Overnight at Detached Lock in Smiths Falls

44°53′41″ N 76°1′15″ W

I left Poonamalie at about 9:30 this morning & arrived at the Detached Lock in Smiths Falls around 10:30.

This particular lock is in a very convenient location with lots of stores & restaurants within a 5-10 minute walk & the Roosteraunt is truly only a 1 minute walk from the boat.

Today I made a trip to Canadian Tire & 2 trips to the grocery store. Tomorrow I’ll visit The Beer Store & the LCBO! I’ve got to take advantage of the opportunity to get more provisions ‘cause there are no other stops like this along the way.

The weather was very unsettled again today. It must have rained about 10 times through the morning & afternoon. It just rains for 10-15 minutes & then clears up for half an hour & then the rain starts again. Very frustrating!

When its wet outside I cannot do much to the boat even if it stops raining. Most little projects I want to do require the boat to be dry & there has to be no chance of rain for at least the rest of the day.

So, when the weather is uncooperative I resort to other activities. I have no one to play backgammon with so the Solitaire game on my phone gets a good workout (I won’t tell you how many games I have played this past week but its a lot!).

I am also listening to a lot of podcasts & audiobooks. I’m currently listening to “A Good Year” by Peter Mayle. (borrowed online from London Public Library). I saw the movie years ago starring Russell Crowe & Albert Finney.

The movie was very good & I’m really enjoying the audio book too. The only problem with the audio book is that if I lie down while listening to it I inevitably fall asleep & then when I wake up I have to try & figure out what I missed.

One small job I got done today in between the raindrops was to install new LED blue lights for the side decks. The original incandescent (automotive) bulbs & fixtures were rusted beyond repair so I took the opportunity to make a bit of an update.

Pretty cool, eh! And they make a big difference for walking along the side decks at night.

This lock location is also easy to identify because it is just in front of an out-of-service Bascule railway bridge that is permanently in the “up” position. It makes a nice silhouette against the last bit of light in the sky after sunset.

Cheers!

2nd Overnight at Poonamalie

44°53′34″ N 76°3′20″ W

I had a very nice spot on the grey line here so I decided to stay another night. It rained on & off throughout the day so I was glad I made this decision. Poonamalie is only a few kilometers away from Smiths Falls so I will go there on Saturday.

 

In spite if the rain there was lots of boat traffic in both directions. During one of the sunny periods a really nice classic woody went by. Well kept wooden boats are so beautiful & it’s easy to appreciate how much effort the owners have to go to in order to keep them that way.

Last year as we were cruising the Rideau Catherine spent a lot of time reading the “Ports Cruising Guide” for the Rideau Canal & the Ottawa River. I remember her telling me that Poonamalie Lockstation was named by one of the British Royal Engineers who worked on the site & it reminded him of Poomalee in the Tamil Region of India where the name means “cat hill” so he christened this location in Canada by the same name.

I wonder if he saw a stray cat hanging around the construction site. I’ll keep my eye out for one.

Cheers!