Smiths Falls, Ontario

The first thing Jonny did on Sunday, July15 was go paddle boarding in the beautiful rural  setting at our Nicholson Lock Wall.  He was so excited when he returned having seen what he thought was a beaver and river otter!  He followed his paddle with a spin in the dinghy because it hadn’t been used for awhile.

By 9:00 we met Bucket List at the lock wall.  Ron and Debbie are the only boat going through the locks with us which has been great.  We have our routine down with them and we don’t have to spend time negotiating who goes first and who is on the starboard or port side. Their home port is Long Boat Key, FL and they are doing the Great Loop as are so many others who we’ve met along the way.

This was a long and very warm day.   At mid-morning we stopped in Merricksville which is touted as the prettiest town on the Rideau.  It was too early for lunch so we just walked around and looked at the cute shops.  It is a pretty village! 

Part of the time Lynn was on the phone with Stephanie who was telling her about the awesome Taylor Swift concert she had gone to the night before.

When we passed a sign that said it was national ice cream day and the flavor of the day was salted caramel toffee with cashews.  Lynn couldn’t resist so we each cooled off with a delicious ice cream cone.

After our two hour sojourn in Merricksville we continued on our journey with Bucket List in the lead.  We were planning to stay in Smith’s Falls, the best town for provisioning midway on the Rideau.  We cruised through varied landscapes including a winding trip through numerous S curves interspersed with wide open bays passing some lovely farms and homes along the way.

We went through ten locks in all, each of which has a small historic stone structure as its lock house.  One of them, a two story building, had remnants of gun shot holes in the walls.  All of the lock masters have been well informed about the historical aspects of the Rideau as well as the towns along the way.

Jonny had been communicating the last few days with the American Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA) local harbor hose, Francis who had arranged to meet us in Smiths Falls.  In fact Francis had saved a spot for us on the lock wall there. He and his wife Helene invited us to join them for cocktails and we chose to sit at a picnic table in the shade next to our two boats.  We then walked to a local pub for dinner and a pitcher of beer. Later on they invited us for a glass  of  port on their fly bridge.  We had fun getting to know them and had a lively conversation.  They are very experienced boaters having spent a lot of time cruising in Canada, the U.S., and Europe.  In fact they were currently in the process of finalizing the purchase of a river boat in France!