Days 324 – 325     Hastings Village Marina,

Hastings, Ontario, Canada

Friday, July 15 – Saturday, July 16, 2011

Hastings Marina is close to Lock and Dam #18

Beautiful flowers on the bridge at Hastings

Lots of geese at Hastings

Canadian Legion

Hastings is a friendly place to stop with nearby restaurants, groceries, and laundry.  We took advantage of all of the above and enjoyed our stay.  We even went to the Canadian Legion Hall compliments of Bruce’s American membership card and shared a lot of laughs with the local members.  

 Total miles:  20      Total bridges:   4       Total locks:  6

Day 323     Campbellford West Wall,

Campbellford Ontario, Canada

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Dream Catcher's bow next to the lock gates

 These channel markers are definitely permanent! 

 Double lift combination locks #11 and #12 - in lock #11 looking at the lower gates of lock #12

 Dinner at Capers

 Dream Catcher docked at Campbellford with Bade Boomer across the river

The Campbellford town wall was another great stop with power and water.  It got even better when Bruce and Chris arrived on Bade Boomer!  We hadn’t seen them since Marathon, so it was great to catch up.  All 8 of us had dinner together at Capers.

 Campbellford’s claim to fame is that it is the home of Brent Townsend, designer of the “toonie” which is the Canadian 2 dollar coin.  A monument in his honor is in the park next to the dock wall.            

  Total miles:  24      Total bridges:  5       Total locks:  6

Day 322     Lock Wall above Lock #6,

Trent-Severn Waterway

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Leaving Trenton to start the Trent-Severn Waterway

Leaving lock #1

Approaching a lock

Jim helps open lock #6 gates

Dream Catcher, Seamoore, Jeremiah at Lock #6 wall

We left the marina in time to make the first lock of the day at Lock #1 on the Trent-Severn.  We were the only 3 boats in the lock, but it was an extremely tight fit with all of us in a row.  Seamoore’s anchor hung over our dingy.  We stopped early in the day since rain was predicted – and arrived – in the afternoon. 

The lock wall above lock #6 was a great place to stop and included power and water.  We walked into town with Jeff and Linda and shopped at the hardware and grocery stores.   We had potluck dinner at a picnic table with additional loopers who were also staying at the lock wall.                 

 Total miles:  7.5      Total bridges:   5       Total locks:  6

 

Days 320 – 321 Fraser Park Marina

Trenton, Ontario, Canada

Monday, July 11 – Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Docked at Fraser Park Marina in Trenton

We arrived in Trenton in the early afternoon. Next to the marina office was a canvas shop, and the owner came over to Dream Catcher to check out some much-needed repairs. He was able to get the repairs done in the afternoon. Jim washed the canvas, and we seem to have a brand new top! Great!

Since the canvas work wasn’t done until about 8:30, we had a late dinner at Tomassos, a nearby Italian/Greek restaurant.

On Tuesday Jim checked the engines and batteries. He also cleaned the carpet on the aft deck. Again we had dinner at Tomassos, but this time with a group of loopers.

We’re ready to start the Trent-Severn Waterway which consist of 240 miles and 43 locks between Trenton on the east and Port Severn on the west.

Total miles: 40.5     Total bridges: 2       Total locks: 0

Day 319 Picton Marina

Picton, Ontario, Canada

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Jeff outside Coach's Pub and Grill 

Tight dockage at Picton Marina

The most exciting thing about Picton was getting all 3 boats docked at the marina. When we called for reservations, we were told that we would all be on a 150-foot wall. There were 2 problems with that: (1) a small sailboat was also on the wall and (2) the wall was not straight, but had a 45-degree angle at one point. After much maneuvering we somehow managed to get all 3 boats tied in. We relaxed at the marina for the afternoon and then walked a few blocks to a local restaurant for dinner.

Total miles: 39   Total bridges: 0     Total locks: 0

Day 318 Flora Macdonald Confederation Basin

Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Saturday, July 9, 2011

 

Kingston waterfront

Prince George Hotel

 

Restaurant where we ate lunch

 

 

A toast to Kingston

Practice for the Kingston Fire Department

 

Kingston Brewing Company where we had dinner

Kingston was a fun stop. The downtown marina is right in the heart of the restaurant, shopping, and tourist district. Dream Catcher, Jeremiah, and Seamoore tied to the “day” dock (no power or water) until overnight slips opened up. We all walked a couple of blocks to a restaurant, enjoyed a great lunch, and toasted to arriving in Kingston.

After lunch we moved our boats to overnight slips and each couple spent the afternoon on their own. The 2 of us walked to a hardware store where we found much-needed charts for the Trent-Severn Waterway. We then found the Kingston Brewery where we had a brew while we waited for Becky and Carlton to arrive for dinner. It was a fun pub and a great day!

Total miles: 19     Total bridges: 0      Total locks: 0

Day 317 Gananoque Municipal Marina

Gananoque, Ontario, Canada

Friday, July 8, 2011

Tom Thumb, the smallest of the 1,864 islands. An island must (1) be above water all year long, (2) be at least 3 feet in diameter and (3) have at least 2 types of vegetation, one of which must be a tree.

 

Statue of St. Lawrence on the Canadian shore

The home is in Canada and the back yard island is in the U.S. The bridge has a Canadian flag on the left and a U.S. flag on the right.

Dream Catcher, Jeremiah, and Seamoore got off to a late start, but we all got checked in to Canadian customs at Rockport, Ontario, by 2:30 in the afternoon. We arrived at Gananoque (pronounced Gana KNOCK way) a little after 4:00. The marina was huge, and we were located at the pier furthest from the office. Everyone decided to have dinner on board instead of walking downtown.

So the 2 of us were the only ones to venture into the town. We checked out a couple of the shops, and when we got back Carlton fired up the grill and cooked bratwurst and hot dogs for everyone. It was a very relaxing evening.

Total miles: 17    Total bridges: 1      Total locks: 0

Days 315 – 316 Thousand Island Club

Wellesley Island, NY

Wednesday, July 6 - Thursday, July 7, 2011

 Wind generators

International Bridge between U.S. and Canada

 Along the St. Lawrence

 Along the St. Lawrence

 Along the St. Lawrence

 Home and boat on the St. Lawrence

 Dinner at Joey's with Bill and Brenda

 A salty (ocean going) freighter

Heart Island with boat house in background

 Heart Island

 Boldt Castle power house

Boldt Castle boat house

                 Grand staircase at castle entrance                      

 Bedroom at Boldt Castle

 Dome above grand staircase

One of the bedrooms

 Boldt Castle

 Power House for the castle

Power House details

TI Club marina

 Home on Wellesley Island

For another day we battled the wind and waves of Lake Ontario to arrive at Wellesley Island, part of the “Thousand Islands”.  It was well worth the trip.  The Thousand Islands is an area of stunning natural beauty.  It actually consists of 1864 islands with countless beautiful homes, many of which are on their own island. 

When we arrived we were greeted by Jim and Cathy on “Rambler” whom we met in Marathon last winter.  They completed the loop and are spending the summer at Wellesley Island.  Later in the day we met up with Bill and Brenda on “Eastnor”.  We first met Bill and Brenda at the 2010 AGLCA Spring Rendezvous in Myrtle Beach.  Bill and Brenda are also spending the summer on their boat at Wellesley Island.  What a small world.  We had a wonderful pasta dinner at Joey’s, the marina restaurant, with Bill, Brenda, Linda, Jeff, Becky, and Carlton. 

On Thursday, the 2 of us took the 2-1/2 hour “2 Nation” boat tour of the area.  (Yes, we actually paid to ride on a tour boat!)  The homes and natural beauty were breathtaking!  We also toured Boldt Castle that George Boldt built in the early 1900s for his wife Louise.   While the castle was still under construction, his wife died suddenly.  He stopped the construction, and the home fell into disrepair for many years.  Eventually it was given to the Bridge Authority, and it is still in the process of restoration.  So far they have spent $35 million.  All admission fees go to the restoration. 

On Thursday evening the 2 of us met Bill and Brenda at Joeys for pizza.  Again the food was outstanding and so was the company!  Thanks so much to Bill and Brenda for a great visit at Wellesley Island!         

Total miles:  52   Total bridges:   1    Total locks:  0

Day 314 Navy Point Marina

Sackets Harbor, NY

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Tin Pan Galley

 Tin Pan Galley

 Sackets Harbor Visitors Center and Museum

 Gazebo overlooking the harbor

 Lake Ontario from the War of 1812 battlefield

 Docked at Sackets Harbor

Memorial to those who served in the War of 1812

Dream Catcher, Jeremiah, and Seamoore left Oswego at 5:30 am in an attempt to travel in the calmest part of the day.  Nice try, but it didn’t work.  We had wind and waves on our beam for 5 hours as we crossed the southeast corner of Lake Ontario to Sackets Harbor.   We finally arrived, got settled in, and rode our bikes downtown.           

Sackets Harbor is a very charming old village.  The 6 of us ate lunch at an outdoor restaurant called Tin Pan Galley.  The food was excellent!  While some of the group went back to the boats, the 2 of us biked around the village.   A center for shipbuilding during the War of 1812, the town now boasts a park on the site of Sackets Harbor Battleground to commemorate US defense forces. The walking tour of the battleground features numerous plaques with information about the war and a phone number to call for more information concerning the event on the plaque – a very interesting and unique way to learn about the area.              

 Total miles:  41        Total bridges:   0       Total locks:  0