MERRIKVILLE TO BEVERIDGE LOCK CANAL

July 12- We left at 8:45 am to get to the next lock early. There was a Nordic Tug already in the lock when we got there, so we traveled quite a piece with him. He was from North Carolina and we traveling just in this area. We traveled about 20 miles where we pulled into a canal just before the Beveridge Locks. It was a nice spot with hydro and a large area for Koby to run. Boats our size can't travel to Perth as it is too shallow, so we got into the dingy, went through the two locks and headed for Perth. We went and got groceries and found a M & M store there so we picked up a few things there as well. We had to be back to the locks by 5:00 pm to catch the locks before they closed for the day so it was a rush visit to lovely Perth so we didn't see much of the town but we had food again!

We pulled into the dock here with the dingy

They were working on the clock at City Hall

A shop in downtown

I thought this was an interesting statue

BURRITT FALLS TO MERRIKVILLE

July 11- We left the dock to go to the lock at 9:00 am and just as we headed to the blue line the other boat we had traveled with yesterday had come into the blue line as well. We locked through and headed through the next locks until we got to the lock before Merrikville. The American boat had the same idea about stayng at the top of Merrikville Lock so when we attempted to pass him he pulled over in front of us. We called on the radio with no response so we waited our chance and passed him anyway. When we arrived at the Merrickville Lock there was another boat in the lock already so there was no room for the American boat and he had to wait for the next lock. He decided to stay at the bottom of the Merrikville Lock for the night as there was no room at the top. We enjoyed the little town with its cute little shops and restaurants.

A bit noisy here next to busy roadway

A very old home

I was amazed by this beautiful home

OTTAWA TO BURRITTS FALLS

July 10- We left Ottawa at 9:00 am so we could catch the bridge that has to open for us. We have several locks to do today, so thank heavens it is overcast as it was stinking hot going up to Ottawa. We are travelling with two other boats so every time we enter a lock we have to squeeze 4 boats into these small locks. We are stopping at Burritts Falls for the night and they have hydro on the docks which is a bonus. One of the boats we were travelling with went on and the other dropped off before we got to the Falls. We had a nice evening sitting on the dock watching a man across from us practicing polo on his horse. It was quite a unique sight.

OTTAWA

July 8/9- The next day we went looking for a grocery store which was about 4 blocks away. We went to tour the Parliament Building but unfortunately it was sold out, so we will try tomorrow. They have a light show that they put on at the Parliament Buildings at 10:00 pm so we are going to watch that tonight. We were hoping to see the changing of the guard this morning at 10:00 am but we are having a thunderstorm here today so that's not happening. If the rain subsides we will try the Parliament Buildings again. We decided to walk over to the market area to get some fresh fruits and veggies. It is still drizzling so we are browsing the shops in the mall to keep out of the rain. We will be leaving in the morning.

KINGSTON UP THE RIDEAU

July 4/7- We left Kingston at 9:00 am as we had a bridge we had to catch at that time. We did 10 locks the first day and called it quits at Jones Falls. The next day we did another 15 locks and crossed two large lakes and stopped at Smith Falls. We did another 14 more locks the next day and stopped at the top of Long Island Lock. The next day we did 7 more and we had arrived at Ottawa. The dock was pretty full so we had to turn around in the canal twice which was a challenge and finally got a temporary spot under the bridge. Dave went to the marina office and asked about the reserved area on the dock behind us and was told he could dock there, so we moved again. We got settled then went to see if Something Special wanted to move up behind us as they did not have hydro where they were. Once we were all settled we pulled out our chairs and sat in the shade of the boat and had a drink as the temp was about 90 degrees.

Travelling under the 401

Passing in a narrow area

Fellow Loopers heading back to Kingston

Some lovely areas

Waiting for a four step lock 

The overseer of the lock

A narrow channel with a blind spot 

Stopped at the lock for the night

Another lock today

Heading the the Upper Rideau Lake

Travelling the canal to Ottawa

GANANOQUE TO KINGSTON

July 3- We left Gananoque Marina at 9:30 am as we needed a pump out before heading out. It was a sunny but windy ride to Kingston. We tied up at the Municipal docks and headed up town to see the sights. Bill and Bobbi are heading home to Chicago tomorrow morning to finish packing up their home they have sold. We decided to go to the Keg tonight for dinner as we will not see them for two weeks as we are leaving to head up the Rideau to Ottawa.

Heading towards Kingston

A ferry out of Kingston

Kingston Municipal Marina

It's a long way to shore

AUBREY ISLAND

July 1/2- We awoke to a warm, sunny day looking forward to a nice lazy day but unfortunately that was not in the cards for us. The miserable man off the sailboat had already started his "crap" with Sid who had asked if he could run his generator long enough to make a cup of coffee. Then he got into it with Bill and it went down hill from there. These three sailboats had this all planned that they would drive us off the dock so that their other family members would have a spot on the dock with them. We packed up and got ready to leave, but Sid had to bring his boat around to the outside of the dock to load his dingy. The sail boater was on his phone calling his pals and when Sid went to come back into the dock he had to race the other boat into the dock - that's when I lost it and let this guy have it. He moved out of the way and let us get Sid sorted out and we got the hell out of there. I was ashamed that the first Canadians that our American friends met were these rude Montreal people. We went back to Gananoque Marina and enjoyed the next two days.