Thursday June 26: A Celebration of Life

After settling in at Coboconk last Sunday evening, we received word that my mom had passed away earlier that day. It was not unexpected news as she had been failing for some time. Yet somehow it was still a surprise.

After a phone call to Wendy (she's our computer/internet service when we have none!), we found the rental agencies within boat range were all sold out of cars for the next day, Monday. Not sure when the funeral would be, not sure what to do. Steve called Cheryl (they were still in Orillia). She said – give her 30 minutes.

In that 30 minutes after taking control, she made arrangements for family members to drive Cheryl's car from their home near Midland to the Port of Orillia. Then Peter, Cheryl and Lois all made the drive to Coboconk (about an hour) to bring us their car. All of this between 10 and midnight or so. We've not yet figured out how to repay their generosity of the use of their car.

The trip back to Ohio and the next few days were filled with conversations and celebrations of my mom's life. It wasn't hard to recall the good times as there were so many. In a way it was appropriate that we were traveling on the Trent when she died as the times we spent up here every summer for many years - traveling together on our boats - as Wendy and Becky were growing up were some of our fondest memories.

Seeing so many relatives and friends – some of whom we hadn't seen for quite some time - made for a bittersweet trip home. My niece's son described the gathering at calling hours as “a party for Grandma”!

I think he was right. I figure she's already played a good 36 holes by now …....

Sunday June 22: Picking up Rebecca!!

After spending 3 days at Orillia (I'm not sure exactly where the time went but I'm certain it involved more working on the boat!), it was time to rent a car for a day and head to Toronto. Becky arrived at 6 am yesterday. Maximizing time already!!

It was Christmas in June at the Port of Orillia and downtown sidewalk sales day uptown.

Lots of fun stuff to see and buy  – including many pieces of art by locals. I think the lawn mower bicycle was one of my favorites!

The library was promoting reading while Steve and Becky were just having fun with the large sculptured letters :-)

Steve was willing to pose next to the “chef” at one of the restaurants along the main drag. I would take Steve's cooking ANYDAY over any chef in any restaurant!!

We spent Saturday relaxing and checking out the parts of Orillia that have stayed the same or changed since we were last year.  

Coolest thing spotted? The car that drove up to the ramp and drove right on into the water!! I didn't get the make or model though – maybe we could get a car like that to tow as a dinghy??

We also met up with Peter, Cheryl and Lois (Cheryl's mom) on Deja Vu. They had traveled from their home port of Midland on southern Georgian Bay. It was great to see them again – we last parted ways in the Bahamas when we were on the trawler and they were on their sailboat.

Guppy was dressed for Christmas (thanks to Becky for hauling lights to us :-)) and the party was on!

It was an early up and go to cross Lake Simcoe before any winds might come up. It was so calm that even at cruising speed of 20 mph the boat steered itself!

Gorgeous day …..

As we retraced our way back toward Fenelon Falls, the timing of the 5 locks and 2 bridges between Lake Simcoe and Coboconk went pretty well with only a one hour wait at the first lock. 

We were headed for the “favorite” parts of the Trent for the next week that Becky would be with us.

As we moved along Canal Lake, our swans were still in the area but now the six chicks were another week older. They are growing quickly!!

It was nice to see that all of the babies are still there. When they are smaller, they are a favorite food of bass.

Once past the Kirfield lift lock, it was a quick trip across Balsam Lake to “our” dock at Coboconk. Total time for the 46 mile trip? Eight hours! More than half of the trip was in no wake areas and the locks just take up time as well.

Another fun picture: the white geese butts in the air as they stick their heads under water as they eat!

Tuesday June 17: Closing in on Orillia

After a couple of nights at Coboconk (located on Balsam Lake - the highest point of the Trent-Severn Waterway), we headed out on a day that was windless, sunny and warm.

Wow - where we going to be fooled later in the day!

There have been a few loon spottings but this one didn't seem to mind us coming up a little closer than most as we traveled back toward the main channel. The loons are so much prettier with the summer black and white colors than the winter version of feathers we see in northern Florida.

The cut canal (straight as an arrow!) which connects Balsam Lake to Lake Simcoe was amazingly calm.

It was difficult to determine where the real trees ended and the reflection in the water began. Gorgeous.

It wasn't too long before we were at the Kirkfield lift lock - another of the Trent-Severn engineering marvels (click here for more info).

The dark skies were an indication of the predicted rain/storms/tornadoes headed this direction.

Maybe this would be a good place to stop - at least for lunch but maybe for the night.

After an hour and a half wait for the rain and thunder, we continued on.

Best wildlife spot of the day? Steve saw this family of swans off the side of the channel.

Good thing he saw them as I totally missed them! They were in the same area as a pair of swans we saw last year - I'm thinking it's the same pair.

Swans mate for life and usually produce between three to eight babies. There are six babies in this batch - similar to the number we saw last year.

I love swans!!

We continued down the waterway toward Lake Simcoe. The only thing that stood between us and the lake was 5 locks - all hand operated - and all closing at 4:00 pm.

By now it was 2:30 and we were just hitting the first of the locks. We thought we could make it but made plans at which lock to stay in case we didn't.

With the help from the lockmasters getting us down each lock quickly, we made it with about 20 minutes to spare. So we tied up for the night on the wall just east of the opening to Lake Simcoe.

I took this shot at the left just a bit too soon - Steve was wet from the splash of the waves!

There were severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado warning in the area. Think we'll spend the night here ..... but we did discuss what we should do if a tornado happened along.

Steve experienced a tornado when he was a kid (it lifted just as it approached where they lived) so had some experience about what the clouds would be doing. Lots of wind and rain but fortunately no tornadoes.

After all of the wind and rain, this 'dragon log' kept floating near the boat. It became a game: Steve would put it along - it would float away - and then suddenly it would be back next to the boat!.

Wildlife here: a cute toad Steve spotted on a rock near the tie-up wall.

Off to bed - it will be an early morning to cross Lake Simcoe - largest lake on the Trent-Severn system!

Monday June 16: Coboconk

There were just a few more things we wanted to do before leaving Fenelon Falls – one of which was to get the bikes tuned up. Steve spent part of Saturday getting everything greased up and working again. Without bikes, it wouldn't be nearly as easy to enjoy the places we stop.

Even with these smaller fold up bikes, it's very enjoyable riding and the exercise of course is great.

After the work was done we took a walk down to the falls. Seemed like the thing to do since we'd been here four days and had yet to see the falls after which this town is named!

 Looks pretty much like it did last year :-)

Every trip back here bring pleasant memories. It's been over 55 years since I first saw and passed through this lock as a kid traveling with my family. 

 

The picture (left) on the historical board shows the lock the way it was when we came through: it was a double lock – now replaced by a single large lock. The picture on the right is a view from now. You can see the same very steep granite steps are still in place! The original lock walls from both the upper and the lower lock are still visible as well.

Of course Steve had to show that he could still climb the steep steps the same way we did as kids!

I'm quite certain that the sign right was not there when we were kids or we would have been banned from climbing up the railings :-)

Sunday it was finally time to move on. We made it all of four miles before we decided it must be time to stop for lunch. Rosedale lock is a really pretty area with minimal road traffic but because it's so close to Fenelon Falls we never have stayed – might as well stop for the day! 

And then the lockmaster off hand mentioned that the Kawartha Voyager (small cruise boat) would be tying up on the blue line for the night – right across from where we were tied. No problem – except we know by  experience that it runs generators all night. Mmmm … no thank you ...we'll continue the eight miles to Coboconk!

This morning? Really? Cold enough for jeans, long sleeve shirt and jacket? It felt like the first day of fall. Once the rain quit we headed out for breakfast, the junk store, the hardware and the library. By the time we were back from running errands, the sun was out and it ended up being a sunny but cool day.

Guppy finally got a bath – no small task. Steve indicated I'm not allowed to call this our “small” boat anymore! Small is relative, right? And 28 ft (Guppy) is smaller than 36 ft (Yesterday's Dream) so I stand vindicated :-)

Meanwhile, I installed a 12 volt fan in our bunk area. We know it really will eventually get hot up here even though so far the nights have been cool enough for us to run the small heater.

Steve is always entertained by the variety of dragonflies around and of course we both enjoy the baby ducks that are clearly being fed by the boaters. It's a beeline for us when they see us on the boat!

We're staying here again tonight as we continue to experiment with the solar panel and our energy needs. Initial thoughts? Better than expected!