Trenton to Peterborough

Trenton to Peterborough

I have been posting less since we have been away from Internet connectivity most of the week, so I’m catching up now. 

Tuesday, June 19 - We had an easy 72-mile ride from Kingston to Trenton NO LOCKS! We left early in the morning, made a quick stop in Belleville to buy Volvo oil, and arrived at Trenton shortly after noon. We had our oil changed shortly after we arrived and defrosted our tiny freezer. Trent Port Marina has the most luxurious shower rooms we have encountered anywhere! They are recently remodeled and very upscale- nicer than my shower at home! 

We walked to a nearby grocery store to pick up some fresh produce and had dinner at a sushi restaurant. We like grocery store sushi and the rolls we make ourselves, but this was a different animal. We tried to select a few things that resembled our favorites until the server pointed out that our choice was rolled in raw fish eggs. We opted out of that one and picked something less authentic. It was not as good as Publix sushi or homemade sushi. I guess our palates are not all that adventurous.

We pulled out of Trenton the next morning, Wednesday, June 20, and entered the Trent-Severn Waterway. We look forward (not) to another 45-lock obstacle course in the next 2 weeks or so.

We were still on spring hours, meaning the locks operate from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. We met up with 2 Canadian boats at Trenton Lock (lock 1)- Lukx with Iwona and Markin, and Saoirse (Irish for "freedom") with Glenda and Doug. We stayed together for the next 2 days, lock by lock. In many places the speed limit is 6.2 mph, so it is slow going. We reached the lower side of Percy Reach, lock 8, by 4:30 p.m., too late to transit.  Doug and Glenda anchored out while we and Lukx  spent a pleasant evening and night tied to the lock wall. There’s a park-like area around the lock, and restrooms. The lock itself is in a very rural area.

Thursday, June 22- We were more than ready for the 10 a.m. lock opening. We cleared 10 locks in 4.5 hours and covered a whopping 25 miles today. The 3 of us spent the night on the lower wall of Lock 17 at Hastings. There’s a small village here, and we had a nice walk after grilling burgers for supper. Every village has at least one ice cream shop featuring the famous Kawartha ice cream. We haven’t tried the infamous butter tarts, but this ice cream is memorable!

Preparing the lock for us

Friday June 22- Hooray for the arrival of summer lock hours! 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on week days and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends. We only had 2 locks today, separated by 40 miles. The 40 miles was another speed limited zone for the most part. 

Just past the second lock, kids were having fun on an abandoned bridge, seemingly unaware that large boats need to pass through.

We arrived in Peterborough around 2:30 to hugs from our friends Anne and Bruce on Sea Biscuit. We met these long-time boaters at the Looper Rendezvous in October 2010 as we were standing in line to pick up our registration packets. We get together whenever possible, since they often winter in Florida. We have been looking forward to this meeting ever since we met. Their land home is in Belleville, but they live on their boat here in Peterborough in the summer. We’ve been traveling since May 5, so familiar faces are a great comfort to us. We have a lot of catching up to do. 

We went to an outdoor blues concert this evening, right on the banks of the water. The audience included many boats rafted up together, people in the outdoor bar, and pedestrians. Great fun!

Saturday June 23- Time to celebrate- It’s our 45^thanniversary! Where has the time gone??

Dinner at Tre with Anne and Bruce

It’s a perfect time to stay put for a couple days. Weekends here are jam-packed with events. Today there is a kayak paddle from lock to lock heading north. There is an excursion boat that takes people through the next lock and back several times a day. Tomorrow there will be another kayak thing, when they will pack the lock with as many kayaks as they can cram into the chamber. We want no part of negotiating those things, so we are thrilled that we can spend time with Bruce and Anne. Summer is short here, and it seems that weekends are packed with activities to maximize the warm days.

Canoe museum

This gentleman, Russ Parker, built this ultra light  canoe with a Dacron skin. We wanted to buy it, but it would not fit on the top of Mara Beel.