Cady Girl

The first night in Bobcaygeon we joined a Loopers docktail gathering with 8 couples.  Most were from the US, but the host and hostess were Canadian, Louise and Bill. We woke up Thursday morning, hopped on our bicycles and visited the Kawartha Settlers Village, Kawartha Dairy - we had ice cream cones for breakfast - and the Bobcaygeon museum - then hot dogs or sausages for lunch.  Ended the day with "docktails" with Louise and Bill, a Concert in the Park - Music and Step dance program with fiddles, and then Maggie's Wake, a Canadian roots band.   The region we have been traveling in is known as the Kawartha Lakes region and "Cottage Country." Kawartha was the indigenous tribe that was and is in the area and it means "land of reflections or land of shining waters." Cottage Country reminded Don of the Severn River in the early 60's - cabins for the wealthy "Washington DC elite." We found out that most of the cottages here are owned by Toront...

We motored to Hastings on the 19th going through 3 more locks and docked at the Hastings Village Marina.  We were next to a couple that lives on their houseboat half the year and the other half in Florida!  They were a great help!  Walked the town (such that it was) and had ice cream, of course. We tatted up - anchor steam tattoos - temporary, of course. The next day we cruised through more gorgeous waterways and the Otonabee River where we saw cows drinking up the water, among other wildlife. The lakes are just full of classic cabins and idyllic settings.  We arrived in Peterborough after passing through two more locks and docked at the marina there!  Walked the town and had dinner at a local venue. On Monday we visited the Canadian Canoe Museum.  What an incredible display and history!  Walked back to Cady Girl on the Trans Canadian trail, walked over lock #20, and ate lunch at a dockside grill. Had to say goodbye to Lisa and Don - they were a great ...

Since we are in Canada, I thought I'd start this off with the Canadian National Anthem! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwDvF0NtgdU Enjoy! Continuing our trip, we motored to Picton on the 19th and spent the night on a mooring ball in the quiet harbor there.  We even enjoyed a swim! The next day we had a weird ride to Trenton.  We hit a squall about 5 miles from Trenton.  Or more specifically, the squall hit us.  It was quick to leave, thank goodness and Cady Girl handled it with no problems.  A squall is a violent gust of wind or a localized storm bringing rain or sleet! We tracked the storm on radar and knew we would be clear on arrival at our destination. We docked at the Trent Port Marina, a beautiful spot with lots of other loopers.  Surprisingly, we met a fellow looper whose mother's maiden name was Wigglesworth and some fun couples from Mississippi and New Orleans. We spent Monday cleaning Cady Girl inside and out had coffee at a great little spot cal...

We left Clayton at 9 am on Wednesday and motored first to Boldt Castle and the Thousand Islands.  The Thousand Islands is actually a group of more than 1800 islands on the Saint Lawrence River. It is stunningly beautiful, and the river seems more like a pristine lake. Boldt Castle did not disappoint!  It was built in 1900 by the hotel millionaire magnet George Boldt for his wife and was designed as a summer dream home. The saddest part of this story is that Mrs. Boldt died before the completion of the home and Mr. Boldt abandoned the project.  The Thousands Island Bridge Authority owns it now and is continuing to renovate it, since it sat vacate for over 70 years. Hopefully the pictures below do it justice. After leaving Boldt Castle we motored to Gananoque - try to pronounce that one! It has a great waterfront, and we even got to swim in the St. Lawrence River. On the ride over, I was surprised by the number of Swans we saw - Canadian geese, I get. Thursday, we motored t...