August 3 through 9, Rideau Canal, Smith Falls through Kingston

 

August 3 through 7, 2024 Stops on the Rideau Canal

August 3 - 5, Smith Falls, Ontario

As mentioned in the last article, we arrived in Smith Falls at 5:00 after a very long, hot day. We did walk across the river to the downtown and found a pub for dinner. We really needed a cold drink and grub! After dinner, we walked downtown for about 3 or 4 blocks, then back to the boat. Our observations: several nice murals, several restaurants, a bakery, some lovely churches. Not many people about – this is a ‘sort of’ holiday in Canada, Colonel By Day is on Monday. It is not an official national holiday, but many businesses do give employees time off or they just take it off. Colonel By built the Rideau Canal. He evidently spent an exorbitant amount doing it ($350), and took three years to do it. He was chastised by the government for his extravagance! Queen Victoria, then a young woman, was advised she should make Toronto the capital of Canada. She said, no! The yanks were going to invade and burn Toronto – make it Ottawa. Ottawa, at that time, was nothing much – just a few buildings and people. Of course, making it the capital made a huge difference in that story. Anyway, here we were on a Saturday night of a holiday weekend – all the restaurants closed up at 8:00 and nothing else was moving….

Next day was Sunday...again, a holiday weekend. We did get some grocery shopping done and Dan was able to purchase almost all the oil he needed to do an oil change on the engines. It was again very hot, so much of the day was spent just sitting in front of a fan! Our neighboring boats were mostly folks from Montreal, speaking French for the most part. I did have a very nice conversation with a woman boater when I complimented her on her English. I said I wished I could speak French as well as she spoke English. Turns out she spoke only French growing up, but for a few years she worked as a medical transcriptionist in an English hospital – her English got very good. She said she started dreaming in English! That job was years ago, and so her practice of English is not very frequent.

The last night we were there, we had rain and a temperature change! Very welcome indeed. We all planned to get into the lock located right there when they opened the next morning.

Well, plans change! A tour boat had come the night before and had first dibs on entering the lock. This boat was pretty amazing – constructed specifically for the Ridean Canal, it fit into the locks with about 2 feet to spare! So, we all waited until a later locking.

August 6, 2024 Next stop Davis Lock.

We transited 5 locks that day, such a more pleasant experience with temperatures in the low 70’s! Also, this part of the Rideau had gotten much more interesting and beautiful. To see the Garmin screen was pretty interesting - there are markers that indicate the edge of the channel to stay within, and following them looked a little like a route that would be laid out to train someone on a bike or motorcycle! And, going outside the channel in these waters is especially hazardous – big rocks! Very unforgiving.

Our time at Davis Lock was pretty interesting! After the group of us boats who had locked together all day got tied up, we all were walking around and chatting. The most interesting lock full started to come through. The first thing we saw was an AMAZING wooden antique boat called The Dolphin. Along with Dolphin, there were 20 or more canoes! The canoes were all in a group, mostly guys, mostly young, and they were accompanied by a pontoon boat. They all got squeezed into the lock. As they came up, we found that they were all stopping for the night at the lock! The pontoon boat had everyone’s gear, tents, and such. I asked them if they were Boy Scouts (even though they looked a little to old for that). Someone said “Something like that!”. Never did find out what the group was, but they seemed to be a Christian group. The got their tents all set up, cooked dinner, milled around for a while, then all was quiet.

The Dolphin docked right across the dock from us – way to show us up! The entire boat is wooden, and ALL the wood was varnished and polished perfectly. The couple who came in the boat are hired captain and mate. The owners weren’t aboard. The boat is 95 years old, and has been owned by the same family since it was built! Amazing that the families generations have been able to keep and maintain the boat so beautifully. Apparently, the current family are ready to rid themselves of that burden, and the boat is for sale (for $1.2 million!). Next morning, three middle aged couples arrived and went on board. The canoeists cooked breakfast and then had a meeting, looked like prayers and Eucharist were celebrated.

August 7, 2024

We planned to get to Kingston, Ontario that day, which is the end of the Rideau Canal. The weather was still very pleasant, and we enjoyed the cruising day. We did have to wait an hour and a half at one lock series, which put us later than we had hoped. The countryside we went through these last couple of days is spectacular, and I’m sure my pictures won’t do it justice. As we approached the Kingston Mills locks, the last series of locks before Kingston, we were told we were too late – their last lockage had just finished. So there were 4 of us boats who were stopped for the night. Another quiet night.

August 8, 2024

After waiting for some boats to lock up and exit the Kingston Mills locks, the 4 boats who had waited over night got to lock down. The total of the 4 locks was 45 feet. Such a beautiful spot – solid rock on the right side and beautiful trees on the left. The weather looked like another fine day, so after exiting the locks at 11:45, we proceeded on the ‘home stretch’ to Kingston. The last few miles were in the rain. We got into our slip at the marina and settled down for the night. It looks like it will be raining for the next 2 days, so we will just sit in this marina. Nice to be still for a couple of days – chores can be done!

We had decided (actually, I decided) that we needed a few days’ break from boat life. So, one of the chores was to figure out the logistics. We will travel across the boarder to Clayton, NY, which is in the Thousand Islands. We do want to spend some time there, but will do so on our return from home. We have a rental car reserved. We’ll be home for a week, then drive back to continue on with the rest of the cruising season. One reason to cross the border is (1) this is the closest we’ll be for the rest of the cruising season, (2) we can buy diesel fuel to fill our tanks at about one half of what the Canadians charge! Amazingly, the last time we filled our tanks was in Burlington, Vermont, and we still have about half our tanks’ capacity!

August 5, 2024 Ottawa, and on to the Rideau Canal!

July 26 thru 30, 2024 Ottawa!

We arrived in Ottawa on Friday, July 26, around 2:15 p.m. We decided to begin our stay in a marina, the Hull Marina, which is in Gatineau, just across the river from Ottawa. There is a pedestrian bridge from here to downtown Ottawa, but for Dan and me, the walk from here to downtown is probably half a mile or more – to do that and still have enough in us to walk over downtown is asking much of our old bodies. Enter, stage left, George Norbert (pronounced Nohr-bear). George lives on his boat in the marina for the summer months, has a condo in Florida for the winter months. He’s about our age, a widower, and very friendly and amazingly accommodating! He stopped by to introduce himself, said he has a car here and is ready to take us wherever we’d like to go! He was as good as his word. Each day, we’d call him when we were ready to go downtown, he dropped us off at a central location, and said to call him when we were ready to come back! We will forever be grateful for his help and friendship. Dan and I were done in after 3-4 hours, so George came and got us. Michelle, in top physical condition, remained to wander around, see much more of the city, and then walk back to the boat.

One change was immediately noticeable in Ottawa from the rest of our time in Canada. We have crossed from Quebec to Ontario. Now, instead of the first language of announcements, greetings, etc., being French, we now heard English. Even though all the Quebec folks were so pleasant and welcoming, it is much easier to have communications in English!

In our time in Ottawa:

Day one – we were pretty tired, so we walked to a local restaurant there in Gatineau and had a pretty good meal. Early night.

Day two – George drove us downtown, dropped us off near the Tourist information office. We partook of their offerings and advice. Right next door was an outdoor cafe, where we had some lunch. We had gotten reservations for a tour of the Canadian Mint. We enjoyed the tour, learned so much about the Canadian mint process. Turns out the mint here in Ottawa doesn’t make any bills or any circulation coins. The bills are printed in the Bank of Canada. The coins are made elsewhere – I have forgotten where! This mint produces commemorative coins, medals (Olympic and military), gold and silver coins for investors. Interestingly enough, they also have produced coins for over 100 other countries, including the United States!? This was on Saturday and no work was being done that day, but the guide had several television screens to show the process. Our group had some good questions – Dan’s were the only question the guide had problems in answering! We were disappointed they weren’t giving out samples that day!

Day Three: We had tickets (free) to tour the House of Commons. This was really very interesting. The main house of Parliament is under construction, behind fences and scaffolding. From the outside, though, it is amazingly beautiful and imposing. In normal times, both the Senate and House of Commons meets in this building. But, some years ago the decision was made to completely renovate the main house plus create a large underground space for the visitor center. In order to undertake that project, both the Senate and House had to be relocated. Wow! Just imagining all the moving pieces of that project! The House of Commons that we toured meets in a beautiful space that formerly was an outside courtyard! They put a ceiling on it that allows some natural light in. They added huge columns that resemble trees with branches to hold up the ceiling and support the walls. On the main floor, there are two desks in the middle of the floor, both having to do with clerical/recording function. The big seat at the front is for the Governor General (or the monarch if he/she is present). The floor is divided into two, one half (the right side) is always the majority party) and the left the opposing party. The Prime Minister sits in the eleventh chair from the front of the room in the front row of the majority party. The minority leader sits in the eleventh chair across the room. There is a large balcony for the public to occupy – always first come, first serve. One fact I thought interesting is that, once a bill has gone through all the stages until it is thought ready to be the law of the land, the Governor General is presented with it. After she (currently a woman) has reviewed it there in the chamber, if she approves, she simply nods her head – and, there’s a new law!

We also saw a committee room, where a smaller group debates and amends bills that have been proposed.

On the same floor as the legislatures sit, there are a couple of sound proof small rooms that can be used for a member who needs some quiet or privacy.

The last room we saw was impressive. The Room of Remembrance has a book for every conflict that Canadians have fought and died in (eight books). Every day, an officer in ceremonial dress comes and turns each book to the next page. The ceiling has lighting that comes through holds to illuminate the room. The lighting gets brighter during the day to the point where all the pages are turned, then starts to dim. This happens 365 days a year. This way, every name of every Canadian who has died for his/her country sees the light one day per year. This was the only room in the House where photographs were not allowed. I was very moved to hear about this.

There is also a changing of the guard every morning at 10:00 a.m. in front of the main Parliament building. Doesn’t seem like we’ll get to see that…

It is thought that the main building will be ready for occupancy around 2032 – quite a long time!

After our tour, we strolled over to the street that is pedestrian only. We stopped for a cold drink. Dan and I decided we were ready to go back to the boat, so we called George who came quickly and delivered us back ‘home’. Michelle still had lots of energy, so she stayed downtown. We didn’t see her again until 9:00 p.m.!

Leaving Ottawa, the route takes boats up a flight of 8 locks. Once you start, you must finish – they are connected one to the next. At the top of the locks, there is a wall with power that we can use. We had heard conflicting information on that spot, but a Looper boat that just ascended a few days ago stayed there 2 nights, sent us detailed information on where they stayed. So, on Monday morning, our plan was to ascend the locks as soon as they opened (9:00), tie up on the wall, and explore more of downtown for Michelle’s last full day with us. Sunday night, we checked the engines and prepared to shove off early to get to the ‘blue line’ to wait for the locks opening. The blue line is just on the other side of the river, no more than 10 minutes away. The engines were a little hesitant to start, but they did start and off we went. We were the 3^rd boat there. The very nice Parks Canada people briefed us on the order to go into the lock – since we were the biggest boat, we were the first in. All boats (4 by this time) got tied up, and up we went to the next lock. We asked if it would be possible to leave our engines running – the answer, not here. These locks are pretty deep and there are 3 other boats in the chamber with us. If we cannot be sure of starting in each lock, they said we should stay in the 2^nd lock, let the other 3 boats go on into the next lock. Then we backed out of the first two locks. While that was happening, I called the marina, who found us a spot to return to. Our wonderful friend, George, will take Dan and Michelle to the store to buy more batteries and bring them back. Turns out these particular batteries were installed in 2017, so their useful life is over. If this had to happen, the timing and location couldn’t have been better – Michelle is an excellent and strong mechanic herself, and between Dan and her, they got the old batteries out and are off to the store! (I decided to make myself somewhat useful by updating our blog!) The mechanical engineers (Michelle and Dan)got back with three batteries, and all three were installed right away. We shouldn’t have any more battery problems – YAY!!

On Monday night, after the battery exercise, we asked George to take us to a good restaurant and to please have dinner with us! He took us to the Baton Rouge, where we had a terrific meal. We enjoyed George’s company – he has had an interesting life, including he and his wife shipping their trawler to France and living there for 14 years!

Next morning, we made our way to the blue line, again being the third boat there. The flight of eight locks was completed – we had lots of people watching. I even did a little happy dance at the top. The spot where we had hoped to dock for the night was taken up by two boats. Further along, there was more wall with 30 amp electrical outlets. We tied up securely, then decided to walk to the Basilica of Notre Dame. Dan stayed back, so Michelle and I went. I got a chance to duck briefly into the Art Museum, then took the guided tour of the Basilica. The guide was terrific, answering most of our questions before they were asked. The church is spectacular. Interestingly, every part of the church, including the columns was made of wood. They were painted to look like marble. The first church built in Ottawa was on this site, then they built the basilica around it. Just before completing the last wall of the basilica, the old church was dragged across the street. Unfortunately, it burned so does not exist any longer. There were interesting statues at the front of the church. Closest to the congregation were characters from the old testament, such as Adam, Abel, David. Look closely between David’s legs, and you see Goliath’s head! At the very front of the sanctuary, there are large statues of St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, and St. John the Baptist, patron saint of the French Canadians. Depending on the bishop currently residing at the church, those two statues are switched. The one on the right side of Jesus is the most honored position, so if the bishop is French Canadian, St. John the Baptist gets the favored position!

After the Basilica tour, we made our way to a restaurant that Michelle had discovered on some of her wanderings. She though Dan would enjoy it. Dan met us and we had a good lunch there. He and I did like the restaurant, Jax. It was an old fashioned diner, with milk shakes where they serve part in a glass and give you the rest in a stainless steel container! Once lunch was over, we made our way back to the boat where George was already waiting. Off Michelle went! We will miss her!

Next morning, We and one other boat, docked nearby, left to start down the Rideau Canal. We transited several locks with those folks. We stopped at Hurst Marina, and they kept going, intending to anchor out somewhere. At Hurst Marina, we finally met Ellen and John on Salud, who we had been messaging with since before we left Ottawa. They departed the next morning, so we might see them down the way….

At Hurst, Dan was able to arrange for a technician to come to the boat to look at the generator. It had stopped working quite a while ago – not a problem when we are at a marina or when we have power at a wall. But, it does limit our options. He fixed it! Yay! Now, we could anchor out and have power when we need it.

It has been so hot, in the 90s every day. At night, it doesn’t cool off much. We have been without A/C in the salon, which I have really missed! For the day we were at Hurst, I made good use of their pool! It felt heavenly to soak in that cool water. As we were preparing to leave the next morning, we were told they had found an A/C technician! So, we delayed our departure to give this guy a chance to see what he can do for us. Our journey for today is only about 3-4 hours, so having to wait around isn’t a big problem. Heck, if he can get this A/C fixed, I’m ok with staying at the marina another night! Unfortunately, the gentleman who came didn’t know anything about our type of air conditioning, so no fix there.

Off we went. We had intended to continue to Merrickville, but at the lock before that, the Parks Canadian folks told us that all the spots in Merrickville with power were taken. It’s a long weekend in Canada, so everyone with a boat is on the water. If we wanted power (yes, please!), we could stay there on their wall. Done. The wall was right on the Rideau River, and was a lovely quiet place. I got the best picture of a sunset in quite a while.

Next morning, we were at the lock again – Many places we have traveled, Kittiwake has been one of the smaller boat. Not so on the Rideau. For these locks, we were being fitted in with 4 or 5 other boats, and we were by far the largest. That day, we went through 8 or 9 locks – lost count. It was over 90 degrees, and by the time we arrived at Smith’s Falls, we were done in. Fortunately we did find a spot on the town docks. Less fortunately, the power outlet that should have been for us to use was being used by a food truck in the park...I started worrying (my super power is early worrying on any subject) about trying to sleep in 80+ temps with no A/C. My husband, though, was able to locate an outlet that was reachable with electrical cables that we have. Phew! A/C in our berth! Since this spot is within easy walking distance of a grocery store and a Canadian Tire (for oil for a needed oil change) and several restaurants, we decided to stay 3 nights. It was nice to just stay in one spot for a bit…

Tomorrow, we’re at it again! We are at mile 60 of 126 miles on the Rideau Canal. Two more days, and we’ll be at the end, in Kingston, Ontario.

July 18 Sorel to Montreal MONTREAL!! and then Montebello

 

July 18 – MONTREAL!!!

We left Sorel on Thursday, July 18, and proceeded up (against the current) the St. Lawrence River to Montreal. It was so windy, that Dan immediately decided that we would navigate from the pilot house. We expected the St. Lawrence to be very busy, and that we would be avoiding big ocean-going ships the entire way. As it turned out, we saw very little traffic at all! We did burn extra fuel, in order to travel at the speed we normally do, about 8.5 mph.

Note: although the Garmin tech worked on Dan’s laptop all day on Wednesday, we still are without any electronic Garmin charts. We do have a laptop with an updated operating system, issues with many registries resolved, and the Microsoft Security Suite installed (which covers 5 of our devices). Turns out the SDI card we have for the Garmin is old and does not have the space needed for the new files. My ‘friend’ Google helped me find a Canadian company that has a compatible SDI card for our system with all the charts for the US and Canada that we’ll ever need. We didn’t want to order from a US company, which would have required the package to go through Customs – who knows how long that could delay the shipment! Dan ordered the cards, which should reach us before we leave Montreal (fingers crossed). This has become even more important since Dan just realized that the paper charts we have only get us part way to Ottawa – we cannot continue without any charts!

OK, back to our Montreal time. The last few miles of this journey on the St. Lawrence was a bit tricky. I did mention it was very windy. At Montreal, the current picks up speed, to about 6 knots. We were churning our engines at much higher RPMs to only go about 3 knots! As we approached the Yacht Club of Montreal, we could not see a way to get in! We called the marina, and they assured us. As we approached, we could see the entrance through the seawall – phew! We were assigned a spot along the end of a dock. Two dock hands and a neighboring boater were helping, since the wind was fighting us. We did get safely tied up, with some difficulty.

The marina is right downtown in the old part of Montreal. Just a few blocks away is a park with lots of people and attractions, including a giant Ferris wheel. Also close by is an area with several streets all pedestrian only. Lots of shops, restaurants, bars, street performers, and lots of people! The first night, our first agenda item was dinner. We strolled along, checking out some menus. We encountered a lovely young woman outside one restaurant, who pointed out their menu, which had one price for a soup or salad, entree, dessert, and coffee – only $35 Canadian! I had a lobster salad, which came with ½ a large lobster, shells and all! Dan had a delicious seafood fettucine. Just as we were finishing our meal, I looked up at the people walking by and saw Anne and Steve Parks who used to go to our church and live just a mile or so from our house! Pretty amazing. We chatted for a few minutes, and I gave them our card with contact information. They invited us to join them later. We were just too tired from our travels, and went right back to the boat. We were in bed by 9:00!

Day two in Montreal. First stop was the tourist information office – in my travels, this has proved to be especially helpful. This was no exception. Maps, other printed information, and advice – I needed breakfast that was more than just pastries. We found a restaurant, Eggspectation, and had a delicious breakfast. Just strolling around after breakfast, Dan got a hankering for a chocolate milkshake. As we were sitting and chatting while he had his milkshake, who should I see across the street, but Steve and Anne again!! Hugs, and exclamations of amazement later, they joined us at the table. We visited for a while – they were curious about our journeys on our boat. We got caught up on their three offspring. All in all, a very enjoyable time. This was their last full day in Montreal before boarding the train for home.

On our stroll back to the boat, I saw a coat in a window that was stunning. Turns out it cost $2,400! Rich taste! But, this sales woman was good – she showed me a shawl-type short jacket more in my price range, and still lovely. So, I talked myself into buying it. We continued down the street to go back to the boat. There is a huge building with a silver dome near the boat called Marche de Bonsecours – a huge indoor market. Knowing Dan was tired and had no real interest in shopping, I suggested he continue to the boat and I would come along later. I thoroughly enjoyed looking around – shop after shop with clothes, jewelry, souvenirs. Once again, a window display stopped me. The top was a lovely color, and was very unusual – it drapes in several different ways. The only one they had was the one on the mannequin! It was by a local designer. She had other things there too – I bought the one, and hurriedly left the store so as not to be tempted any further!

That afternoon, there was a nap (Dan), some relaxing and reading (Gena), and some work on a boat project. We had dinner on the boat. About 7:00, we left and walked to the park. The park has all sorts of vendors, ponds with pedal boats, play areas for children. We went on the giant Ferris wheel. Very cool – great views of the area just before sunset. We walked along the waterfront for a while. Next, a trip back downtown for ice cream! The city was all lit up, with LOTS of people everywhere. We walked back to the boat – exhausted! We walked 10,000 steps that day!

Day 3 – For our travels that day, we first visited the Chapel de Notre Dame, which is a very short distance from the marina. So lovely! They also have a museum there, about the first teacher in Montreal. We skipped the museum for now. Next, we stopped off at the Tourist Information Office to inquire about the use of the Metro (subway). We bought our tickets there, got maps that covered more of the city than just Old Montreal. I really wanted to go to Little Italy. I thought it would be fun to be able to trot out my Italian, see what I might remember! It’s possible to walk, but it’s a fair distance away….thus, the Metro!

Next, we walked to the Basilica de Notre Dame – nothing short of awesome. We spent some time there, just amazed at the beautiful place, all the features. I took loads of pictures. Every day except for Sundays, there is a light show in the Basilica called Aura. I can’t imagine the interior of the Basilica to be even more spectacular, but we’re going to find out! We bought tickets for Monday night, so that we can take Michelle. Across the street from the Basilica is a lovely park, with buskers, and a large monument depicting the various people or groups who were founders of the city.

Next up, we managed to find the closest Metro stop, and got off at the right stop, Jean Talon. By the way, not speaking many words of French,we found the pronunciations of the various stations over the speakers incomprehensible! Good thing the names of the stations also appeared on a screen! Leaving the Metro stop, we came upon a barber shop – in we went! Dan’s barber took a long time with him, and the cut was good. Further down the street was the Jean Talon market. WOW! Everything from fruits and vegetables, meats, cheeses, hot food. It was huge – reminded me very much of Eastern Market in Detroit. We each had a lobster roll. Wanting to see what Little Italy was like, we continued on. Not sure if Little Italy has evolved into more of just another Montreal neighborhood – I did see lots of gardens, on the ground, and hanging from balconies, some restaurants, but nothing that made me want to stay and walk around more. I didn’t hear one word spoken in Italian. We stopped back by the market, bought some vegetables, and headed back to the Metro. We were beat! We somehow missed our stop, had to get off and go around to the other side to get back to our stop. By now, our mid-seventies selves were really feeling tired. We managed to walk back to the street nearest our boat before stopping for a cold beverage. Dan ordered a sandwich, and I ate half. Once back at the boat we collapsed into a near coma! We had walked another 10,000 steps that day!

We did manage to stay upright until 10:00 when the fireworks started. We had a front row seat from the back of our boat! Beautiful display. We really enjoyed it. When it was done, all the cars around blew their horns in celebration. Time for bed!

Day 4 - Dan really wanted to get some boat chores done, so we decided that Sunday was the day for that. I wanted to do some neatening and cleaning to prepare for Michelle’s arrival on Monday.

First up, Dan wanted to spend some time with the charts to review the trip from here to Ottawa. There are two huge Canadian locks right after we leave Montreal. You must make reservations and pay ahead for these – I took care of that while Dan struggled with the tricky parts of the cruise. Unfortunately, he found that the book of paper charts we had bought only takes us about 20 miles from Montreal – after that, nothing! There are no marine stores in Montreal, a fact that I find amazing. Assuming we get the Garmin SDI cards we ordered, we will be fine. We hope they arrive on Tuesday. If they don’t, we’ll just have to delay our departure…. Without them or any paper charts, all we have for navigation aids is a program on my tablet called Aquamaps. It is very good, but it’s hard to see at the helm.

Day 5 – Michelle arrived! She’ll be staying with us for 8 days, 2 more days in Montreal, 3 days journey to Ottawa, 3 days in Ottawa. She flies home from Ottawa on Tuesday.

We walked around some of Old Montreal, then stopped for lunch at a lovely restaurant, Jardin Nelson. The restaurant has a front wall on one street, but there’s no entrance there. The entrance is off the pedestrian mall. That front wall is just a wall – no roof anymore. Inside there are plants and flowers everywhere, umbrellas that cover each table or area, a keyboard and cello duo playing, and great food. After more strolling around, we went back to the boat to rest up. We had tickets for Aura, the light show at the Basilica, at 6:00.

The light show was pretty fabulous, but I must say, I enjoyed Dan and my visit during the day. Then, we had time to really absorb the beauty and the many aspects of the place. After the light show, we were up for dinner. I had found a place very close to the Basilica, Mignon Steak Vieux-Montreal. We found it, but there was so much street construction that it was a bit of a challenge to enter! I asked the young waitress if we got a prize for managing to get in. She thought for a minute, then said, “Yes, the ambience, the friendly wait staff, and the wonderful food!” Clever girl! The place is very small, and we enjoyed a quiet dinner, Dan and I had steaks, Michelle had a burger. It was about 1.2 kilometers back to the boat – we were done in (Dan and I).

Next day, we had decided to tour the Museum of Archaeology and History. Dan begged off – his legs and hips were feeling all the extra steps lately. So, Michelle and I went. Very interesting, very large place. There are actually 7 areas, all connected. It was probably good that Dan didn’t join us – lots of walking, steps, standing. They did a great job of using some animation and other unusual ways of presenting information. For me, the coolest portion was a tunnel. It started out as a trench to funnel waste down the hill into the river (yech!). Over the years, they bricked the trench, then put a cover over it. In the museum, you traverse the tunnel going to an area and then back again. Beautiful changing lights make it magical. At the end, there is a painting in lights. Hard to describe, but there are a few paintings that appear, then slowly drop to the bottom of the wall as a new painting emerges. So beautiful. Another unforgettable part, for me, was a very large wall – possibly 45 feet or more – displaying a living picture. It was so wide, I had to keep moving my head from side to side to see it all. Just as I thought it was just a scene with no characters, a settler appeared carrying a string of fish, then a native appears at the other side. There is no sound. Both are startled and concerned at first, then drew closer and closer – finally, they exchange some communication about the fish and the furs on the native. Another scene showed some geese floating peacefully on a lake, then, suddenly, they all took flight. I could have stood there all day!

Michelle and I took our time walking back to the boat. First, lunch – we stopped at a place called Shnoopi. Turns out the name is the owner’s nickname as a boy. I had asked if they had gluten free bread. They didn’t, but in the time I’ve been in Canada, I have started to try having some regular bread. I have had zero problems with it! Conclusion: our flour in the U.S. has ingredients in it that are what cause the problem for me. So, I ordered a sandwich – the waiter said he was worried about me eating the regular bread. Very sweet! But, I assured him that I’m not allergic, just sensitive, and I believe the bread in Canada will not bother me.

We did some shopping on the stroll back to the boat. Dan had enjoyed his day, did some walking in the area but not as much as we did! AND, our package arrived from Garmin! Hallelujah! And, no problem installing the new software – we simply put the new SID card in, and voilla! New charts. Now we can navigate with confidence. Tomorrow, we depart Montreal!

First off, we had to go through two big locks, not run by Parks Canada but by the Canadian government. These locks are primarily for the huge commercial ocean-going ships. Our recreational boat gets the least priority. We had reservations for the first lock at 9:00 and the second at 11:00. We showed up at 8:00, because the instructions told us to do so. No one else was there, so we thought that perhaps we’d have the locks to ourselves! Nope. There were 3 other boats who came just in time. We ended up rafting with one other smaller boat. Those folks had never been through a lock before, so they were a bit nervous. He did fine – he pulled up next to us, we both had fenders at a good height, we tied them to us with two lines, and off we went! Both locks were uneventful.

Our first stop was at St. Anne du Bellevue, a lovely small town. No power at the wall, but we should be fine. We had help docking at the town dock from Blaine, who spoke English very well. Turns out he lived in the States for 25 years! He was a very chatty fellow, but very nice and helpful. We went to dinner at Annie’s, which was right on the water. While at dinner, there was a pretty heavy rain storm. Later, we walked to a convenience store, hoping to find milk and OJ – no luck. Michelle did some exploring on her own, and found a great little coffee shop/bakery for tomorrow’s breakfast. There is a lock at St. Anne that we will go through tomorrow morning.

Next morning, we had scones and coffee and returned to the boat ready to get going. Ummm, we were ready, but there was no power to start the boat. In fact, there was no power for anything, such as flushing toilets, lights, all that good stuff. Dan was perplexed – our house bank of batteries was completely dead, even though there was nothing that should have drained them over night. Running the engines the day before should have charged them completely. We made ready to spend another day and night there as Dan poked around, investigating the problem. Felt similar (to me) to the issue we had in St. Jean on the Chambly Canal. Then, Dan was checking out some big switches that have to do with what batteries are connected to each other and, suddenly, we had power! So, we were able to start the engines. Dan was concerned, however, because once inside a lock, you are required to cut off your engines, then restart to exit the lock. I volunteered to walk up to the lock to ask the tenders if we could have an exception to that rule – yes! So, off we went.

That turned out to be an exceptionally long day. Starting off with all the adrenaline, worried about our batteries, then going through the Carillon lock, and finally arriving at the Marina at Chateau Montebello at 6:30 p.m.

A few words about the Carillon lock. It is really old, pretty huge, lifting the boat 87 feet! I was at the bow, so I got a good view as the water poured in. There was an area just in front of the gates that was pretty big, maybe 300 sq feet. Anyway, it was completely dry. As we waited to rise, it occurred to me that that whole area had to be submerged in order to get us to the level of the lock gates! The lock folks were very kind, and allowed us to leave our engines running while in the lock – we were just not sure we’d be able to start them again!

A part of that cruise was a bit tricky, navigation wise. The spoils from digging the canal was dumped into Lac St. Louis, making the trip across that not small lake a bit twisty/turny. At one point, we got a radio call, “Kittiwake!! You are about to get into trouble, 3 feet depth. Stop! We (a sailboat who came up on our starboard side) will guide you through!” With that bit of help and paying attntion to the rest of the markers, we got through successfully. The St. Lawrence wasn’t very busy, but what traffic there was was recreational boats who like to run fast – regardless of other boats nearby. But, no damage done, just some rocky rolly times.

When we approached the marina, we couldn’t reach the marina staff for our slip assignment, so we just entered and took the first available spot that seemed to fit. By the time we got tied up, lovely Beatrice from the marina was there, all apologetic for not responding. We got ourselves cleaned up and went up to the Chateau for dinner. WOW! The Chateau is advertised as the largest log structure in the world – I believe it! Huge and beautiful. The grounds had some nice landscaping, and the property is on a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by the St. Lawrence River. The next morning, we had breakfast on the boat, then took a walk all around the resort taking pictures. So beautiful.

Next stop, Ottawa!