For those of you who thought we were just on a long vacation, think again! The lock system in Canada is easier and cleaner than the New York Canal system, but it is still a lot of work. Some days we were able to get through as many as 7 or 8 locks, but some days, we only went through 2. The picutre was taken in Cambellsford, Ontario which was Lock #7. We walked around that little town and found the best cream-filled doughnuts in the world, made fresh every morning and only $6.00 per dozen. We shopped there for a new mop & bucket (lost the old ones in the bad storm in Big Bay) but Mike was only able to find a new bucket. The stores here do not open until 9:00 am and we were on the move by that time next morning. Most locks are located in or near small towns but usally we just pass through. At the end of the day you can tie up to the lock wall for a fee. $.90/ ft. is the going rate, that is without "Hydro" which is electricity and without water. The word "Hydro" comes from hydro-electric, that is where they get most of the electricity. On the Erie, all that is free just to get you to stop and visit the towns. We were able to anchor out and save money and only pay a fee when we wanted to go into a marina. That is determined by how many changes of underwear we have left and the date on the milk bag. Milk is sold in plastic bags and was really confusing when we first purchashed it, but we soon learned how to work a bag of milk. We have found groceries and other items very expensive. Fuel is a $1.39/liter and a pump out can be as much as $35.00. The last place we purchased wine, a 3 liter cardboard box was $31.00 Canadian. We usually pay $16.00 for a 5 liter box. Peterborough is a large town and we were able to anchor in a lake in the middle of town next to a large fountain. We enjoyed the light show at the fountain each evening. It was between two locks and we only got the wake from the local traffic so it was a very pleasent couple of days. I even found a marine store and purchased a few items including a mop. The next lock after Peterborough was the first pan lock. It is more like a large swiming pool that you drive your boat into and then then the pan and boat are raised by adding just a little water in the opposing pan and it picks you up the the higher water level. Somewhat like a seasaw only beside one another. We had two of those and one lock where we were loaded into a large marine railway. Our boat was strapped in and the train climbed over the hill to the higher water elevation. Along the way we found the most interesting place to eat and dock for the night. WAUBIC means white tail deer in Indian. In this case it is a small dock and place to eat located on and island and only accessable by boat. The owner is English but had lived in Tennessee. Wonderful stop and great people. The fish and chips were great. Next came the Georgian Bay, a very large fresh water lake. A small craft channel is provided for us small boats. The channel snakes around the NW coast and is a boaters nightmare. Some of the passages are only wide enough for one boat and is lined with granite rock. It is advised to announce over the VHF when you are approaching the small cuts. The water in Georgian Bay is famous for being clear, so are the rocks. I heard one boater on the VHF announce "Those rocks look a lot closer in the clear water". No they are close!!! Prop repair and sales is a big business here. It takes both of us all day, one of us at the helm and one at the chart plotter and chart book. If that's not bad enough, yesterday we had to go out into the Bay and were about 2 hours with 4' swell on our beam. Thats only the second time we have been in weather so bad we had to tie the dog down. At the end of the day was a quite marina waiting to take our dock lines. We are now docked at Wrights Marina in the town of Britt in Ontario. We have two more days of Georgian Bay and then on to the North Channel for about a week and then back into the USA.. Thank you, Lord.. Yes we are having fun and enjoying the beauty of it all. We especially enjoy the people we meet. The Canadians are very gracious and hospitable people. Yesterday we were anchored in a small bay and we met some locals. The lady Pam, invited us over for tea and then brought us out some tea bags in her kayak before we departed. I will try to remember that when I meet foreign visitors. Our next stop at a marina will be in Killarney which is two days away. Hopefully we will have Wifi so we can update you then. L&K M&D.
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