of our boat. It was time to get up anyway.

The boat was slightly chilly for Diane and I needed something to do until we could leave when the locks opened at 0900, so I cooked up the strawberries that were no longer in prime condition to add the cooked rhubarb. We decided rhubarb alone is not to our taste. I also made potato and onion soup with the last of the big batch of potatoes we got at the market in Kingston. They, too, were just a bit past their prime, but the soup turned out so good that we had some for breakfast.

With about 48% of this year’s trip remaining, Diane is already trying to manage the remaining provisions to ensure we do not wind up with a lot of stuff leftover that can’t stand to be frozen all winter on the boat. It might be a bit premature, but I can’t fault her goal. We are still a good bit under budget overall, but solely because fuel prices are lower.

When we arrived at the first lock, they were already getting set to lock-up a boat, so it was a 35 minute wait. Diane got out her collapsible lounge chair and was prepared to bask in the bright and warm sun, but we attracted a lot of attention from the locals at the lock park. We were engaged with one couple’s questions and next thing I knew, Diane had invited them for a tour. They had very little knowledge of boating, so everything was fascinating to them. It is nice to share your piece of paradise with others.

Once we got into the locks, there were many more conversations with visitors and sometimes the lock tenders. Some of the young folks we raved about before were helpful and outgoing, but certainly not all, as you might expect. Overall, it was a great experience locking down through 7 locks today, not to mention passing several manually-operated swing bridges.

One gent was riding his bicycle from lock to lock this Sat, and we spent a lot of time talking with him. Later, several boats left a lock headed S as we waited to go N and before one boat even passed our transom to read our hailing port, he made mention of the weather in FL. I was taken aback and then we laughed. The bicyclist had gotten to that lock ahead of us and was talking it up about the strange American boat in the area. Our boat and our route has certainly gotten a lot of attention.

While on the subject of locks, we truly do think these Heritage locks are special, worth preserving with the fees we pay to use them, and charming to use. Having said that, after traversing over 25 in 3 days, you wish there were fewer of them. We must also comment that the Rideau Waterway N of the midway point is not nearly as pretty or inviting as the lower portion. For one thing, it is quite narrow (literally a small river) for long stretches. There are many areas where the natural beauty is marred with one thing or another, and farther N there are just lots and lots of waterfront homes. Now, many of these homes are beautiful, with very handsome gardens, but it is still a lot of excessive wakes from weekend boat traffic. That last bit says it all, really; learn to not travel on weekends and things are a lot more serene.

I forgot to mention yesterday that we saw an adult loon that did not immediately dive as our boat approached in a narrow channel. It was very surprising, but as we got within 10 feet of our port bow, we saw her baby right next to her wing. We had slowed and passed harmlessly alongside, so there was no danger for the birds, but neither of us had a camera ready. Loons are new to us and really cool birds.

The last hour of out travels today was interesting, to be sure. It was Sat and there were hundreds upon hundreds of small boats out plying the waterway. Many were towing tubes with little kids. Some were towing wake boards with teenagers. At least half appeared to me to be overloaded with passengers, but there was no recklessness that seemed overly dangerous. We did have to slow suddenly and swerve when one of the wake boarders lost it and splashed in front of us. It was no big deal, but you have to be careful. Even the supple bones of youth can damage a propeller blade ;-)

Our decision was to anchor out again, but there are no longer any secluded anchorage surrounded by nature’s wonders. We had to settle for Mahogany Bay near Manotick. It is surrounded by homes and next to a road, but overall it is not bad. In the several hours after anchoring, we had several boaters some close to chat. One was a guy who was in the fast boat next to us in the locks yesterday. A few more just loved the boat and wanted to chat about her. Canadians have been some of the friendliest people we have met in all our travels.

Tomorrow, we have another 8 locks to negotiate, but only about 14 miles. We will see if arriving in Ottawa somewhat early in the day on a Sun holiday weekend (Canada Day was on Wed, so maybe people took a long weekend) will work out or not.