Days 106,107: Trent Port Marina

6/26/18: We took our time hopping out today.  We had about 40 miles to go to get to Trenton.  The two big boats weren’t in a big hurry either, but they weren’t going quite as far as us.  They were going to stop at Belleville, another surprisingly large town!  We rambled out of the cove around 10:00, and just enjoyed a nice cruising day.   There wasn’t much exciting along the way.  We made our way through the rest of Zorro’s ‘Z’, and through the Bay of Quinte (KWIN-TEE).  We cruised right on past Belleville, and waved good-bye to Greek’s Folly and Short Vacation.  We’ll see them again in a couple of days.

Here is a map of today’s journey.  Backing up to the right, G was Gananoque, on the St Lawrence River where we were yesterday morning.  K is Kingston, which we cruised right on past yesterday.  The big blue at the bottom is the northeastern corner of Lake Ontario. P at the bottom is Picton, where we stayed last night.  The green line was our travel for today.  B is Belleville, which we cruised right on past.  And T on the left is Trenton, where we are now for a week or so.

You’re going to think I’m weird (like you don’t think that already).  The marina here in Trenton is only a couple of years old.  It is very nice, and it has THE BEST marina bathrooms EVER!  So – marina bathrooms are kind of like gas station bathrooms.  They are usually reasonably clean, but not always necessarily where you want to take your sandals off to step into the shower.  In fact, since we have a nice shower and toilets on our boat, we don’t often even venture into the marina bathrooms.  But – these are 5 star!  There are about eight of these wash rooms down a hallway in the marina building.  Captain wanted to know where the massage room was because this looks like a spa!

There aren’t a lot of transient boaters here yet, but they will start piling in over the next couple of days.  The washers and dryers are complimentary here, (YES!!!) so I gathered up some sheets and towels and took advantage of that amenity.  Captain que’d up some burgers on the boat, and we sat outside and enjoyed the evening.

****************************************

6/27/18 Wednesday:  I haven’t had a haircut since Florida,  and it’s been bugging me.  So I made an appointment at a local salon for 11:15 this morning.  It started to pour down rain at 10:30.  Of course!  We knew today was going to be a wet one.  Oh well… good thing I have my Keen sandals….they do rain and wet just fine.  The salon was an easy 1/4 mile walk away, with my rain coat and little umbrella.  And now – let’s just say I have a great summer haircut!  It’s OK with me though – it’s short and out of my way.  And when I get sweaty, I can just spike it.  Ha! 😁  The next two weeks around here are going to be toasty – in the mid 80’s and humid.     It rained most of the day.  It did taper off in the evening, so we went for a little walkabout and to find something for dinner.    This is a clock tower in town.  It was built in 1888 and it is all that remains of the original post office building that it was attached to.  The red door at the bottom says elevator…. but we didn’t check it out to see if it’s a ride to the top or what.  Maybe we should go back and see!

We found a fish & chips joint, kind of like Ivar’s, and they serve alcohol- even in fish bowls and buckets!  It was pretty good, but we’ve heard that the fish & chips up in Georgian Bay and the North Channel are the best.  So this will be another tasting-our-way-through-Canada thing!

Back at the boat, we have no TV reception.  That’s kind of a bummer since we’ll be here for a week.  But we have Netflix, so there’s enough there to keep us entertained when it rains.  And I always have y’all to write to, so that keeps me entertained.  I need to warn you now though.  Usually if I fall behind on posting for a couple of days, I’ll hear from someone – making sure we’re OK.  But, when we get up into the wilderness of Georgian Bay and North Channel, WiFi and cell service will get more scarce…. so hearing from me on a regular basis will get a little more sketchy too.  Just so you know.  And we’re going to have some great friends on board for a couple of weeks, and they will distract me into playing dice and card games and general shenanigans.  It will be big fun!

Trenton is at the beginning of what is called the Trent-Severn Waterway.  Here is a map that might help you see what this is all about.  It is a 240 mile system of inland lakes, rivers, canals, locks and dams created to connect Lake Ontario (at Trenton) to Port Severn, on Georgian Bay.  The first lock was constructed in 1833, but as time went on, it was difficult to get funding, especially once the railroads could move goods and people.   It wasn’t until 1907 and the idea of hydroelectric power, that the ball really got rolling.  The powers in charge realized that this was a virtual goldmine.   It took over 90 years to complete from the first lock, but finally in 1920, boats could transport goods and people between the upper and lower sections of Ontario.  Today there are 44 locks:  1-35 will lift us from 243 feet above sea level, to the highest point at Balsam lake – 840 feet above sea level.  Then locks 36-45 will lower us to Georgian Bay at 576 feet above sea level.  I know – I said 44 locks, so why is there a  lock 45?  Locks 28/29 are now just one lock, but the system was not renumbered when that combination happened.  Each purple arrow on the map is a lock.

There will be some really cool locks – they are not all the same.  There are 36 conventional locks, two sets of flight locks, two of the world’s highest hydraulic lift locks, and a marine railway!  “One of the finest interconnected systems of navigation in the world” says National Geographic.  This will be a fun adventure!  More about the Trent-Severn Waterway in upcoming episodes… stay tuned!