Larry & Mary’s Great Loop Blog

Bobcageon to Thorah Lock 40 August 18th

The 18th was another many lock day. We started at Bobcaygeon (Lock 32), went thorough Fenelon Falls — which was a beautiful place and looked like a nice stop — but we pushed on…

We had to go through a narrow canal/river on our way to Kirkfield Lift Lock — and had to wait for a houseboat to come through — not wide enough for both of us.

Then we passed through a very narrow channel that was surrounded by lots of shallow water on our way to Kirkfield = another hydraulic lift — it was fun!

We had to stop for the night at Thorah Lock — as the next lock would be closed before we got there. Thorah was another very nice lock wall — again with no power, but we had the whole place to ourselves. The lock was surrounded by farmland, so it was a very quiet night.

Many of the locks on the Trent-Severn Waterway were manually operated by the lock operators. Depending on the height of the water in the lock, there could be 10 or more turns of the wheel to open the lock doors.

Lakefield to Bobcaygeon August 16-17

After a full day of going through Locks on the Trent Severn Waterway, we stopped overnight at the Lakefield Lock Wall to spend the night — no water or power, but luckily it was a cool night. The locks were slow so we didn’t make it to our planned marina. Lakefield was a nice place — we got off the boat and took a walk around town to see the sights and go to the local Canadian Post to mail a couple birthday cards.

We had Taco Tuesday at Henry’s Bar, the local Lakefield pub and eatery.

The next day we were off doing some more locks. We went from Lakefield to Bobcaygeon.

We stopped at Bobcaygeon because we were having an engine issue with overheating. Found out there are no mechanics really on the Trent Severn Waterway near us, but luckily another boat who we followed through locks that day had their son aboard who is a diesel mechanic — Thank the Lord! He made the comment that it looked/sounded like a fuel issue, and we also found that the new fresh water hose had come unattached. After getting the hose fixed, and replacing a generator battery (because our overnight on the lock wall found we had a dead one), we were good to go the next day.

There was a cute little downtown at the Bobcaygeon Lock — wish we had more time to take a look around, but we left when the lock opened at 9 AM.

Peterborough Marina and the Famous Peterborough Lift Lock August 15-16th

We headed to Peterborough Marina, in Ontario and after a long 8 hour day and 40 miles, we cleaned up the boat then strolled around town to find an Irish pub, McThirsty’s Pint Larry had a Moosehead beer — Canada’s Oldest Independent Brewery. We headed back to the boat and had some great Indian Food at a local place near the marina.

The next morning we set out early at 8 AM to be at the first lock in Ashburnham, but several other boaters had the same idea, so we had to wait to lock through about 30 minutes.

lots of boaters hanging around to lock through Ashburnham — the lock just before Peterborough

After Ashburnham and heading towards Peterborough Lift Lock

The Peterborough Lift lock lifts boats 65 feet high in the worlds tallest lift lock. Boats enter the “Pan” and the weight of the boats displace the water. Then the lock doors are closed and another 1 foot of water is added to the upper lock, which adds roughly 700 tons to the weight of the upper pan and makes the two pans shift up / down in relation to the other. The lock movement took just a minute or two — it was a very quick 65 feet! The museum for this famous lift lock was closed due to COVID.

Hastings Marina at Lock #18 August 14th

We spent the night at Hastings Marina, just past the Hastings Lock #18. It was a cute marina, just on the waterway, within walking distance of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church where we walked to for Saturday night service. After church we went to get appetizers at the local restaurant McGillicafey’s Pub and Eatery and then for ice cream right near the marina before turning in for the night. We planned to leave early the next morning so this was just a quick stop.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, Hastings Ontario Canada

Going through the Trent Severn Waterway – Day 1 to Campbellford

The first day on the Trent river was very scenic. There were several houses or “cottages” along the river and the park service had some glamping cottages as well that they rent out.

We went through several locks and a few swing bridges.

Campbellford, Ontario was a quaint small town and nice stop. We arrived in the pouring down rain. Our Looper friends on the boat “Wanderer” were tied up to the wall and they jumped off to help us tie up in front of them.

We walked across the Trent River to check in at the Municipal Park office and pay for our stay.

In the park there was a large “Toonie” – the two dollar Canadian coin — because the coin’s designer home town was Campbellford. This little town even had a working telephone booth!

We ducked in from the rain and had dinner at a local restaurant / bar before heading back to the boat for the night.

The next morning we went exploring around Campbellford before leaving. They had a small Farmers Market and a nice trail along the Trent river

We walked on the trail to the suspension bridge and back up to the Ranney Falls Double-lift Lock 11/12.

Ranney Falls double lock from land side looking down from top just before Campbellford

We went to Dooher’s Bakery to get some fresh bread, donuts and more Butter Tarts — this was a popular bakery, with the line around the corner. Took about 30 minutes in line (nothing like that time I stood in line for the “Cake Boss” bakery in Hoboken, NJ).

The World’s Finest Chocolate factory was also in Campbellford. Larry went chocolate shopping while Mary waited in the Bakery line at Dooher’s. Larry must have liked the chocolate store, since he came back with a large bag assortment… 🙂

Canada Here we come! Trent Port Marina, Trenton, Ontario August 9-12

After making it across Lake Ontario, we were having an engine heating problem. We found out it was a melted 6″ exhaust elbow . This was a part that we had to order. but luckily we got it in 2 days. In the meantime, we walked around the town and got to see a movie while we were there. The marina itself was very nice, nicely landscaped with new amenities and floating docks due to a fire a few years earlier.

The Marina was very near the Canadian Air Force Base in Trenton, so we saw lots of big planes flying over the marina every day.

We took a walk to the farmers market and bought some Butter Tarts — they are similar to miniature Pecan Pies. We also got to visit Larry’s favorite place, McDonalds with COVID restrictions.

Butter Tarts at the local Farmers Market

Trent Severn Waterway upper left in Green — what we will travel for the next week.

With our repairs complete, we started up the Trent Severn Waterway. Our first lock up was just about a mile away from the marina — this would be the first of 12 locks on the first day.

Visit to Chicago Macias Family August 1-3 then back to Sackets Harbor to wait for Canada to open August 9th

After dropping Shelley off at the Rochester Airport, Larry and I went on a 9 hour driving adventure to Chicago to visit Erin, Noe and of course Stella! We had a great couple of days with them. They drove us by their new home that they will move into in September. Stella was a lot of fun, but not daring enough to take steps on her own yet. We brought our firearms and alcohol to Erin for safe-keeping while we were in Canada.

This was the highway East of Chicago — glad we weren’t heading West — at least 10 miles of backed up traffic

Back at the Port of Rochester, we were glad to see the local police force who guarded the parking area at the marina were still there as they had been every night. The next day we started our trek from Rochester back to Navy Point Marina, in Sackets Harbor where we will await the opening of Canada on August 9th. On our journey, we found our deepest water yet on Lake Ontario at 753 feet!

It was good to be back at Sackets Harbor — we really enjoyed this place. Coming back again gave us a chance to visit more of the battlefield and commanders buildings that dated back to the war of 1812, We also got to eat breakfast again at the Tin Can Galley — the stuffed French Toast was the bomb!!

Relaxing at Navy Point Marina, Sacketts Harbor, NY

Stuffed French Toast and lunch Quesadilla were both a hit for Brunch and we had leftovers for another day!

It was hard to tell who really won the War of 1812 — Americans thought British won, but then later both sides thought they each had won the battle. One things for sure, it was hard being in the Navy or Army at that time. Just one look at the recipe for Scotch Coffee will tell you that it was tough — boil burnt biscuits in water until it has consistency of shoe polish then add sweetener… Ugg!

We toured the commanders barracks that had been refurbished since the war of 1812 and was lived in by a higher ranking commander for the battlefield for some time after the war. Interesting things seen in the house are included here…

Arts and Crafts from the period… this was made entirely of human hair.

Seneca Lake Wine Trail July 29th

Since we didn’t have good weather for boating when Shelley was visiting, we decided to get pedicures and take a trip to the Seneca Lake Wine Trail in the Finger Lakes Region of New York.

Heading off the dock to start our fun day

Our first stop on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail was the Earle Estates Meadery. The tasting room was a majestic plantation style building

Prejean Winery was the next stop — their grapevines looked wonderful!

Seneca Shore Wine Cellars weren’t open when we got their, but they had a very artistic sign with a metal dragon holding grapes on top of a castle!

Fox Run Vineyards had a great outdoor area next to their vineyard. Their sign was also a metallic scene of foxes running in the forest.

After so many winerys, we took a break and visited a craft brewery that was also on the wine trail.

The historic Belhurst Castle and Estate Winery was the last one we visited. Belhurst offered a wine and cheese flight — which we enjoyed. The castle was built between 1888-1892 and also has hotel accommodations and Edgar’s Restaurant.

Niagara Falls and Buffalo Side Trip July 25th AND Niagara again with Shelley July 30th

We drove the rental car to visit Niagara Falls, NY and then went to the Erie Canal where we met with some other Loopers for docktails before heading back to the boat. We stopped by Buffalo, NY for dinner at the Hofbrauhaus House that had a lively band.

Pork, sauerkraut and pretzel to go with our beers!

We got to visit Niagara Falls twice — once with Shelley and another time just Larry and Mary.

Niagara Falls was beautiful from the American Side! Lots of interesting facts about the falls…

Can’t even imagine what it would be like to go over the falls — but there are people who have done it! Some intentionally and others by accident! What a drop that would be!!

The falls bridge over with ice in the winter but since 1912, visitors can no longer walk on the Ice Bridge.

Here’s a picture of an ice boom — used to promote ice formation in an arch to reduce the flow of ice into the Niagara River.

Larry and Shelley learning about the ice boom

Niagara Falls was a beautiful site. American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls are both in the US. The Canadian Horseshoe Falls straddles the border of the US and Canada and is the largest of the three falls. The islands that separate the 3 sets of falls are Luna Island and Goat Island. We got to walk over to Luna Island and Goat Island to see the more closely the Bridal Veil Falls and Horseshoe Falls.

American Falls and Bridal Falls in front. Horseshoe falls in far back

Port of Rochester, Rochester, NY July 22-24

From Sodus Point, we headed to Rochester in preparations to meet Shelley Kerr, our friend visiting from Kingsport, TN. On our way in we saw a Fire Boat – who was practicing fire-fighting in Lake Ontario. The Port of Rochester marina was very nice. They had a great boaters lounge and free laundry!

We took a stroll after docking and doing some clean-up of the boat. There was a small beach, and beach front park within walking distance of the boat.

We took a dinghy ride up the Genesee River to see what we could see and we saw an abandoned boat – the Spirit of Rochester that used to provide lunch and dinner cruises between 1985 and 2004 in Rochester, New York. — Could it have been a local cruise ship in a previous life??

We went running 2.5 miles along the Genesee River the next day and ran under the Colonel Patrick O-Rorke Memorial Bridge. O-Rorke was a civil war colonel that grew up in Rochester and led the New York 140th Infantry at the Battle of Gettysburg. We ran past Turning Point Park, where cement barges from Canada deliver material to Rochester and turn around after unloading their cargo. The bridge over Genesee River must have been a mile at least. There was actually a cement barge unloading during our run and a few days later we were able to see the memorial bridge open to allow the barge to pass under on its way back to Canada.

We rented a car so we could see the sights around Rochester and surrounding areas, also to be able to pick up Shelley when she arrived in Rochester.

Rochester is clearly a town that was influenced tremendously by Kodak. All around town there is the name Kodak — on their corporate headquarters, Kodak Center for Performing Arts, Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater, and the George Eastman Museum. High Falls is the name of the Township in Rochester City where Kodak and Genesee Brewing are located.

When Shelley arrived, we went to Genesee Brew House for lunch and beer.

Shelley and Larry at bridge to overlook High Falls

After lunch it was on to the George Eastman Mansion and Museum.

The museum had historic Kodak cameras and movie film equipment. The George Eastman Mansion had some furnishings donated by the family and others were reproductions based upon the original furnishings when George Eastman lived there.

George Eastman traveled quite a bit and liked to go on Safari’s. There were animal skins, animal hoof decorations – like waste baskets as well as an Elephant head and several Rhinoceros artifacts.

George was also an avid supporter of the arts, through donations as well as having a pipe organ with 6000 pipes built into his home and then expanded to make it the worlds largest residential pipe organ.

In 1913, the Eastman Kodak Company was charged with having a monopoly that was later settled, but gave George Eastman anxiety for almost over a decade. In the 1920’s George got involved in Eastman Savings & Loan and Rochester Government.

George Eastman never married, and built the mansion for he and his mother.

George Eastman had incurable aliments and took his life at age 77 leaving a note that said “My work is done. Why Wait?”

The rest of the museum was a history of Kodak cameras in the history of photography

Collection of powdered technicolor dyes used in motion picture is at the museum. Also, (not pictured) is the worlds largest collection of original Technicolor 35mm film negatives including color separation negatives for **Gone with the Wind** and **The Wizard of Oz**

Some people might remember the flash cubes like pictured here on the Mick -A – Matic camera

I remember the Ektralite 10 camera below and I had a Disc 4000 camera at one time.