Day 151 - On the Lock Wall at Fenelon Falls

I was up early cleaning bugs off the seats, surfaces and deck.  Boaters ambled down the dock to the showers or to have coffee at the outdoor tables.  The day began warmly with the sun but grew cloudier as it wore on.  We didn’t leave the marina until 1:08 pm.  We had only 15 miles and 1 lock to go to Fenelon Falls.  The stretch following was going to be tough:  narrow, shallow and slow, so we wanted to wait until the holiday was almost over to do it.  Captain Randy had to back the boat out of the marina and he managed that very well.

Sturgeon Lake is fairly deep, 20+ feet, and we were able to travel faster than usual.  There were even a few sailboats on the lake.  Three wave runners jumped our wake.  Lock 33 was on a channel to our south that connects Lake Scugog to the Trent-Severn Waterway.  Because it is a not on the main route, we didn’t have to go through it – good, one less lock!  Sturgeon Lake connects to the Fenelon River and we took a right to follow it.  The river narrowed and we slowed down again.  Both sides were lined with beautiful lake homes, with side canals branching out.

 

 

 

We reached Lock 34 at 2:18 pm and waited 10 minutes or so on the “blue line,” the designated waiting area on the lock wall.  We followed a small boat into the lock with no incident.  As usual, people gathered at the lock asked questions and engaged me in conversation.  Meanwhile, I had a lot going on with holding the boat in, holding the “walking fender” and watching how close we were to the wall.  I was also thinking about moving the large ball fender higher.  Suddenly, I saw the end of the line that was supposed to be wrapped around the cable loose in the air.  Luckily, one of the lock attendants was there to grab it.  There really isn’t anything difficult about the locks, but if you are not paying full attention it can easily get away from you.

Two of the lock attendants grabbed our lines at the wall outside the lock and we were tied in at 2:45 pm.  As we were hooking up power and water, a couple walking by showed us the “tubes” that go into the concrete and under the sidewalk from the power/water pedestal to the edge of the dock wall.  You run the power and water lines through the tube so that they are not sitting on the sidewalk as trip hazards.  Great idea!

 

 

We checked in at the lock office, then walked the few short blocks of Fenelon Falls.  I found a couple of nice boutiques to poke through.  We had not eaten since breakfast and decided to try the Orchid Bistro, a local Thai restaurant.  It was closed and did not re-open for another hour, so back to the boat to relax for a while.  Our luck with the rain finally gave out, as a few sprinkles hit the deck.  It wasn’t much and it wasn’t long.  We walked back to the Orchid Bistro for a very good meal.  The lock wall has no Wi-Fi, but we have found that every restaurant has service you can hook up to if you need it.  The walk back was quiet, most everyone was gone after the long weekend.