12 June, 2014

12 June, 2014

Hi Y’all,

After 2 nights in Peterborough, it’s time to load up the bikes and get on down the river.  74 degrees and sunny as we pull away from the wall at Lock 20.  Seems that folks are running aground in the middle of the channel below Lock 19, sooo.. we have a chat with the Lockmaster-yes, it’s true, in fact, Wayne (the navigation director of the Waterway) is in the barge setting new ATON’s (aids to navigation-translation-buoys) as we speak.  Down goes the lock, and there is the barge getting’ busy.  We’re through with no problema.  Over the winter, the effluent from the power plant had been depositing silt, making the original channel unnavigable(?), so the channel is moved-simple unles you’re the first boats through in the Spring.  Muskie season opened yesterday, so as we run merrily across Rice Lake, the fishermen are as thick as the Dammit flies were on the boat a week or so ago.  The Admiral is hoping for a pic, so when we pass a boat with one on, we have to stop.  After a valiant fight, our fisherman reels in a huge 7” perch-no muskie picture today.  Hastings Village Marina is our home for the night as we need to get hooked up to some city water to wash all of the pollen (there’s lots), and bugs (there’s more lots) off the boat.  They have a cool system for pumping out your holding tank too, with a setup at each slip, so we get that taken care of too-sorry about the pottie talk.  As we’re finishing up our deck scrubbing, etc., a couple comes by asking about the Girl.  They’re on the Grand Banks Classic that we saw moving towards the Lock earlier(they spent the winter working on her, and she is one pretty girl).  One thing leads to another, Bill and Lauren are soon getting the cooks tour, causing a relapse in their WKV48 (WannaKrogenVirus).  Sure, a little red wine would be nice.  Getting’ late, “what are you guys doing for dinner?”  A few more burgers on the grill, and pretty soon we’re making a night of it-so goes the boating deal.  We’ll probably see them in the St. Lawrence after they do the Rideau Canal.  Breakfast at Banjo’s, and we’re off to Campbellford, whose attractions for us are food-the best bakery in the world, a chocolate factory, and more restaurants than a village its’ size should have.  The town wall at Campbellford is situated at a pretty little town park, with electricity for the boaters-cool.  Off come the bikes as we will stay 2 nights here.  There’s a bike trail along the canal to the next lock,complete with a pedestrian suspension bridge over the rapids, so we take the round trip, which deposits us right in front of the chocolate factory.  Being the good friends that we are, and knowing our pals, Andy and Jody will join us in a week, we take one for the team, and plunge in with empty backpacks.  Mission accomplished.  Chocolate?-check.  On to Dooher’s (evil bakery), where the sticky buns will be coming out of the oven (it’s now 1030-good to have local knowledge of the baking schedule).  Baked goods?-check.  We’ll scope out menus at the restaurants on our way to the grocery store for fresh veggies and fruit.  Back at the boat, something’s been bugging me in the darkest hours of the night for the past week since we kissed the bottom hard.  Out with the SCUBA, into the drink (with a lifeline as there’s a current).  Yep, the bottom of the keel is pretty chewed up, as well as the bottom of one of the wings, but not the deal that I conjured up in my nocturnal musings.  It’ll be fine without repair, but you know I’ll reglass it when the boat is hauled the next time for routine stuff.  While I’m diagnosing a defunct motor starter on the dive tank compressor (What do you guys do on the boat all day?), Eric and Pam, who are doing the Great Loop in their 45’ Carver Voyager stop by for a chat.  They’re from North Carolina, so MDO and they are soon fast friends.  I get the motor starter figured out.  There is a fuse inside a plastic fixture hidden from view that is blown.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a friend in the 8,000 (maybe a slight exaggeration) spare fuses that I have on board.  Have to find one when I get to a town with a population of more than 2,000.  Cocktails take us to the civilized hour of 1945, and we mosey up to the restaurant that was closed last night (Monday) for dinner.  They stop serving at 1930-#$@!!&&!  I boldly walk into the kitchen where there are people with sharp knives and let them know how I feel about their work ethic.  Grrrrh.  I’ll show them!  Back to the boat for a gourmet meal of Stacy’s Pita Chips (I’m still waiting to grow up).  Morning brings a driving rain that stays with us all day, making the six locks for the day a kinda wet affair.  We love our dryer.  On route, we pass the Kawartha Queen, a little cruise boat carrying 48 liveaboard passengers to the various sights up and down the Waterway.  Frankford is a cute little village at Lock 6.  Someone in the community had the foresight to install electrical pedestals at the lock wall to encourage boaters to stop (and hopefully, spend some dinero in town).  It works!  9.80 Canadian pesos for hydroelectricity.  Rain looks like it’s passed, we’ll head to Trenton today, the 12th, then off to Kingston, to pick up Andy And Jody.

Hasta Luego!

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