Peterborough to Lakefield...not very far!

The day dawned dull, but we weren't too unhappy with that. As long as it didn't rain, we were fine!

We decided not to go too far today. We were a bit tired, and too much excitement going up the Lift Lock in Peterborough! not really, but it WAS exciting. There is one more at the end of the Trent Severn.

 We left the Fountain and went into the Marina for a pump-out and water fill-up. The two lovelies who greeted us at the dock (and took our lines) were a little sour faced when we told them we only wanted those two things...not fuel, sorry! (Canadian Diesel is too expensive!)

I found that by engaging them in conversation, we could get the smiles going, and they soon thawed out, when we told them we were kiwis!:) Both young women were about to start their first adult jobs, having just graduated College. One of them had graduated from Edinburgh University in Scotland. Law! This was their last Summer with casual jobs before becoming 'Adults' as the Law grad, put it:)

All cleaned out, we joined the line waiting for Lock #20. Four of us would lock through...wait...here comes another one! oh joy!..we waited for the second locking so that we would be less crowded. John and Susan were already tied to the wall, and we decided to do the same. Our trawler neighbor tucked in behind us on the wall to wait.

Locking through was easy, and we didn't have to go up very far. We also negotiated the swing bridge, and got in line for the Lift Lock.

Saying farewell to our pretty anchorage on Little Lake.

In a holding pattern waiting for the first lock through to go. John and Susan parked on the right hand wall. They waited to lock through with us, 2nd locking.

 

 The Trawler joined us, but had trouble getting his lines onto the cables to tie off. It was cause for some stress, I have to say. We were a bit jammed in there.

 ...and we are on the home stretch to the Lift Lock, just 1km ahead of Lock #20.

 ..and there she is, from the canal perspective. A bit different looking at it from onboard!

 There were plenty of people out watching the workings. We had to wait for the left hand tub to come down with a boat in it, before moving into the right hand tub and going up.

 From the stern of our boat, we were THIS close to the trawlers bow. ..an arms distance!

 We are about to rise 60ft.

 There was much jostling to get the stern of the trawler inside the gate. The young woman at the back there has just closed the gate on us. Time to ascend.

That didn't take long!  and we are looking out the other side of the lock.

 The view from up there was pretty good!

 Our counter weight is at the bottom ready to go out the gate.

 The gate lies down (literally) and goes under the water so that we can go over the top, into the canal ahead. We are now going out of the Lift Lock.

 and we are gone!

 The trawler is the last to leave, for obvious reasons...last in , last out! Don't look over the back of the gate, it is a loooong way down !and you are just sitting in your boat in a bath-tub that goes up and down. Fascinating.

Past another swing bridge,

 Housing developments on the outskirts of Peterborough

 with their own little water lily filled lake view

 under this bridge, which w managed with about 6 inches to spare...I took a deep breath, going under.

 and around the corner is Trent University. Fabulous architecture! and we passed between the campuses on either side of the river.

 See the twist in the bridge supports?

 on our left, going through

 and on our right...very imaginative

Well, today seemed just one lock after another....this photo tells the story better than I can. They all look the same after a while, and it is tiring, doing this endlessly. The Locks are in the dotted line boxes.

 Farming was evident. We havnt seen too many, from the canals, for some time.

 and then coming out of Lock 25, there was a bit of a traffic jam, with the boats waiting to enter the lock. The one in the foreground rather jumped the gun, after we left, and had to back up when the trawler took it's time coming out. There could have been a nasty incident here.

 Said farm and farmhouse, on left. The climate here can be brutal in winter, so the barns are huge. Animals spend so much of their time in these structures. We saw a few beasts out in the grassy fields, but not significant numbers. Where are they all?

 Pretty gardens along the canal.

 finally...Lock 26. We were kind of pooped, by this stage. Six locks isn't that many, but we had done a lot of sight seeing and bike riding yesterday, and it was catching up with us. We agreed to part company with John and Susan...they wanted to get a bit further along the canal/river, by the end of the day. We saw a long dock wall that was very inviting, and decided to stop there, just outside Lakefield.

 Isnt that tranquil? It was, and we stayed the night. There was one other larger boat, which we recognized, and greeted the occupants, and then a much smaller vessel with 6 people aboard stopped in back of the. Those folks cooked outside using one of the picnic tables as their kitchen. The rain finally happened, but we all stayed relatively dry.

 We took the time to have a cuppa, and then the bikes came off the boat. This bike path led us to the cute and touristy town of Lakefield. We biked across the dam (which is on the left of the photo behind the bushes and trees) into town and the first place we found was an ice-cream shop. I know I have said Im not going to eat anymore of that stuff, but this is Canadian Kawartha Ice-cream...local! and it is good. a gazillion and one flavors! yum!!!! I only get small cups full! honest!

We walked the streets, peering into shop windows. Most were open but this was late afternoon, Saturday. We happened upon The English Potter, shop. She is indeed English (I asked) and her pottery is lovely....yes, I would have bought some, but for some space to keep it! :( I used to have a lovely collection of pottery, which I gave away when I left NZ in 1985, to go overseas...again.

The Dam is being repairs, on the left side Race. It is old, obviously, and a huge volume of water races down it. Hydro is what they use here...hydro-electric!  Everything is advertised as using/having Hydro. Buying a house? It has Hydro!....Hydro  hook-up is available for boats at some docks!

 The English Potter has her shop in this lovely building. We are always taken with the rock walls. She had a pretty, if somewhat wild, garden on the right side.

 Bird bath.

 Naked ladies in the Violets.

 These creamy-white Hydrangeas are everywhere in great flocks. So lovely.

 Another store was located in a Victorian (oops..did I forget to take a photo???for shame!)...I was VERY taken with the bird houses, as you can see.

 especially this one:) Love the spoon! Does it have a face, or am I just imagining things?

It threatened to rain again, so we biked like crazy people back to the boat. It did rain, but not for another hour or so. When the rain cleared, I looked out the window and what should we see???We had gained a dinghy! What a lovely scene though.

 

We met some ladies at the ice-cream shop who had biked from Peterborough along the Old Rail Trail, which runs alongside the canal to Lakefield. This enthused Waz and me....if we lived there, we could do the same!! yes, really! We liked Peterborough that much that we consider all the scenarios...boat, bikes, kayaks, fishing:)

 

We were so tired by 9.30pm that we headed to bed. My eyes were not going to open after I fell asleep on the sofa, and I hadn't done the dishes..bah! The water wasn't very hot because we hadn't had the genset on for long enough, but boiling water is always good!

Those done, I could sleep easy. I had cooked up 6 large Kielbasa and Italian sausages from the German Butcher in Port Charlotte (from the freezer!) so that we would have instant food. We ate two of them for dinner with cooked cabbage and yellow beans, and saved the rest.

 

We will see what the weather is like in the morning, and decide if we are moving on or staying put for another day. No rush, and we are so enjoying the more relaxed pace.