Day 33 & 34 July 23 and 24, 2022

 Day 33 July 23, Saturday

We arrived at Lakefield Lock 26 yesterday at 1:30.  It was a good stop after a 4 3/4 hour hot day.  Pleasant area with easy walk to a quaint little town.  Our original plan was to go one lock further to Young's Point but we were pooped so decided to take advantage of space on the wall.  Lock 27 was an hour away and no guarantee of any room or power.  We had a nice chat with Don and Nancy from Seas the Dream.

We said good bye to Lakefield with our next planned destination of Buckhorn Lock 31, 22 miles

 and 4 locks. 

Our plan did not consider that we were traveling on a beautiful Saturday with all of Canada cruising on their boats, using the locks and staying on the lock walls.  BIG MISTAKE on our part.  Our travel day started at 8:15 and never ended until 5:05!  Young's Point, Burleigh Falls, Lovesick, Buckhorn, and Bobcaygeon Locks all packed with boaters moored above and below the locks. We had been told to avoid weekend travel but hadn't really experienced problems until now.

I started calling locks and marinas ahead of us trying to get a sense of where we might be able to stay.  Marinas were full too.  When we arrived at Fenelon Falls, Lock 34, we arrived to find a spot on the grey line (area reserved for mooring and overnight stays) but no power.  It had been a 90 degree day; power would be nice for AC.  We called the lock master and asked if there was room above the lock.  Yes, but no power there either; we feared it would be taken by the time we got through the lock.  

A bird in the hand....we celebrated the end of our 9 hour day with a Tang and Tonic.  A heron joined us!

 

Dinner at Fenelon Brewery -- average beer, good brisket sandwiches.  We ran the generator for a few hours to cool the boat with AC, then opened all the windows to get the breeze and went to bed.  The sound of the dam covered the traffic noise and we slept like a log, even Jerry.

Day 34 July 24, 2022

Our friends Janet and Russ were on the upper wall of the Fenelon Lock with power.  They kept a look out for room on the wall.  

By 9:30 Sunday morning we were through the lock and at a spot with power.  Hurray!!  Once settled in we headed off to church.  St. Aloysius Church is a small, welcoming church with an active community.  We enjoyed Fr Luis Lapinid and his sermon. 

Back to the boat we picked up shopping bags and headed to the grocery store.  Soybee's Grocery is a great store with nice produce and a bakery.  We scored some MAPLE butter tarts.

 Walk back to the boat in the rain then docktails with other Loopers at The Locker at the Falls.  The Perch, Mountain Mermaid, Tug Bussle, See Life, Off Line, and Eric's Inheritance enjoyed drinks, snacks and conversation while it continued to rain hard.

Toast to Handy's Lunch, aka Earl's in Fenelon Falls!

Plan made to travel to Sunset Cove Marina, Bolsover, Ontario the next day.