Dump The Pump, Family of Loons, Flock of Seagulls and Loony Loopers

Hastings Marina was a fine place to stop for the night.  The only negative about Hastings was that we were told that there was a laundromat just up on the corner on Main St.  We loaded our clothes in our nylon wagon and pulled them all over town looking for laundromat, but it had gone out of business, so we came back to the boat to live to wash another day.

Morning brought another perfect day on the 44th parallel, and we headed for Peterborough with Gypsy Spirit, Dash Away and Miss Norma, but we all left spaced out about 1 1/2 miles apart.  This gave us the feeling of being the only boat on Rice Lake. We motored along at 6 kts while the diesel drummed out its one lone note like a roll on a kettledrum.

Our route took us along the Trent River, through Rice Lake and past a dozen or more islands before turning north up the Otonabee River that leads to Peterborough Ontario.  This was a fantastic journey that words fail to describe, and pictures leave us disappointed.  The only way to experience a place like this is to come here and marinate in it like we did today.

Arriving at Peterborough Marina, we were assigned a slip with a stern in approach with one-foot clearance between the dock, and the boat next door.  We had folks to throw lines to on the dock and they helped us shoe horn Viridian into her slip.  After getting tied up, we walked over to the marina house to check in and get keys.  We were also given a free ice cream cone of our choice before leaving.  In addition to all the goodies, we were told that the band "A Flock of Seagulls" would be performing, and we had a free pass to attend.

Once we got the paperwork done, we loaded up the laundry and Meg started a load or two while I walked over to Boaters World (like a small West Marine) and ordered a VFLO 12v, 40 psi, 5 gpm fresh water pump to replace the waning Frankenstein/Mister Potato Head pump now on its way out again.  This will eliminate the accumulation tank and all the junk pump parts now in constant failure mode.  Once the pump was ordered and the wash was going, we joined other fellow Loopers at Riley's Irish Pub on Main St. downtown Peterborough for a fine meal and good fellowship.

That's the news and here's some views:

We are here

Today's route across Rice Lake and up the Otonabee River to Peterborough

WebMaster (cleaning spider webs off the bow)

Beautiful Rice Lake

Family of Loons

Pretty Farm

Otonabee River

Waiting for Lock 19 to open

Lock Ducks

Approaching Peterborough, Ontario

Peterborough Marina

Boats packed in for a long weekend

 Us Loopers at Riley's Irish Pub

Viridian, Dash Away, Gypsy Spirit, Miss Norma and  Free Spirit II

"Flock of Seagulls" 80's techno bad

Loon the Lock Lady

The locks don't open until 0900 every morning, so we took our time getting ready to leave Campbellford.  The firstmate went for an early morning exercise walk and snapped a few pictures along the way.  There were at least six boats leaving this morning, and there is only enough room for two boats to safely enter and tie up with adequate separation to avoid bad things happening.

The first two boats, Dash Away and Gypsy Spirit, departed for the 0900 opening and Viridian and Miss Norma departed after what we thought was enough time to lock up afterwards.  This may have been ok if the Lockmaster had dumped the water and got ready for the first arrivals heading west.  Four boats waited for the first two to clear and were positioned for the next two boats to enter and ascend.

The Lockmaster had other plans. She wanted all four boats to cram into the lock and set the stage for the next five locks up to Hastings.  That was a bad plan and we told her so, and we refused to all try to fit into the lock.  It was clear when 36 ft. Viridian, a 46 ft. trawler and a smaller 32 ft. Ranger Tug were inside that no other boats were going up in this lift, so the doors shut, and up we went.  However, we did not escape the lecture once we got to the top about who runs this lock and who is in charge etc., etc.

Once out of the gate, we decided amongst ourselves that we would regroup into twos and approach the next lock and once again with the intention of only two boats at a time going up.  This worked just fine, and the following locks took us in twos, and once again we were all engaging in pleasure cruising. 

Today we cruised through some beautiful lakes behind the dams with thick, treed islands sprinkled all around.  The sky was a deep blue with fair weather, fluffy clouds placed just in the right places.  A cool air blew to keep us comfortable along the way as we sailed deeper into the backcountry north of Lake Ontario.

We finally got our first look at the famous loon, a bird that lives on the water in this area that has a haunting call at dusk every day.

That's the news and here's some views:

We are here

Today's route

Another tandem lock

Peaceful waterfront cabins

Last Day at Campbellford, Ontario

Another great stop along the TSW.  Campbellford has everything you could want and just a block or two away.  The weather here was great too, cool nights, warm days with low humidity.  Other Loopers came in while we were here, and we enjoyed spending time with them.

What is there to do and see in Campbellford?  There is a bakery here called Dooher's that bakes all kinds of breads fresh every morning.  They are most famous for their fresh doughnuts, and people line up every day and scarf up all the doughnuts until they sell out  about noon.  We managed to get some yesterday.  There is a chocolate factory here called World's Finest Chocolate; it is just two blocks away and worth the walk to pick up some samples.  There is a place called Chicken Empire, and it has all kinds of chicken meals and a wonderful staff to serve you.  Captain George's Fish & Chips is where we joined four other Looper couples (Gypsy Spirit, Dash Away, Miss Norma and Nick) for some of the best fish & chips we have had anywhere.  There are two large grocery stores within walking distance where we stocked up on some items we needed and not to mention the ice cream store in direct line of sight from the boat.  There are a number of high-end restaurants that we did not visit but are filled to capacity every evening.  Several breakfast cafes across the bridge to choose from too.

We took our bikes down and took a ride down the canal trail, across the swing bridge at the lock and over to the Ranney Falls Suspension Bridge.  After crossing the bridge we had access to all kinds of trails.  Captain Mike (Dash Away) and I took our bikes back over to the trails and rode through the woods, up and down hills and over streams and ditches.  Good workout!

That's the news and here's some views:

The Toonie was designed by a person who lives here in Campbellford and is displayed here and one other place across the river.

Bike riding along the canal

Suspension bridge at Raney Falls Park

Long way down

Please!  Let's just get off this thing!!!!!

House along the path

Captain Mike made an early morning run to the Doughnut Bakery but the doughnut machine was broken.  BUT, there were other goodies available.

nuff said

The Chocolate Factory!

Small (Viridian), Medium (Dash Away), Large (Gypsy Spirit)

Practicing selfies

Finishing off a blueberry crumble pie

"Ringo"

"Walter"

Balls to the Wall but That's Not All

What a wonderful place to stay at Lock-8.  We were the only boat there, and it was complete solitude.  We departed at 0900 this morning to make Lock 9 and on to 10. Lock 11-12 was a tandem lock that shared the middle door.  It was different from anything we have encountered so far. 

Plenty of sunshine today, along with calm waters.  We will stay at Campbellford, Ontario for 3 nights on the City Docks next to the Chamber of Commerce building.

Oops, look what time it is.  Time to find the ice cream store!

That's the news and here are some views:

We are here

Today's Passage from Lock 8 to Campbellford, Ontario

Smooth as glass on a Saturday morning

Lock-9

"I am a rock, I am an island", (Simon & Garfunkel)

It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood (Mr. Rogers)

"Balls to the Wall "- (It doesn't apply only to aviation) - going up inside Lock-10

These are called Inuksuk 

Locks 11-12 - Tandem Locks (they share the middle door)

Approach

Different!

"The Wall", (Pink Floyd)

"Smooth Operators" (Shade) - at Locks 11-12

The Back Door

Swingbridge at the top of 11-12

Approaching Campbellford Ontario on the TSW

A quick video of the antique car show along the canal coming in to Campbellford