Go Alan and Patti 2019

Since our last post we traveled from Smiths Falls to Merrickville, then Burritts Rapids, Black Rapids and Ottawa.  Every stop was like a park, with shade and electricity.  This is Merrickville. It was hot in Burritts Rapids (but cooler than Virginia), so we stayed two nights, went swimming and stayed wet.  Our goal is to get to Ottawa when the heat breaks (forecast is for 75 degrees). We are almost through the Rideau Canal.  We are tied the boat up about 200 yards from the last eight locks & across from the Westin where we enjoyed the health club & pools. When we were nearing Ottawa, other boaters were telling us that we needed to be concerned about the Quebec boaters.  It was the same time as the Quebec construction holiday, and the docks could be full.  We found no problem.  We are parked right down town. Ottawa is one of our favorite cities. The canal looks a little different in the winter.  (that's Bonnie tak...

It has been two weeks on the boat.  We slept on the boat on July 3rd at Brewerton Boatyard's back lot.  And on the 4th we drove to Clayton and launched her.  Life on a small boat has gone pretty well.  Here we are on Chaffey's Lock wall: We're currently in Merrickville Ontario.  We followed the buoys through Westport, Colonel By Island, Perth, Smith Falls and now Merrickville.  We have stopped in some nice places and passed others by.  More for next time.  Ottawa is within a day - two or three if we procrastinate. Everytime we could, we stopped to swim. And the loons are everywhere.  Beautiful sound at night. Tied up at Smith Falls on the park.

We left downtown Kingston on Monday (I think), and today is Friday (I think).  Internet and cell phone access is a little thin, but today is a slow day and I'll try to get a post to upload.  We traveled the first day to Upper Brewers lock. A very quiet spot. The second day we took a cruise to Cranberry Lake and Dog Lake.  We followed our Navionics charts through the islands and around the rocks.  The water levels are up a little and we only need two feet.  So we're pretty confident - sort of. This house boat is sitting precariously under a pine tree.  Based on the condition of the houseboat, the owner may have put it there on purpose. And we had to stop the boat on Dog Lake and jump in.  The water was great (not like the St. Lawrence River).  And to show we are experienced boaters, we have learned that if you don't want to have the boat float away it is good to attach a rope to it.  Patti is demonstrating the proper technique...

18 miles from Gananoque to Kingston, and the annual International Buskers Festival.  It was the last day, but we made it for an afternoon of contortionists, high wire acts, comedians and music.  We stayed in Confederation Basin and got a slip right on the park in front of the show.  It's a great summer festival, and the weather was great 77 degrees and no humidity.  Great day. The guy in the picture doing a handstand on top of a pole? The pole is held more or less upright by 4 volunteers holding ropes. And all for tips & a chance to perform at the famous festival. This guy's from Mexico. The girl on the table on her forearms is shooting an arrow with a bow held by her feet. She also got herself through a tennis racquet one arm & leg at a time. But she may have dislocated something in order to do it. She came from Berlin to do it. There was an Aussie band with a didgeridoo & a Hungarian comedian & 2 women who could do amazing thing...

After four days, we said good bye to Barbara, Suzanne, and Mary Lou in Syracuse and headed to the Patti Ann (boat) at the Brewerton Boatyard.  We wanted to try "boater homing".  Nothing better than sleeping with Patti Ann on the Patti Ann.  We slept on the boat on the trailer being very careful climbing up and down the swim platform ladder. We unloaded our stuff from the truck onto the Patti Ann.  It's hard to imagine how much stuff can fit in that boat.  The trick is to be able to find it later. And it was July 3rd in Brewerton - which was also fireworks night.  We like fireworks, but one of the side effects of getting more mature (older) is that we don't often drive to fireworks.  If they are right where we are, we like watching them.  And a lot of people celebrating the nation's summer anniversary.  A great summer tradition. The next day we loaded up the truck and "moved to Beverly" (Clayton, NY).  The 1996 Chevy with the newl...

The summer of 2019 has begun! We returned from a wonderful trip to France and Sweden.  Thank you again to Patrick, Annie, Carole, Vincent, John and Bibi!  We had a great time. Then we had a two week turnaround at the cabin.  We had a picnic in the front yard for all the friends and neighbors we knew.  Then we sat on the front porch and rocked.   And we spent some terrific evenings with Doc and Sue - our favorite neighbors. In the mean time Dan learned to waterski!  It only took three tries and he was a professional.  We were so proud. We decided not to ski this time, we didn't want to show Dan up and steal his thunder.  But we gave him a lot of good advice. Then we left for New Jersey and New York State.  First a stop at Grandmom and Grandad's house.  Here is a picture after breakfast at Sky Manor airport.  And we watched the Mets lose four games in a row.  According to grandad "we'll get them next y...