July 11 – Smiths Falls Layover

Smiths Falls Detached Lock – 44°53′39″ N 76°1′19″ W

Today was the day Emily had to head back to London. She has to return to work on the 12th. We had fun while she was with us but her scheduled time off had run out.

We rented a car in Smiths Falls & drove her to Kingston to catch the 2:00pm train to Toronto, then a connection back to London.

We also took advantage of being back in Kingston to pick up our own car that was parked at a friend’s house & bring it to Smiths Falls. We will leave it at a lock station in Smiths Falls until Catherine needs it to head off to her canoeing adventure in Algonquin Park in a few weeks.

Today was also a big semi-final game between England & Croatia for the World Cup Soccer Tournament. I left Kingston in the rental car & headed back to my “new” favourite pub in Smiths Falls to have lunch & watch the game.

The food was great, the beer was cold, the final score (Croatia 2, England 1) was a disappointment – at least for me. 🙁

After dropping Emily off at the train station Catherine joined me at the pub for the second half of the game.

Early in the evening we went to the local grocery store to re-provision the boat. Supplies were getting low & we have new guests arriving the next day.

This was our second day moored at this particular lock so we will have to move on tomorrow. Parks Canada only allows each boat to stay 2 nights at any location & then you have to move on. The policy makes good sense otherwise people would try to treat the lockstations like a marina & stay moored at one location for a long time.

Tomorrow we will travel just a few hundred meters to the next lock & moor there until our friends Valerie & David arrive from London.

Cheers!

July 10 – Smiths Falls
Smiths Falls Detached Lock – 44°53′39″ N 76°1′19″ W

We left Poonamalie Lock at 9:00am & headed towards Smiths Falls, which was only 3 miles away. We planned to tie up there for a few days & have a crew change. Emily has to return to work in London & we have friends coming from London to join us on the boat for a few days.

As soon as we passed through Poonamalie Lock we entered another very narrow & shallow channel. This on also had a big bend in it so it was not possible to see if any boats were coming from the other direction. Fortunately we made it through just before 3 boats were approaching the entrance at the other end.

The Rideau Canal runs right through the middle of the town. You know you are getting close to the town when you can see the bascule bridge. This bridge is no longer in service so it’s left in a permanent up position.

It’s very easy to get around on foot with all of the essential amenities within a short walking distance from the canal locks.

As soon as Santosha was securely tied up at the mooring space Catherine & I went exploring while Emily stayed on board & had a nap.

The town has a small marina & trailer park in-between the 2 locks. There are also public parks on both sides of the canal, making this a very pleasant area for locals & visitors too.

We found a local car rental company & arranged for a car for the next morning. We will drive Emily to Kingston to catch a train home & we will also pick up our own car which is parked at a friend’s house in Kingston.

There was a nice little breakfast/lunch restaurant right beside the lock where we were moored so we had a late breakfast / early lunch there. It’s called the Roosteraurant & has a rooster theme inside. It was a fun place with good food at very reasonable prices.

The waitress also suggested a local pub that had plenty of TVs so I could watch the World Cup semi-final soccer game between France & Belgium. Catherine & Emily decided to do some shopping first & then join me for the second half of the game.

The pub had lots of character. Catherine particularly liked the sign on the wall that was pointing out the way to the bathrooms.

After the game was over we headed back to the boat to have a short nap before supper. Catherine & Emily had found an Italian/East Indian “fusion” restaurant nearby so we walked over to it around 7:00pm & had a great meal there.

Cheers!