Hooray!  Matching Bug Zappers --it must be love!!

July 14, 2012  

The wonderful Dooher’s Bakery in Cambellford, Ontario opens at 7:00 AM every day.  This morning, I was there at 7:15 to buy their specialty, cream-filled donuts, which are delicious but also sell out early. Three different lockmasters and several former Loopers told us about this bakery.  They are cruller donuts split in half, filled and topped with whipped cream – and if you prefer, they also drizzle them in chocolate. I bought two of each and we enjoyed them for breakfast and later after dinner. 

While I made the bakery run, the Captain hosed off the boat, filled the water tanks and we got fuel at the Esso station across the canal. Diesel fuel was $1.20 per liter which has been the lowest price we’ve seen in Canada thus far.  Being now on the west side of Campbellford, while the boat was being fueled I walked to the Old Mill Park and took a few photos of the 20’ tall “Tooney” which was designed by a local Campbellford artist. 

Canadians use a $1 coin which is called a “Looney” because the original minted coin has a loon on it.  When the $2 coins came out, everyone started calling them “Tooneys” because they are two dollar coins.  Campbellford is sometimes referred to as “Tooney Town” for that reason.  Not to be confused with  my hometown, ‘Toona Town – Altoona, PA, though.

We were ready to leave Campbellford, but remembered that Stedman’s Department Store has bug zappers which we have been trying to buy since we began this adventure.  I ran up and bought two...so to all mosquitos and gnats, BEWARE – we’ve got bug zappers and we know how to use ‘em!

Today was a long hot 90-degree day, even though we only traveled 20 miles and locked through 6 locks.  The whole day was tedious to say the least.  Here’s the story: 

We prefer locking through and tying up on the starboard side because that’s where all our big fenders are hanging and Say Good-Bye pulls to starboard, not to port, as most single screw boats.  Further, our dinghy outboard engine is mounted on the port side of the stern and presents an additional obstacle when locking through so we don’t bang it against the lock walls. 

Our first lock of the day was Lock 13 at Campbellford.  We had to wait for another boat coming down so we tooled around outside the lock area.  As we were pulling into the lock, headed for the starboard side, the lockmaster called down to us and said  we had to tie up on the port side instead.  We had to quickly change all our large fenders to the other side of the boat, as well as our locking lines.  

Once we did that and were securely tied to the port side of the lock, the lockmaster again called down to us and said we’d have to move  further forward in the lock because another boat was going to lock through with us and that there would be a little bit of a wait till it arrived.  We untied our locking lines and moved the boat forward, retied, then waited for the second boat.  We spent over an hour in this whole operation. As we were leaving, we asked the lockmaster if the next lock was also a port tie up and she laughed and said “no, it would be starboard.” 

  

Not funny, but we were grateful to find out that information ahead of time, so we switched all the big fenders and our locking lines to starboard and were ready when we arrived at Lock 14.  Upon leaving Lock 14, we asked the lockmaster if he knew what side we’d be tying up on for Lock 15 and he said port, but said he believed we’d be fine with starboard side lines after Lock 15. 

So one more time, we moved our lines and fenders to port, went through Lock 15 at Healey Falls, switched everything to starboard and locked through the two linked Healey Falls Locks 16 and 17 on the starboard side.  The total elevation of the three Healey Falls Locks is 76’.  

All the lockmasters everywhere we’ve been have been so helpful and friendly on our entire trip and each lock station has beautiful manicured lawns and flower gardens.  Today one of the locks even had a small vegetable garden.Many of them give Striper treats too.

We were given a business card by one of the lockmasters a few days ago – it lists  phone numbers, email addresses and street addresses of Parks Canada Trent-Severn Waterway to use for compliments, complaints or suggestions along the waterway.  We’re going to email a suggestion that signage at the various lock approaches advising boaters of the proper tie-up sides would be very helpful.  The reason for changing locking sides has to do with the way the water is let into the locks and each lock is different.

It was still 90 degrees when we arrived at Hastings, locked through Lock 18, and tied up at the city dock at 2:45 PM.  Some other Loopers we’ve met along the way are here also.  The town was really crowded today – there was a big bass fishing tournament going on with about 60 boats which was just finishing up when we arrived and boats were lined up for the big “weigh in.”  In addition, today was a “free fishing day” meaning you could fish all day without a license, so there were fishermen everywhere.

Hastings is a quaint historical town with many amenities within easy walking distance --  a pharmacy, laundromat, convenience stores, many good restaurants, lovely city park, a bowling alley, tackle and gift shops.  We ate dinner at Jiang’s, a small Chinese restaurant recommended to us by the locals.  The food was good and we had a lot of fun with the owners’ two little children ages 8 and 6, who brought us our menus and took our drink orders and kept checking back with us to ask if everything was okay.  The older of the two, a boy named Ivan, told us initially we could sit anywhere.  But when we sat down at “Table 3,” he suggested “Table 1” might be better because it’s his lucky number.  We moved to “Table 1” and he gave us a big toothy smile.   We could just envision Jack and Reese “helping out” if Betsy owned a restaurant.  They were so cute.

It’s 8:30 PM and 81 degrees with a nice breeze...should make for comfortable sleeping tonight.  Now that we have our bug zappers, if any bugs manage to squeeze through the screens, it will be their demise.

The donut case at Dooher's Bakery, Campbellford, Ontario

Breakfast, Dooher's cream-filled donuts

The first of the two linking locks at Healey Falls, Ontario

In the second of the linking locks at Healey Falls, Ontario

The "Tooney" monument in Campbellford, Ontario

A look at the Nav-Net.  We're the little red boat.

The Hastings Lock

Big bass tournament at Hastings, Ontario

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