After leaving Kingston and spending one night on the hook, we continued our journey, heading west. We were about to embark on one of my favorite parts of the 2015 Loop cruise, the Trent-Severn Waterway.
Arriving at Trenton, we were baffled. We couldn’t find the marina. Captain Mark called them and they responded with directions. They had moved to a new, modern facility that had been open one day. And what a place it was! It was huge and resembled a resort with a gorgeous laundry room, new bathing rooms with granite showers and raised sinks. Each room was a different color. We went to bed that night clean, well fed. and ready for a rest. Or not.
Loud booms drew us outside. It seemed the local fireworks manufacturer had decided to test products by putting on a show for the grand opening of the marina. It turned out to be one of the most spectacular fireworks displays I’d ever seen. The next day we visited with a friend who lived in the town, provisioned at a local grocery store, and prepared for the next leg of our trip.
To bring you up to date, we went through 23 locks on the Erie Canal and seven on the Oswego Canal, so we were now old hands at dealing with locks and looked forward to the ones in Canada. My guidebook said the waterway had 44 locks and took about a week to get to Canada’s Georgian Bay, pending good weather, of course.
The first day we went through six locks. Some had ropes or cable. Others had pipes to hold on to. Almost all were surrounded by parks with picnic tables, and even restrooms. We were permitted to tie up to the walls overnight so we did that. We were rising now in each one to put us at a level with Georgian Bay. Next week I’ll talk about some of the more interesting locks, the “bathtub” and one that lifted us out of the water, took us over ground, and over ground, then dumped us out into a bay on the other side.
But first a history lesson will be in order. Saving that for next week.