Friday September 14: Fenelon Falls - Where Did the Summer Go?

Linda, Wendy, Lois, Cheryl

What a good time to be in Orillia and plugged into power - two of our 3 days there were cold (high in the mid-50's) and rainy.

So we sort of did some hibernating either on Guppy or on Deja Vu.

We arrived on Saturday which was the nicest day of the three and just in time to head to the Chinese place for lunch :-)

Lois had to be home on Sunday so Cheryl's sister Wendy drove over from the Midland area to pick up Lois and take her home. It was nice to be able to spend some time with her before they had to leave.

Sunday and Monday (especially) were just plain nasty days. Whatever happened to the summer-like weather of a couple of days ago?

Cheryl, Peter and Steve

Randy and Cindy drove over from their home to spend the afternoon Monday - and of course drive us to the Chinese place for lunch since it was rainy and cold.

Peter ended up walking but he was definitely dressed correctly for the walk!

It just seems ridiculous to have to have these kinds of clothes when boating!

Tuesday we finally headed out but not before riding to the Community Center for breakfast. For whatever reason there is a definite lack of breakfast places within biking distance from the marina. Not sure what's with that.

Peter and Cheryl had left by the time we returned. They were turning back and heading home toward Georgian Bay. We headed across Lake Simcoe to return to Fenelon Falls and put the boat away.

The rain had passed on but the clouds remained and were supposed to be with us throughout the day. And they were! But the wind was mild from the NW - perfect for the 20 mile run across the lake.


Steve kept noticing the leaves that are starting to turn - taking it as a sign that it really IS time to get the boat put away for the winter. I think it's already snowing in some of the northern areas of Canada!


We spent the night above the liftlock at Kirkfield with the sun finally making an appearance just prior to it setting.

It wasn't that long ago that it was light until after 9:30 or so. Now it's about 8:30 or so that it's almost dark. The promise of a nice day tomorrow was the forecast - we'll see. ....

The forecast was right on. It was going to be a nice last day of traveling!



Of course that was once the frost from overnight melted away :-)

We passed a workboat along the way - not a common site even though their work is evident along this stretch of the system. The guys were busy cutting away dead trees that had fallen into the waterway. It's quite narrow through some of the passages in this area so the removal of the debris is really needed.




Finally! The end of this stretch is in sight! The speed limit has been 6 mph for a good part of the way since we crossed Lake Simcoe.

It was a perfect travel day for our last day out. Wind was minimal out of the east and the sun was bright and strong.

 It was the perfect day to be on the water :-) Balsam Lake was perfect!

Last lock of the season was Rosedale, cross Cameron Lake and we pulled into the entrance to the canal leading to Fenelon Falls lock.

The place was empty! We headed to our favorite spot (near the Chamber of Commerce so we could get internet from them) and headed up for a late lunch.

By the time we returned, the docks were packed!! Mostly with houseboats - maybe a special end of the season rentals?? Not sure.

It was now Wednesday - we were due to take the boat to the marina on Friday. Two days to enjoy the end of summer and to get the boat packed up and ready to put up for the winter.

We winterized the water system (which means adding pink antifreeze to the water system and pumping it through the water lines), septic system and added stabilizer to the fuel system.

Steve rode the bus to Lindsay (about 25 minutes) to pick up a car this morning. I took Guppy to the marina. We were good to go! The marina will pull the boat, winterize the engine and outdrive, and shrinkwap the boat. Good for our arrival next spring :-)

Drive to Cleveland tomorrow, spend a few days, fly to California to visit the kids, then travel to Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii to cheer Matt on as he competes in the World Championship Ironman competetion in Kona. He has worked so hard for this achievement