An old cartoon my dad used to like featured a character with a dark cloud always hovering above his head. I guess if I were that character, I’d have a rainbow over mine.
We’ve had a few lucky happenings. The first, I mentioned last time, was the actual recovery of an expensive inflatable boat fender that snapped off as the boat moved up a lock wall. Captain Mark leaned far out over the rail and snagged it while my heart thumped a few extra beats. The second was the discovery that our knot meter was working after being dead for about 1500 miles. I guess we hit something that knocked it out and then hit something else that woke it up.
Another lucky happenstance was staying in the new municipal marina in Trenton. It opened the day before we arrived and we passed it, heading for its old location. When we found it, we felt like we were in a five star resort. New docks, about a dozen individual bathroom suites with raised bowls, tiled showers with glass doors, and immediate hot water. Laundry facilities were free and provided soap and dryer sheets. Wifi was speedy and the best part? It was one of the least expensive places we’ve stayed. I wonder how long that will last. It is a municipal marina.
On the second night, a spectacular fireworks show lit up the sky in the harbor above us. I was quietly reading when a sound like rapid gunfire jolted me from my seat. I later read that a local fireworks company donated the $50,000 display, testing new products. It opened an annual festival in Trenton. And we were there!
Luck held as we made our way through the first six locks of the 240-mile Trent-Severn Waterway. The weather, which was predicted to be bad, was nice…well, nice if you don’t mind sweat beading your forehead and soaking your clothes. The concrete wall just past Lock Six had a park, restrooms, and power. We tied up, closed the boat, and turned on the air conditioning for an hour. Little amenities like that are the best part of cruising in a power boat.
We’ll be on this waterway for a week to ten days. It isn’t the travel that takes so much time; it’s the half hour we spend every time we enter a lock.
I’ll save the history lesson for next week. It’s an interesting one.
LOL, this post triggered a host of very, very old memories. The title started me out, and my mind immediately jumped up and started singing “wiiiith a littlebit, wiiiith a littlebit, with a lit-tle bit of bloomin’ luck” again and again and again, of course.
Then, the little guy with the storm cloud, also one of my father’s favorites. The comic strip was Al Capp’s Lil’ Abner, and the name of the character was (approximately, the spelling was indecipherable) Joe Bftzspylk (or something).
SO glad you’ve been having a better time than that little guy! I’ve been needing air conditioning, too.
Cheers & more happy sailing,
Faith