We're home!!

Couple from Ottawa (Nicole & Louis-Charles) that we met at Rideau locks

Randy joins us from Kingston to Trenton

Our dear friends Sherron & Randy in Trenton

Captain Maddie

Cold, windy day in Frankford. Effects of hurricane Irene

Campbellford lock in the early morning

Dale Mann joins us from Buckhorn to Fenelon Falls

Gamebridge lock

Spending night at Gamebridge lock.

Our boat adventure ended yesterday afternoon as we arrived safely back in our home base marina. Had a lovely trip back from Ottawa. Made it down to Kingston where we picked up our friend Randy who joined us for the trip to Trenton on August 27th. Randy & Sherron invited us over to their house for dinner and a sleepover. It was wonderful to see them again. On Saturday, Philippe & Maddie met us at their house. We then brought them back to the boat for an overnight trip to Frankford. We were thrilled to see them after all this time. Maddie is just too precious. Randy was kind enough to drive us over and pick up Philippe & Maddie the next day as they had to go back home. We continued on up the Trent/Severn on a windy Sunday (effects of hurricane Irene). Stayed at locks all the way up. In Buckhorn we picked up Dale Mann, a friend of Mike's from his younger years. They hadn't seen each other in about 40 years. Great reunion! Dale left us in Fenelon Falls to return to his cottage near Algonquin Park. Thanks Dale for the great time, the great wine and desserts. Managed to swim 2 days in a row on our way home. That was wonderful!

Back in Ottawa

sunset on last night in Trois-Rivieres. Au revoir et merci!

Carole & Michel (the loopers)

Waiting at St-Lambert lock

Yet another ship locks through

last ship in Ste Catherine lock before we can go through.

We're on our way home! Finally had boat repaired by our great mechanic, Pat. We left Trois-Rivieres on Friday, August 19th fighting strong currents all the way to Montreal. Long day! Arrived at marina in Longueil to be greeted by Michel & Carole whom we'd met 2 years ago in Orillia. What a nice surprise. Next day only got through 2 commercial locks in Montreal. Had to way for ships to go through as they have priority. Got to Ste Anne de Bellevue on a Saturday night at 8pm. You wouldn't believe the number of boats that were at docks. It's party central. Left for Ottawa the next morning but only made it half way. Anchored out for the night and woke up to very strong winds. Had a difficult time pulling up the anchor because of the wind. Yesterday we stayed at the marina at Lac Leamy and had a great time. Just went through the 8 flight locks starting up the Rideau. Stopped on the wall for a bit of food shopping then on to get fuel as we start our journey back home. Don't know when I'll have internet access again. Will update asap.

Still in Trois-Rivieres

Still waiting for the part to come in. Last we heard it was in Buffalo!! So, thanks to the marina in Trois-Rivieres, we ride around this park island and go to town to visit and shop for food. Bicycles have large baskets so we can bring back quite a bit in them. Very handy. Today we visited historic Trois-Rivieres. As I was born here and lived in Ste Genevieve de Batiscan as a baby, Ste Anne de la Perade (famous for ice fishing) until I was 6 and Shawinigan until I was 16, staying here brings back a lot of memories.

Sunset at 3 Rivers marina

Canoists paddling from Quebec City to Gatineau as a fundraiser

beautifully restored home in old Trois-Rivieres

Ursuline Convent where we used to visit my Aunt Soeur Helene

Stop along the waterfront

We've been on our journey for 2 months now. This was to be a shakedown trip to find out if we could be away long term on the boat. The conclusion is...maximum 1 month away. Beside, most of the loopers we've met have told us that Georgian Bay is the highlight of the loop. I miss swimming!!! Hoping to do that when we finally get to the Thousand Islands.

Back in the water in Three Rivers but not out of the woods yet!

engine

see the boat under blue travel lift

Boat went back in the water on Monday, the 8th. |Went out for a test run and still heard strange noise.  Pat, our mechanic, found out that it was the clutch plate that had cracked and broke the transmission. So now we're waiting for this new, of course expensive part, to arrive. |The marina staff are the best. 4th nights are free and they supply bicycles to go shopping, etc...I'm recovering nicely from my serious bout of eczema on hands and feet. Boat and I are on the mend.

Unscheduled stay in Quebec City

Ancestral home of my Gagnon family on Cote de Beaupre dating from 1640

Lise & Claude at Dave & Andree's

Met with old work colleague

Apperitifs in the park at Lise & Claude's

Surprise! We're going with you on the cruise!

Out of bad things, really good things can happen. We had such a wonderful time back in Quebec City. Dave & Andree were so very generous to put us up for all that time. Merci Andree et Dave! Fabulous meals, wonderful friends, and of course lots of wine. Couple of visits to the doctor for my eczema. Dave & Mike helped Louis build a fence in St Fereol des Neiges, and worked on the new house addition. I rested a lot as I couldn't walk anywhere. Lise & Claude booked their cruise to Greece in October and we decided to take the big plunge and go with them to celebrate 50 years of friendship. Hey! timings not so great but...you can't take it with you.

Update from Trois-Rivieres

Thought I'd keep you posted on latest developments. We left the marina Trois-Rivieres early this morning but heard strange sounds coming from port engine. So we returned to the marina. Turns out we have transmission problems and the whole transmission will need to be replaced. Insurance company has been contacted and a mechanic has confirmed the problem. An adjustor will probably be coming by as well. The boat will need to be pulled out. Could be a couple of weeks. If that's the case, we'll go home and come back when it's ready. We'll know more in a while.
The problem stems for hitting a deadhead log on June 23 on the Rideau. Probably hurt a gear in the transmission and now it broke. Mike did hear something strange when we arrived in Trois-Rivieres.

Update: Andree & Dave have kindly offered us to stay in Quebec for the duration of repairs and we accepted. Boat is coming out tomorrow morning. The current guesstimate is august 8 to go back in water. So no Lake Champlain this year. We'll be in Thousand Island as scheduled. C'est la vie on the sea!!

Marina Trois-Rivieres Day 3

some of the thunder clouds we experienced

Decided to stay another day as weather is calling for more thunderstorms. And, boy, did we get some. We were out for a walk this morning when the lightning and thunder happened all at once. Scary!  Made it home without incident. It's 7pm and the skies look like they're ready for another round. This will be # 4 or 5. They're short but not as furious as they look on the onset. Tomorrow's looking good so we should leave around 8am for the first  lock on the Richelieu river. Stay tuned!