Down the Rideau with Dad, Anna, and Molly

Hello from Sea Jamm! This is Anna Johnson writing to you from Kingston, Ontario. This blog will be a little different from usual because Mom has not been with us on this leg of the trip.   My granny was in the hospital, so Mom had to go to Tifton GA to be with family and tend to Granny.  Molly and I had just arrived in Ottawa for a long planned trip shortly after mom left and we waited to hear from her about Granny's status.    Sadly, Granny passed away on July 3.   Molly, Dad, and I were unable to leave the boat to be in Tifton.  Mom was greatly missed, and it was hard to be away from her during this sad and hard time.

Anna and Granny

Saturday, June 30

Ottawa

Molly flew in from Atlanta, and I flew in from Louisville. We met at the airport and caught an Uber to the Westin hotel where Dad met us and took us to the boat! It was already late, so we went to bed early to make sure that we were well rested for Canada Day in the capital city!

Sunday, July 1

Ottawa

We explored Ottawa on Canada day. It was very very hot. We went to the National Gallery of Canada in the morning. At the museum, Molly liked the artifacts, I liked the impressionist paintings, and Dad liked the air conditioning! We had lunch at a pub in Byward Market. The pub was so empty because of the heat that there was a performer in the club who sang just for us! After lunch, we walked back to the boat and rested for a bit before taking on the town that evening.

That evening, we walked to Parliament Hill to watch a concert. From there, we walked to Major's Hill Park where we saw another concert by a girl named Charlotte Cardin whom Molly and I really ended up liking a lot. The night concluded with one of the biggest firework shows I've ever seen. It was a fun and full Canada Day in Ottawa.

Monday July 2

Hurst Marina, on the Rideau Canal

Dad wasn't kidding when he said we would have to take the boat through a lot of locks. The locks on the Rideau are a tourist attraction because they were built in the 1800s and are operated by cranks. Tourists come from all over to watch the boats go up and down in the locks. At one point, there were 20 bikers on a bike tour photographing me while I tied the boat to the lock. They stared at me as their legs dangled over the edge of the lock wall. Our day ended at Hurst Marina after driving the boat through a thunder storm. We had dinner at a local pub called the Swan on the Rideau, and I had one of the best sandwiches of my life.

Tuesday July 3

Smiths Falls, on the Rideau Canal

We woke up before 7am and set off for Smiths Falls. The weather was slightly cooler, but still pretty hot. We went through lots of locks. We met “The Next Chapter,” and they helped us dock our boat. When I commented on the boat's name, the man jokingly said, “I just hope it's not the last chapter!” We went to the grocery store to get Molly some cherries and to stock up on food, and we ended our night at the Hemlock Pub. That evening, Mama called to tell us that Granny passed away. I'll always remember and love my Granny Tapp.

Smith's Falls

Wednesday July 4

Davis Lock, on the Rideau Canal

Lots of locks and lots of fun. We stopped in the middle of Big Rideau Lake where we had tacos for lunch and swam off the back of the boat! We paddled around on kayaks and enjoyed the 80 degree water which was a relief from the 100 degree weather outside! Dad even let Molly and I jump from on top of the boat!

Anna makes a splash!

We ended up at Davis Lock where I went swimming again with Dad. Molly watched as the fish followed dad around in the water. I saw a porcupine in the wild and was pretty excited until I realized that's a pretty normal thing in Canada! We cooked a fabulous salmon and asparagus dinner on the boat and followed up dinner with a fun game of Pirate Fluxx (thanks Katie and John!). Argh matey!

Thursday, July 5

Lower Brewers Falls, on the Rideau Canal

The day was marked by more heat, more locks, and more fun with the family. We ended up at Lower Brewers Falls where we made steak on the boat and went for a swim. I kayaked down the canal a bit, and it was really beautiful.

Friday, July 6

Kingston, at the end of the Rideau Canal

I'm writing this on Friday. It was our last full day on the boat together, and it was a lot of fun. We rode to Kingston where Molly and I explored the city. It just happened to be the day of Kingston's busking festival which was very fun to see! We watched over four busking performances on the streets of the city. Tonight, we are going to get dad to take us to the Kingston Brewery restaurant for dinner, and I imagine that we will see even more busking performances! Mom is on a plane to Ottawa right this minute, and we will be driving in a rental car to meet her in Ottawa tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see her. It's been hard to be away from her on this sad week for our family, and it will be so good to be with her even if it's just for a minute.

Conclusion

On the first day that we were in Ottawa, we went to the art museum, and this was one of my favorite paintings that we saw. I don't remember who it was by, and I don't remember its name, but I do remember what it made me feel and think.

This painting forces my mind outward. I feel myself trying to take the whole painting in. My thoughts press into the corners and push the edges of the painting outwards. This doesn't usually happen when I look at painting. What makes this painting different?

It has no focal point.

The absence of a focal point lets you take in all the different parts of the painting and frees your mind to focus on many different things instead of just one. I feel like this yacht trip did this same thing for me. It was just what I needed. It is so easy to get hyper-focused on all the tasks we need to get accomplished in our day to day lives. These tasks become our focal point in our day to day lives. We think about our to-do lists, relationships, and responsibilities, and as we hyper-focus on ourselves, we lose our ability to see all the beautiful things going on around us. I'm thankful for how God used this trip to take my focus off myself and to remind me of all the beautiful and fun things happening all over the world even as I live my day to day life.

Until next time,

Anna

Alan adds a few images from Ottawa and the Rideau:

First 8 locks on Rideau, downtown Ottawa.....

Changing of the guard

On canal wall

Lego display at Ottawa art museum

Topiary park in Hull (mother nature)

large puppet on Canada day

Poutine

Concert in front of Parlament

Able crew

Bonjour from Ontario and Quebec

This is a long blog because we have seen and experienced so much but have little to no wifi.

Brewerton, NY Winter Harbor

June 12th-15th Waiting out rain and wind

Friday, June 15 Cruise to Lake Ontario

We traveled with these 5 boats all day.  Together, we were 6 in a lock at the same time.

We left the Erie and traveled the Oswego Canal to Lake Ontario where we spent the night in Oswego Marina. We only traveled 33 miles, but transited 8 locks! 

An average lock takes about a half hour. Most of the locks, and for the size of our boat, the Captain holds a line on the bow area so he can be closest to the helm and the first mate grabs a line on the stern. We hold on to the line to keep the boat steady through turbulence caused by the intake or draining of the water. That makes for a tiring day.

Downtown Oswego.

Colorful street bistro.

Crossing Lake Ontario to Clayton, NY

Spent the night in Clayton where we joined other Loopers for dinner and breakfast.

1st view after crossing the Lake.  Ontario.

How would you like to live in the green house?!  Lovely house, but the house behind it is abandoned and looks pretty spooky!

Dinner at Bellas with Coconuts, Sabbatical,  & Phanthom.

Our sunset at Bellas.

Sidewalk Clayton NY.

Saturday, June 16th.  Happy anniversary to Kyle and Maggie. Can you believe it has been 2 years since they wed. We planned their wedding as we were cruising on the Tennessee river. I sent her pictures of purple flowers then, because that was the color she chose to use in her wedding. I still send her pictures of purple flowers.

Cruising the 1000 Islands from Clayton to Brockville via St. Lawrence River

Canada on the left (port) and NY on the right (starboard)

Little houses.

AND BIG ONES. . . 

Boldt Castle : George Boldt, owner of the Waldorf-Astoria in NYC and the Bellevue-Stratford in Philadelphia, was the most successful hotel magnate in the country. This castle on Heart Island was built as a birthday and Valentine's day gift to his wife, Louise. From 1900 to 1904, the Boldt family spent summers there, while 300 workers transformed the island into a palatial paradise. In 1904, at the age of 32, Louise died and all work stopped immediately. The grounds and building languished for more than 70 years until the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority took it over in 1977.

Singer Castle: A hunting lodge of Commodore Frederick Gilbert Bourne used to be known as the “Dark Island Castle” until recently it was named Singer Castle. Bourne was president on the Singer Manufacturing company, producer of Singer Sewing Machines. In 2006, it was for sale for $22 million.

Hospital at Alexandria Bay.  Alan used to moonlight here in the summer.

1000 Islands

Sunday, June 17

Happy Father's Day and Welcome to Canada!

Brockville Municipal Harbour, Ontaria

St. Lawrence River

We checked into Canada and immediately began 2 fun-filled days in Brockville. Sunday night we enjoyed a concert in one of the parks adjacent to Sea Jamm.

To check into Canada, you had to call customs from this phone booth and they asked you several questions and gave you a number to post of your boat.  Sometimes, it's not so easy.

The following 3 photos are of Canada's First Railway Tunnel, a 158 year old tunnel runs from the Brockville's waterfront. The tunnel has been refurbished and still stands strong. You can walk end-to-end through it and enjoy a dramatic program of dazzling and colorful LED light show highlighting the tunnel's interior.  Enjoy pictures with Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald playing in your mind.

"Amazing Place?  It is somewhere that fills you with awe and wonder.  The Frontenac Arch Biosphere Network asked the public to tell us what places took their breath away.  (This railroad tunnel was one of them; these pictures do not do it justice.)  Each has a story to tell, though that story is different for each person who visits it.  Some stories tell of a memory or simply a feeling being there.  One thing they all have in common, is that you know one the moment you see it."  

What is your Amazing Place?

For lunch we ordered fish & chips to go.

Fish & chips in the park.

View from Sea Jamm of Brockville.

June 19^th, crusing to

Marina Salaberry-de-Valleyfield

St. Lawrence River, QC

Have you ever seen so many bird nests?  This is McNair Island.

Valleyfield for the night.

I sure wish I could remember a little French from high school! I thought this area spoke some French and lots of English. Wrong. Many do not know English at all. It makes it a little difficult to make reservations at the marinas and to get the help you need when you get there.

Dinner at McBroue.

Another concert in the park: Les Portageux. They were a French Celtic folk group and they were so good that Alan and I bought their CD.

Not only was it fun to listen to the music, but it was refreshing to watch the interactions of  community.

Local Catholic Church.

We have lost our Looper buddies. Only Sabbatical is cruising with us. Most Loopers went on to Trenton (they are taking a shorter version of the Loop). We will go to Trenton also, but have opted to take a sidetrip and see Montreal and Ottawa via St Lawrence River, Ottawa River, and the Rideau Canal.

June 20^th

Port de plaisance (pleasure) de Lachine

Montreal, QC

First day of summer. It's high of 22C/71.6F. Sunny. A perfect day to spend walking in Montreal.

The sunrise is at 5 AM each morning. Sunset is at 9PM. We have to wear night masks to be able to sleep past 5 in the morning.  Seriously!

Notre Dame of Montreal

Man feeding sea gulls at the sea port.

The English Pub and the French Poodle

"A dashing looking English man holding his pug, is giving a superior stare at Notre-Dame Basilica, symbol of the religious influence on French Canadians.  200 feet away at the northern corner of the edifice, a woman in a Chanel style suit, poodle against her, shoots an offended look to the Bank of Montreal's head office, symbol of English power.  With their masters oblivious to each other, the two dogs on the alert have already sniffed out the opportunity to unite".

Montreal street performers.

22 June Friday

Traveled to Hawkesbury Ontario

The largest religious denomination in Ontario is the Roman Catholic Church (approx 32%). In Quebec it is 67% of population. They do have beautiful churches.

We are on the Ottawa River traveling north west. Quebec is on our starboard (right) and Ontario is to port (left). We locked twice today. These were easy locks. All we had to do was tie up to their dock and the whole dock raised along with the water. There were two college kids on school breaks there to help.

65' Carillon Lock. This lock raised Sea Jamm 5 million gallons of water in 20 minutes!

This is inside the Carrilon lock when we entered.  All you see will be underwater in a few minutes and we will go out the gate at the very top.

23 June Saturday

Happy birthday Mama!

Spent the night in Hawkesbury, Ontario. We walked into the town for dinner last night and walked back there for a huge breakfast this morning which might be my best breakfast yet. The strawberry jam was French and so tasty on our grilled toast.

During our cruise today we passed Chateau Montebello, reportedly the largest log structure in the world built in 1930.

This little treasure cruised with us all day on the dash of Sea Jamm.  According to Google, dragonflies signify good luck, purity, harmony and prosperity.  I don't know how much faith I put into Google, but I do know that I like dragonflies and that God is good.  All the time. 


Coming soon:  Ottawa and Anna and Molly!