update as of 7/19/08

Lois with big money

Twoony
Tour Boat in Lock next to us for the night
Retired Coast Guard Buoy Tender at Kingston Marine Museum
7/19/08 We traveled to Campbellford, Ont. today. We stopped at a suspension foot bridge that had been constructed by a military unit over a gorge at a power plant. We saw an otter in the river this evening. Lois did laundry this afternoon. It is very warm and humid, so we decided to stay at the town park and we have electric, which means we are cool and comfortable. We are parked next to a statute of the twoony which is the 2 dollar coin. The artist that came up with the bear on the coin is from this town. As you can see Lois likes to be around big money.

7/17/08 Today was a short trip of two hours to get to Trenton, ON, where the 240 mile Trent-Severn Waterway begins. To prepare for this leg of our trip, we grocery shopped, got some boat parts, and studied the travel info and nautical charts. This waterway has historical significance, and its 40+ locks are maintained and run by Parks Canada.
7/18/08 Frankford, ON. Although we did not cover many miles today, we transited 6 locks. Each lock is an exercise in co-ordination of effort for both people on a boat. For Loopers like us, the vessel is usually 30-45 ft. long and has a crew of two, husband and wife. The lock rules require one person to handle a line on the bow (front) and one to handle a line at the stern (back). The way Bob and I do it is for him to drive the boat into the lock, while I stand on the bow to grab one of the cables hanging down from the top of the lock wall and put a line (rope) around it. As soon as I do that and the stern swings close to the side wall of the lock, Bob shuts off the engine and goes to the stern to put another line on a cable. We hang on to the lines, the doors of the lock close behind us, and the water rises, sometimes slowly and calmly, other times in a more turbulent manner. When the water has risen to the level of the next pool of water, the front doors of the lock open, we remove our lines from the cables on the lock wall, and away we go. Today we were traveling with two other Looper boats and the three of us locked through together. We had a large tour boat spend the night at the lock with us. We are glad we did not meet them on the water. Some places are very narrow.