As planned, Sidekick Sue got up early the next morning to sit outside the Ottawa Library in an attempt to “borrow” their internet to finish uploading photos. Despite Captain Mark’s tests from the night before, Sidekick Sue found she was getting a very weak signal, and every time she sat down on the sidewalk, it would disconnect. She was frustrated because she only had until 9:00 to get back to the boat as they were aiming to get to the first lock on time. After 15-20 minutes of trying, she googled the nearest Starbucks, and headed in that direction. A block later, she was passing another Tim Hortons. Setting aside the failures at two other Tim Hortons (apparently in a 4-block area), Sidekick Sue asked herself “Why not? This time it might work.” Once inside, she miraculously connected to a very strong signal on both her cell phone and laptop. She sat down and got to work. She kept one eye on the counter, looking for a break in customers to step in and actually buy an ice tea to patronize the store.
Most of the customers at this Tim Hortons appeared to be regulars. The counter crew already knew their orders. The line of customers was steady. Eventually, Captain Mark called; he had gone on another expedition looking for ice and failed to find any (again). Sidekick Sue guided him to the magical Tim Hortons and he came down and stood in line with the regulars to buy her ice tea. Sidekick Sue frantically worked on uploaded photos to the blog and Captain Mark returned to the boat to get ready to cast off because Sidekick Sue was “grumpy” when he tried to talk to her while she was working against the clock. Sidekick Sue arrived back at the boat at 9:03, only a few minutes late, but all caught up on uploading pictures.
Leaving Ottawa, they passed under a series of bridges because it was still a very urban part of Ottawa. Because Captain Mark had lowered the “stability mast” on their trawler, they could pass through most of them with ease. As they approached a lift bridge that was not tall enough to accommodate their boat, they radioed ahead to the bridgetender. As they waited, they had to be cued by the bridge tender to proceed because neither one of the Explorers actually perceived that the bridge had moved…. but clearly it had, as they passed under easily. After a few more stationary bridges, the scenery changed from the urban view of Ottawa, to ritzy waterfront homes, and then finally, to rural areas.
At the first lock of the day, Captain Mark tried to radio… once again with no response. The lock was closed, so the Explorers pulled over to the dock and went to seek out a locktender to find out what the process was for locking-through. Turns out, the locks on the Rideau Canal don’t even monitor radios. They just wait for you to park on “the blue line” (park of the dock painted blue) which indicates you are requesting passage. Captain Mark now understood why no one was answering his radio calls the day before as we entered the Rideau. Once you are in the lock system, it appears they call ahead to the next lock, because after the first lock, we found the locks were open, ready, and waiting for us.
As the morning went on, the Explorers had gone through 7 locks, and decided to stop at Long Island lock to get out and walk. They found a loop trail that went through park, an area where the city landscapers were busy moving mulch, a neighborhood and back to the falls near the last lock. They were disappointed that they could hear the falls, but not see them through the foliage. They did observe that, compared to the US, there seems to be an abundance of public works employees dedicated to making Canadian towns look well-manicured and beautiful.
As they got back on the water, the landscape continued to be very rural with no places to stop. They passed under several bridges and arrived at Burritts Rapids lock. It was too late to pass through, so they docked on “the blue line”, ready to request passage in the morning. Since there was no one around, they took advantage to run their noisy generator and cook dinner. The area was very secluded and swampy with lots of mosquitoes.
Suddenly, Captain Mark noticed some men up by the restrooms and went up to see if they could share the code to the facilities. It turned out to be some Canadian Rangers, doing some preparation for a future training maneuver in the area. It turns out they had a whole camp up by the lock station, complete with tents and cooking equipment. They seemed to be making lots of food, and even brought down some fish for us that they had caught and cooked.
Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue walked into the “town” which consisted mainly of an Equestrian Store, a Historical Society, and a number of old structures with historical plaques indicating who lived there in the mid-1800’s. Once again, no place to buy ice. On the way to and from the small down, the Explorers walked over an unusual wood swing bridge. There was no building for a bridge tender, and they wondered how it would open in the morning after they passed through the Burritts Rapid Lock.
What’s the deal with not being able to find ice??
Crazy. And those Canadians didn’t always put ice in our fountain drinks either. Is that a thing?