Wednesday - July 31

 After rain during the night, we had sunny skies as we walked to The Village Bakery and Cafe.   Been here on a previous trip - great breakfast/lunch and of course, coffee!   We got coffee, a cheese Danish and coffee cake muffin to go and back to Catrina.  

This plaque was on one of the benches along the dock in Pittsford....so true!

  We left the dock just before 8 westbound with 2 locks.   Met only a handful of boats all going in the opposite direction,    But something unique we've never seen before was a "Just Married" sign on back of boat and a young couple who were on their "mini-moon" for 5 days from Buffalo to Pittsford.   Mark called on the radio to congratulate them!

  The canal trail was right beside us all the way and our average speed is 8 mph.   Everything is very lush and green as they've had plenty of rain.   We passed many farms, corn fields and a large vineyard.   Also saw some deer running along the towpath!

We enjoyed our lunch of 1/2 Cuban sandwich from Donnelly's a few nights ago, potato salad from Dinosaur BBQ last night and peaches/blueberries from John.     

It was all about bridges today - we went under many, many, many (railroad, pedestrian, over interstates, and several no longer operating).    But, we also had to have 8 lift bridges raised for us!    Had some spotty rain off and on, but around 1:00, the sun was out in full force.

Pedestrian bridge near Rochester

Henpeck Park is just a few blocks from John and Cindy's home

We cruised a total of 50.6 miles arriving in Medina at 2:20.  Several of these towns offer a free pump out so we took advantage of that before settling in,   We've stayed in Medina a few other times and remember the Shirt Factory where we had great coffee and breakfasts (my 1st time to have avocado toast and it was soo good back in 2018).    This former shirt factory, made white dress shirts for several US presidents back in the day.   However, they now have very limited hours and described as "Coffee to Cocktails" - only open for breakfast on the weekend)!

As we were cruising past so many little towns today where we've stopped in the past (this is our 4th trip on the Erie Canal), so many memories......concerts in the park, waterfalls, murals, bike rides, good restaurants, coffee shops, walking around the neat old downtowns and of course, flowers, flowers everywhere!

Pretty mural in Albion, NY

We have now cruised 150 miles on the Erie Canal (40 miles and 2 locks to go) and have over 22,000 miles on Catrina.    

We decided to do a little pre-celebratory dinner since we're almost finished with the canal....tomorrow night our marina in Buffalo won't be near restaurants.    Harvest (farm to table) is a new place in town since 2021.   It was totally renovated and formerly the Bates Opera House.   

The beautiful sandstone (specialty stone in Medina) 3-story building is now the Harvest restaurant on the 1st floor; 2nd floor is a boutique hotel with 10 rooms and the 3rd floor (former opera house) which has been vacant since the early 1900's is now a gorgeous venue for weddings, elegant events, etc.   WOW.....lots of $$$$ was poured into this, but it is absolutely gorgeous.    We had dinner at Harvest - top-notch for food, service and ambiance.    All in little ole Medina (pop - 5,593). 

Harvest restaurant at Bent's Opera House

These luscious ginormous blooms are all over downtown and have 2-3 little cards

 tucked inside that read 

"in memory of" or "dedicated to"

Bye bye July

   

Tuesday - July 30

 Mark walked to Junction 361 for my vanilla latte.    And then we were off to Pittsford (6.8 miles and no locks).   I drove all the way and a very relaxing 1.5 hour trip all along the Erie Canal Trail with many walkers, joggers, bicyclists, dogs, babies, kiddos, etc., out and about.   Boat traffic was very light - amazed that this is the case as we're moving along on the Canal.    

Sculling boats are very big in this area and we saw several this morning, also paddle boarders.   The sculling boats are so sleek with 1 person like a kayak but also several people (all women today) paddling versus the dragon boats which are rowing,   Passed several pretty parks and lovely homes along the way.

Pittsford has always been one of our favorite towns along the Erie Canal....population is 1,342, and has all the things we enjoy and appreciate - coffee, ice cream, restaurants, grocery, bakery, a very nice library, etc., etc.    And it is the oldest village in NY becoming incorporated in 1827.  

 We picked up lunch at Hungry's Grill - a little walk-up place (Italian sausage for Mark and burger for me + onion rings to share)    Delicious and a happening little spot!

Great little spot!

Brought our lunch back to Catrina - it's really hot today!    Rain/thunderstorms coming later.

John arrived at 1:00 and took us for a very enjoyable afternoon at the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester - a massive structure for kiddos of all ages  from 2-102.    We three 70+ adults had so much fun and spent 3.5 hours there in awe of how this all came together.    There's also a big outdoor area - it is soooo well done and if/when you're in Rochester, NY, this is a must visit - wish our grandkids would've been with us as John takes his grandsons frequently!    Something for everyone.

Jenga big-kid size

And of course - so many beautiful flowers

We then drove 1/2 mile to Dinosaur BBQ, a popular spot in Rochester and very busy when we arrived shortly after 5.    It was delicious.

Back to Catrina and sat on the bridge waiting for the troops to arrive for ice cream.   The weather was iffy with thunder and dark skies, but went around us and just a few drops!

Brian and the boys arrived and we walked to Pittsford  Farms Dairy - another favorite and we all enjoyed more ice cream....(3rd night in a row for Mark and me)!  Oink!  Oink!!

Waiting for ice cream

Brian, John, Lucas, Mark, Isaac, Evan

Back to Catrina and time to say good bye....sure going to miss these little guys.   Sooo enjoyed being with them the past 3 days and our fun outing today with John (+ he brought fresh peaches)!!!

3 very sweet, funny livewires

Isaac, Evan, Lucas

 

Monday - July 29

 We left Palmyra at 7:50 - just 2 locks (Palmyra and Macedon) today.    And a short jaunt of    11.2 miles to Fairport (pop, 5000+)  We've always enjoyed our previous visits here and after settling along the wall, we set off for "our" coffee shop in Fairport which has a new name...Clementine's.    Enjoyed our iced coffees this very warm day.    I walked around town a bit and Mark cleaned the fenders - they get really nasty from the locks and he wanted to get as much crud off as possible.    Still have 4 locks to go till we are done!!!!

Pretty reflection on the water today with the bridge just before Macedon lock

Mark rode his bike to CVS for a few things.   He settled up with the dockmaster - normally there is no charge along the docks in the small towns for overnight, but Fairport is up to $23 (when we were here in 2018, we paid $14 and then $17 in 2021).    They do appreciate a donation, though.

Catrina in Fairport

More pretty flowers

Pretty patriotic bridge right behind Catrina

John is a retired family practice physician.    He came over to see us this afternoon and we had a great visit catching up on our families, health issues, etc.    He did several exercises with me for my hand - overall, the prognosis is that nerves take a long time to heal!!!   He used so many big words that my head was spinning!   

John and Mark went over our route we've taken since leaving Port Clinton 7 weeks ago tomorrow.    John brought us some cheese/salami/crackers and fresh blueberries!

John, Mark and I went to dinner at Donnelley's Public House (ate here a few years ago and very good)   .   Unfortunately, Cindy was still not feeling well.  

We walked to Lift Bridge Ice Cream and met Brian and boys.    Perry ice cream is sooo good with umpteen flavors.    Then across the water to Catrina where the boys explored every nook and crannie, checked the "basement", etc., etc., etc.    Enjoyed their visit and plan to do ice cream again tomorrow night in Pittsford, our next stop.   

Lucas, Evan, Brian, Isaac

The cousins

One of many rental canal boats

Captain Mark and his crew

Sunday - July 28

Beautiful summery day with a high of 90.    Most heat we've had in a while!    We walked to St. Michael's for 8:15 Mass with Father Felicjan Sierotowicz (a little hard to understand and we think he's Polish)?

St. Michael's in Newark, NY

Back to Catrina to prepare for our guests - just 2 blocks from St. Michael's is the "Grind-on Coffee Co" which looked really neat in an old house but they are closed Sundays.  😒

At 10:20, Mark's cousin John from Rochester came with his son, Brian, wife Emma and their 3 rambunctious boys (Lucas, 10; Evan 7 and Isaac 5).    We were last together in June of 2021 and my how they've grown and such little livewires!    We had a 1 hour cruise from Newark to Palmyra and so fun to catch up and answer the boys 1000 questions!   😂    We were all up on the bridge, but the boys wanted to go down to the basement (Catrina's main salon)!  😀  A car was waiting for them here in Palmyra and they drove back to Newark to get their car and on home.    John and Cindy (she was not feeling well today) live in Rochester; Brian and family in Fairport (next town on the canal).    We'll see them again tomorrow evening in Fairport - Lucas has baseball camp and Evan, soccer camp this week, so happy they could join us today.   

John, Brian, Emma

Me with the Munchkins

Evan, Isaac and Lucas

After they left, we walked uptown and decided on "The Hog and Hen" for brunch.   This place has been open only 3 weeks but got some great reviews - they are for dinner only + Sunday brunch.    We each had the burrito (so much good stuff tucked inside and crispy on the outside + a wonderful salad!)    Leftovers for tomorrow, too!   

Excellent burrito and salad

Had a nice chat with the chef.   He and his wife bought the building in December and did a nice job renovating but preserving the brick walls, wood flooring, etc.   It's warm 'n cozy.   The chef comes from Seneca Falls but has been a chef in Vermont, at a winery somewhere in NY and also Annapolis.    He's glad to be closer to home and raise their family as they love the small town of Palmyra (pop - 7,403). 

Palmyra has the distinction of being the only town in the world that has a church on all 4 corners - Zion Episcopal, Western Presbyterian, Methodist and Canal Town Community Church (very interesting to read about these churches on Google).

Another interesting tidbit about Palmyra is that Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus-Christ of the Latter-day Saints here back on April 6, 1830.   We saw their huge church coming into Ottawa 11 days ago.

4 churches at the intersection of Main Street and Canandaigua Street

Palmyra, NY

So we kept meandering down the street and came upon St. Anne Catholic Church - what are the odds?    Attended St. Michael's in Newark and here we have St. Anne in Palmyra!

St. Anne - Palmyra, NY

We walked back along the tow path where the donkeys used to pull barges hauling lumber and grain many years ago.    Today, it's a very popular biking/walking path that cousin John uses frequently as he's an avid bicyclist on the Erie Canalway Trail which runs from Albany to Buffalo.   

Back to Catrina to cool off - pretty hot out there.   Mark took a little nap - I read and then he took his bike and found a liquor store to stock up on some wine - backpack came in handy!

Shared my leftover taco salad from last night and then off to the Chill and Grill for ice cream....not a DQ, but locally owned and we ate here in 2018....geez...that's 6 years ago!   It was good as ever!

Visited with our neighbor (only other boat here in Palmyra tonight) from Fort Collins, CO.   

Zoom tonight with 8 siblings.    

Next to Catrina here in Palmyra

  

Saturday - July 27

 Cool to start the day but warmed up fast!   Going to be hot next few days!   So, the water is the place to be!

We left Baldwinsville (the locals call it B'ville) at 7:05 under sunny skies and nary a ripple on the water!

We went 53.5 miles and did 5 locks.   Just 1 man manning each lock and we had all the locks to ourselves after thinking it would be busy since it's Saturday?    We arrived in Newark at 1:05 and settled in - had lunch and then a nap.   The Captain and his First Mate love all that fresh air but 6 hours later, a power nap is in order.

One difference between the Erie and Rideau Canals are the Erie has stop lights and when they turn green, "come on in"!    All of the equipment, railings, etc., are in blue and gold (Blue Angel colors).   Mark asked one of the lock staff on the Rideau why they don't have railings as a safety precaution for all the folks who come out to watch how this lock system works (some places we have quite an audience)!    He said the Rideau which is 100 years older than the Erie want to keep as much originality and integrity of how it was back in the day, so.....there were no railings then and still nothing!   Scares me watching families with little ones getting close to the edge!

Every lock on the Erie has a big sign telling the distance between locks going east or west bound

The Rideau does not do that

Pretty reflection of a railroad bridge early this morning

We walked downtown and just as we came across the bridge, there was a very big memorial of flowers, stuffed animals, candles, balloons, T-shirts, etc. along with a sign with "RIP Wilson and the date June 24, 2024."   What a sobering sight.  A guy was standing nearby and told us that on that evening  around 8, a 17-year old boy jumped off the bridge but apparently hit something or was injured and drowned.    His body was found an hour later.    What a horrible tragedy.

We remembered some things from previous visits to Newark - their Garden Club does an incredible job with their flowers - those folks all have the GREENEST thumbs!    BEAUTIFUL and they are all over the downtown area.

Blooms everywhere - Mark walking in the distance

We stopped at Parker's Grille and Tap Room (we were here last visit) and also have been to the one in Seneca Falls.    There are 5 Parker's around the area (Erie Canal, Finger Lakes region, etc.)    Good dinner and then back to Catrina. 

          Our summer home on a Saturday night in Newark, NY        

Something I meant to mention yesterday was our surprise at finding out from Marilyn and Karl that we have mutual friends, Beeb and Frank who we met in Dunkirk, NY in 2021 when they were doing the loop.   Now they're in NC and we hope to get together this fall.

It's such a small world.

                                                                              

 

Friday - July 26

A spectacular day weather wise - we rode with Seward to The R Diner while Mike, Marilyn and Karl met us there.     What fun these folks are and so enjoyed our visit.    Brenda (Mike's wife) was working in their boat virtually with her job.   We met her later.   Excellent breakfast!

Mark, Pat, Marilyn, Mike, Karl, Seward

at the R Diner

So, back to Catrina for pics and say good bye to Kim and Ethan.    Not sure if/when we'll see them again....but you never know.   As Mark says, maybe we'll come back to this area in Flo someday!

Kim

Ethan

We got everything ready to take off with Karl and Mike handling the lines and away we went.   21.6 miles and 2 locks later we were in Baldwinsville - been here a few times before including June 5, 2018 when we drove here in our truck from Brewerton to see Dr. Suzanne Shapiro after I broke off part of a tooth when eating a butterfinger flurry at Rosie's in Brewerton a few days earlier.   Dr. Shapiro put on a temporary crown and I was good to go!

After getting the power cords hooked up and then the water hose, but oops....where's the regulator that goes on the pedestal water connection?    Realized we  left it behind in Brewerton!!!    Duh......duh....but then Seward to the rescue.   He and Phoebe drove 12 miles to deliver it - what a great guy and his sweet little dog.   We had a nice visit (wanted to take him to dinner but he wouldn't hear of it), but did want to see inside Catrina and then said our good byes with a plan to get together in FL this winter.   Sure sorry we missed Meg.....

Between the time we realized we were missing this regulator and Seward's delivery, we were on a hunt for coffee (me) and ice cream (Mark).    Both happy with our treats from Cafe Bee You and  JessiCakes.

Mark went back to the boat with his ice cream and I enjoyed browsing at 2 Twisted Sisters and made a dinner reservation at Olive's Eatery (all connected).   So, I'm walking back to the boat and have the walk sign and lo and behold, a white SUV (not sure if a man or woman was driving) came roaring around the side street going fast.   I was 1/2 way across the street and he/she never slowed down - I was frantically waving my hand that he/she would see me, but he/she just missed me by inches.  Very scary and what the heck - obviously this person was very distracted, not paying attention (I was wearing a white shirt)?????    2 cars stopped and asked if I was ok!    Much too close and so many memories of being hit 14 years ago....really shook me up - of course, Mark was a great comfort.

We walked to Olive's Eatery - sat in the courtyard and enjoyed our wine and dinners.   This is right where I crossed the street today..................just shudder thinking about it.   We checked it out the light situation at this T-intersection.   Those folks have the green light same time as I had the walk sign.....NOT SAFE....they should have a left-turn signal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   That driver was not watching for pedestrians!!!   

Cute little Visitor Center right by Catrina

Off to Newark and more locks tomorrow...

Thursday - July 25

 More heavy rain around 11 last night and then another downpour at 6 AM!    Skies have been off and on with clouds and sun and 78 and very windy.

We had sausage, eggs and toast for breakfast and then took off in the courtesy car a bit early as our neighbors made a quick run to the hardware store and then heading to Oswego.    I dropped Mark off at the laundromat and I went on to get a manicure with Lanny - such a sweet lady!   Then to Wegman's - a trip to this gigantic grocery store is like a kid in a candy shop!    Wonderful.......as much as we love Publix, this is just a notch above.

We remember this laundromat from previous visits as being pretty nasty, but Tammy in the office said it was newly remodeled with all new machines, etc.   Wow....what a big difference, but $4 per wash....yikes!

I picked Mark up - he was just finishing folding the last of our clothes, put some gas in the car and back to EssKay.    We used our handy wagon to haul the clean clothes and groceries back to Catrina.    Put our stuff away, had lunch and took a nap!  😃

Mark took our big back bimini cover down so he can put the radar arch down as we'll be going thru some low bridges on the Erie Canal.   

When we were doing the Rideau and all our cruising times, one of our favorite and very important must haves is this red/green heavy plastic band which we change as the buoy colors change.    Sometimes we have red on the right (red, right, returning to sea) and green on the left and then again, that can change quickly per the charts.    Once we know which is the right way for the buoys we can quickly switch and it sits above the steering wheel.    We owe a huge round of thanks to our friend Bill G who gave us this idea many years ago and then Philip made it for us!!!

Buoy marker

Seward and Phoebe came over to visit - while Meg is in FL since her mother passed away a few weeks ago and Seward had been back home in CT.....so good to see him.   Then Karl and Mike came over for more visiting....1st time to meet these guys who keep their boats near Seward and Meg's here at EssKay.    We are all going to breakfast tomorrow at the R Diner.

Seward and Phoebe

Back to locks tomorrow...

 

Wednesday- July 24

 A nice day for cruising and didn't have to worry about the rain which held off.    We left our dock in Oswego at 7:40, tied up on the wall as gate wasn't opened for #8 lock.   No more blue lines although that system does work well on the Rideau.

We started the 7 locks on the Oswego Canal....such a difference from the Rideau.    These are much longer and some are pretty scuzzy.....they use ropes or cables (we prefer cables) whereas only cables are used on the Rideau.    All of these are hydraulic so no cranking, but no young friendly folks to chat with, etc.   Not that many staff are needed with this more modern technology and believe it or not, some locks we didn't see anyone or just waved to the person in their little lock house.

We had the locks all to ourselves today - nice!   And only met 3 boats going the other way,

Our last lock on the Oswego was in Phoenix, NY and we have fond memories of times spent here and home of the Boat House Brats (BHB) who are school-age kiddos who hang out at the docks helping people settle in, bring them a meal from restaurants, ice, other errands.   they also serve breakfasts and just the nicest young people.   The townspeople stop by and everyone sits around on picnic tables chatting away with the boaters.  As we drove past,  several of the kids were wearing their royal blue shirts waiting for some business!    Great place for kids to hang out these warm summer days and doing good deeds for we boaters which are much appreciated!

From the Oswego Canal we were on the Erie Canal and one more lock to Brewerton - good to be back here.  2 nice neighbors (both doing the loop from TX and NC) helped us tie up for diesel and a pump out  - they are full here at EssKay.   Tammy helped us into our slip next to folks from Oriental, NC.

After getting Catrina settled, we had lunch and then Mark took off on his bike for a haircut - gotta love $15 haircuts (senior price)!  I tidied up Catrina - vacuumed, sorted laundry, etc.   When he got back, he set to work fixing the dockside water thingy....Kim had ordered the parts, he got it all installed and we are good to go!   And then at 4:15, just as he was finishing up, the heavens opened up and for 45 minutes, we had very heavy rain!   And then the sun came out and a nice evening!

They have a courtesy car here at EssKay which you can sign up for 2 hours.   Nothing available today, but we have it booked from 10-12.   Laundry, groceries, manicure hopefully!

Philip, Annette, Luke and Maeve are enjoying a little getaway in FL and the kiddos saw where Daddy works!

I had a good chat with Kim tonight - nice to see her and catch up!   Saw Ethan, too  

 

Tuesday - July 23

It rained again overnight so Catrina was sopping wet this morning!   But amazing how Charlotte can still spin those intricate webs night after night!  😖

Bye bye Kingston - sure enjoyed our 3 visits this summer

 Hello from Oswego, NY......crossed back into the USA at 9:58 this morning.    We left Kingston at 7:45 and did 55.1 miles across Lake Ontario.   We are docked outside the La Parrilla restaurant, a nice on-the-water place connected to the Best Western Plus.

Entrance at channel

We had 1 footers and some rollers out there and did some pounding, but not bad and so different after the calm waters on the Rideau.    After settling in, we took off for downtown - been here a few other times and after checking Trip Advisor for a lunch spot, we went to #1 - The Red Sun Fire Roasting Co......delicious lunch in an old building - very charming and the nicest waitress - Stephanie.    Mark had the beef  'n bleu sandwich and I had a cobb salad.

Pink blooms in NY

After lunch we waked to BAME liquors to get a few things and then to Riverwalk Coffee Roasters - I had an excellent almond joy latte.   Back to the boat for a nice relaxing afternoon including a little nap.

Oswego seems to be thriving at least the downtown!    Always happy to see that!

We missed Sunday mass, and for some reason, not able to get Immaculate Conception and Father Jonathan on TV, so watched Father Chris Snyder from Holy Cross Chapel in Boston this afternoon.    We watched Mass from Boston with Cardinal Sean O'Malley and Bishop Robert Reed for so many weeks during the pandemic.

So after a day away from locks, we'll be back at it tomorrow as we have 8 locks on the Oswego Canal taking us to Brewerton.    We spent 4 years off and on (2017-2020) - Catrina was in storage in 2020 while we were out west on Flo.    Happy memories of staying at EssKay Marina and was hoping some of the same folks would be around.    We'll see Kim and Ethan (owners) and Tammy (office staff).    Meg and Seward from CT spend each summer on "Butterfly" but Meg's mother (94) passed away in St. Petersburg, FL on July 12th so she's there now taking care of things.    Mark and I met Betty, several years ago and what a delightful lady.   Seward will be back in CT for appts., so hoping we'll see him on Thursday?    And Mike, our friend from Greece is in Europe.   This technology is truly amazing as I texted Mike that we were going to be in Brewerton the next few days and he immediately wrote back that he's spending the summer in Greece!   We knew he had twin grandsons now 14 months (daughter) and found out he has a 7-month old grandson (son).    His kids/grandsons live near Brewerton.  He's a very proud Grandpa.

We also met Bev and Jim from Marion, NC (sailors) in '18 but  not sure if they're still boating.   Hope to catch up with them in October when we're in NC as they live fairly close to our kiddos at Lake James.

George and Jane are leaving tomorrow taking their boat back to Annapolis and selling it.    Sorry we'll miss them.

Leftovers for supper and then another walk - beautiful evening, but tomorrow, rain is coming!

Monday - July 22

 Tah dah.....we did it!!!    Finished cruising on the Rideau Canal today with another 11 locks, 31.9 miles AND have now completed the 72 locks (Kingston to Ottawa) in 8 days!

We started out this morning getting the anchor up with some grass but nothing like the mud and thick grass in Morton Bay.   We left our Birmingham Island anchorage and arrived at the Jones Falls lock (1st of 4 at Jones Falls).   We were very surprised that no one was on the blue line (usually folks spend the night here so they can be first to go thru the locks in the morning.,    But, there were 4 boats and 2 jet skies coming upbound and they had the right of way.   Only 2 large boats fit in and then waited for the others.   SOOO, we didn't get in till 11 after arriving on the blue line at 7:20.

Catrina tied up to the blue line this morning

Love the beautiful reflection on the water

But most of the day went well and not as many boaters out today....we either were in locks or passed boats from Old Hickory, TN, Destin, FL, Annapolis, MD and Philadelphia, PA along with a few from Canada.    A few days ago when we were at Hurst Marina, we were docked beside "Twin Buoys" from St. Louis - wonder if they have twin "boys"?

We had sunshine for most of the day but also a dark cloud that hovered overhead and produced a few sprinkles.....got our stuff put down below thinking we were going to get something serious but never developed.    Binoculars, headsets, gloves, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, snacks, drink containers, and Skipper Bob's guide book on the Rideau are all part of what we keep handy when we're cruising.

We arrived in Kingston at 5 at the Confederation Basin (3rd visit this year).   Settled in, took showers and off to Aqua Terra in the Delta Hotel overlooking the marina.   We ate here a few year ago and really enjoyed it - another wonderful meal....ribeye for Mark and rockfish for me + sticky toffee pudding.   

Celebrating completing 72 locks

At dinner, we noticed this black maple leaf on a Canadian flag with red stripes?  

  Mark googled it and it represents a fallen firefighter or paramedic

Happy to have done this accomplishment - quick and short break from locks as we plan to cross Lake Ontario tomorrow....then more locks coming on the Oswego and Erie Canals.  Stay tuned...

Sunday - July 21

 Sunday started out cool and very cloudy after a nice overnight rain.    We walked downtown to the Village Bean Coffee House after wiping down the bridge cushions and swabbing the deck!    Yesterday we enjoyed some ice cream (chocolate for Mark and maple walnut for me) at the Downtowne Ice Cream Shop plus the Mercantile grocery store.

Elaborate display of flowers (artificial) over a storefront in Merrickville

And a pretty flower box near the coffee shop

Neat little shop and we got there a few minutes before 7 and she was open!   2 of the locals were already there and we had a nice chat.    Got our coffees and 2 apple fritters to go and back to the boat.   We left the dock at 7:20.   We got to our first lock (Kilmarnock) with 4 boats waiting to lock thru - they were biggies, so we had to wait 1 hour till our turn with the FL and MT folks.   Big day for we nomads cruising 52.8 miles and going thru 11 locks ending with "Davis".  😉

The Captain and I decided that Poonamalie (poon a ma lee) was our favorite lock with so many pretty flowers (most of the locks have no blooms).   It's hard to take pics when we're in the  locks - too busy with securing lines, holding on, etc.

Just a few of many pretty flowers in Poonamalie

We were bundled up in our hoodies and long pants.   Yesterday we traveled with 3 young French-speaking couples who were barefoot and dressed for a hot day!   One of the guys was shirtless which is not uncommon for the Quebec folks, but geez.....it's chilly when we're underway at least in the morning!

Today was another story as we were with 2 boats from the states - "Destination" from Jupiter, FL (saw them the other day) and "At Last" from Missoula, MT all in our age group.    We went into the first lock all bundled up.....sun came out around 11 and was cloudy off and on (a nice reprieve from the hot sun).   Destination stayed at Smiths Falls and At Last, planned to anchor out.

Ferry taking folks across the narrow channel in Newboro Lake

Pretty setting along the water - yellow chairs are pretty sharp, too!  😉

Our 2nd lock today - very pretty at Edmunds

Lock house/office at Poonamalie

Another type of lock office

Once again, so impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness of all the lock staff.   One of the lock gals' husband and 2 little girls came by to say hello to Mommy when we were locking thru.

We are anchoring out tonight off Birmingham Island on Sand Lake  - pretty and quiet and icy cold beverages were a nice start to our tranquil setting followed by Mark grilling out cheeseburgers.   Boy they hit the spot along with baked beans and pasta salad.

Birmingham Island

uninhabited

Another awesome day on the (Ree doe) and serene setting at anchor

Zoom tonight was with 9 siblings - vacation coming up for Jim and Lydia to Michigan in their RV, school starting August 12th for Karen, Tom recovering from his hernia surgery, Theresa and Mike in Indiana at a friend's lake home, Beth certified to be a yoga/faith instructor, etc.   Missed Marilyn and Janet.

We'll see what our anchor looks like tomorrow when we bring it up - can't be any worse than Morton Bay!   😐

Wishing you all a great week!    The good ole summertime is rollin' along!😎