Orillia Ontario

The city of Orillia and the Chamber of Commerce run and maintain the Port of Orillia Marina – and what a wonderful job they do! Everything is first rate from the staff to the shower/restroom facilities to the picnic areas to the quality of the docks AND MOST OF ALL, the internet connection was reliable and free of charge. In addition, if one pays for two nights in the marina, then the third night is free. So we took advantage of the long stay so that Mark can rest and relax for a couple of days.

Sharing the same birth year as Canada, Orillia was originally incorporated as a village in 1867. The history of the area dates back at least 4,000 years ago as archaeologists have uncovered evidence of the Huron and Iroquois peoples in the area. In addition, numerous sites have been discovered which were camps used by Native Americans for hundreds of years for trading, hunting, and fishing.



Immediately upon arrival, we were invited to dinner to meet fellow Loopers which was organized by our non-Looper friends Sally and Ron aboard Summer Star. We spent the evening getting acquainted with the crew of Quixote and Salt Shaker, with Sally and Ron being the perfect host and hostess. I inquired about mariner Frankie the dog, and he is doing fine. He still gets a little overheated and agitated but he will be home soon where I am sure he will rebound to his old darling self once he is on land.

We set out Thursday afternoon to explore and we found the entire town of Orillia to be charming, quant and welcoming. The two main streets are lively and filled with small shops and boutiques. This whole area is full of cottages so many of the stores catered to the cottagers with merchandise that was cute, functional and very expensive. It was fun to window shop but most items were totally out of my price range.

At first we thought it was odd that the town’s Christmas decorations were still on display because Orillia seemed like a town that stayed on top of its maintenance, then we discovered that the week before our arrival, Orillia had a huge summer festival entitled Christmas in July when the entire town was decorated.

All around the town we found Guitars on Parade which were decorated and painted by local artists or children’s groups.

However, there was one shop that both Captain Mark and I fell in love with…it was the Mariposa Market. Upstairs was a wonderful deli/bakery filled with the most delicious smells of fresh baked breads, chocolate cakes and just about every conceivable dessert. I think I gained at least 15 pounds just walking the aisles looking at all the goodies trying to decide on only ONE item to purchase. I settled on the Cranberry-Walnut bread while Captain Mark got a pound of fudge and a chocolate cupcake. Downstairs was an authentic old fashioned general store with all sorts of local items like Orillia honey, dip mixes and baking items. I am such a sucker for regional items that I had to get a jar of Blueberry jam and a yummy butter spread for my Cranberry-Walnut bread.

Kirkfield to Orillia

It rained all through the night while we were at the Kirkfield Lock but we knew that the icky weather would pass about mid-morning. So we slept in a little longer than usual and headed out while it was still drizzling just a tad.


Today will be another unique and cool lock experience for us. This section along the Talbot River was originally the portage between Balsam Lake and Lake Simcoe. However when the Trent-Severn Waterway was constructed these five original locks were placed between Canal Lake and Lake Simcoe to replace the land portage.



These locks are designated historical landmarks and are maintained and operated in exactly the same manner as when they first went into operation almost 100 years ago. The lock doors are opened/closed manually as are the flood gates which are operated by manual hand cranks which are located on the top of the lock doors. Once the boats are secure and the lock doors are manually closed by the attendant, then each of the attendants will manually open or close the flood gate located in the lock door to adjust the water flow accordingly.



Even after the rain, the heat continues to just be nasty…it is so hot and humid. But we caught a break in that following Gamebridge Lock # 41, we were be on the open waters of Lake Simcoe which is quite large and provided some much needed “sea breeze”. We were a little concerned about the wave conditions on Lake Simcoe since the wind direction had changed, but the waves were in the 1-2 foot range and the Lolligag handled them just fine.

There is no pump-out facility in Orillia and none until we reach Penetanguishene (at least two more stops ahead), so we took advantage of the facilities just as we exited off Lake Simcoe. Yes, we have found the pump-out charges to be very high in Canada. We have paid fees ranging $15 to $27 per pump-out with most marinas charging $20. This is quite a bit considering that we are accustomed to receiving either free pump-outs or paying in the area of $5-10 dollars in the US. If a pump-out fee is charged by a marina in the US, the fee is almost always waived if fuel is purchased, so it was certainly a double whammy to have to pay so much for a pump-out when purchasing $200 worth of fuel.



When we entered the Port of Orillia we could not believe all the Looper boats – there had to be at least ten of us all gathered together. Of course, we were very excited to see our friends aboard Summer Star and we could not wait to find out how mariner Frankie the dog was feeling.

Hours on the water: 5.75
Nautical miles traveled: 28.25
Number of bridges to be opened: 3
Time spent waiting at bridge: 0
Number of locks: 5
Next Destination: Big Chute Marine Railway
What we are listening to: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
Lesson for the day: Loopers Loopers Everywhere!
Obligatory knitting report: Socks for me

Bobcaygeon to Kirkfield Lift Lock

Today was another exciting day because we experienced the Kirkfield Lift Lock, the Hole in the Wall and the Trent Channel. We saw more beautiful homes and lots of small cottages. The people who own/stay in the cottages are called cottagers, which I think is quite clever and unique as I had never heard that expression before.

Before reaching Kirkfield Lift Lock there are two areas of concern for boaters. The first is the Trent Channel which is extremely narrow and extremely shallow. Water depths averaged six feet. As we entered the channel I made a Security Call to notify any oncoming boats in the vicinity that we were approaching. This is NOT an area where one wants to encounter a boat of our size or larger coming toward us – there simply would not be enough water or room to maneuver. We did meet a small twenty foot boat about mid-channel and it was obvious that they did not have a VHF radio onboard, but we made the pass without incident. Next up was the infamous Hole in the Wall pass through. Again we made it through without incident.

Finally we came to the Kirkfield Lift Lock. This is the first lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway where we will be lowered rather than raised. This is significant because this means that the red and green buoy markers switch sides to reflect the “return to sea” positions. Captain Mark has always had a good grasp of this concept but it causes concern for many boaters. An easy way to remember the concept that we learned in our Coast Guard training was “Red, Right, Returning” which means keep the red buoys on your right when you are returning to sea. The hardest part for some people is to accept the concept of which direction water is flowing that represents the return to sea issue. They just do not understand how you can be miles from the sea yet still be returning when an actual sea may be closer as the crow flies. There are all sorts of little gizmos to help boaters with this issue but being aware of ones surroundings and following the charts is always the best way to navigate.



Knowing what to expect, I was really excited to enter the Kirkfield Lift Lock. And it was as much fun as the Peterborough Lift Lock. In fact, I seemed to be able to see the operations better this time since we were being lowered rather than raised. We decided to stay on the lock wall overnight at Kirkfield so that we could watch the lock in operation and explore the area.



Hours on the water: 5.5
Nautical miles traveled: 27
Number of bridges to be opened: 1
Time spent waiting at bridge: 0
Number of locks: 4
Next Destination: Orillia
What we are listening to: Finished Envy the Night by Michael Kortya and started The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson
Lesson for the day: I love Lift Locks
Obligatory knitting report: socks for me

Reality or Fantasy?

I love to fly – the smaller the plane, the more I love the experience. Most people think I am nuts to feel this way but the thrill of flying is beyond explanation for me. Our daughters know this of me, so for my 60th birthday, my gift was a skydiving adventure. I had to wait until I was 61 to actually make the dive due to this trip and weather conditions, but when I jumped, it was THE MOST AWESOME experience of my life – nothing compares to the thrill of free falling. And the view from up that high was extraordinary beyond words.



I often joke that my next husband will be a pilot and that he must possess his own plane so that I can fly whenever I want. I have tried every which way from Sunday to convince Captain Mark to get his pilot’s license but he wants absolutely no part of flying or even riding in a small plane.




Before making this trip, I thought that any plane would be fine but now I have concluded that my next husband must not only be a pilot but own a seaplane as well. Up here in Canada, they are also called boat planes and they seem to be everywhere.

Of course, the real solution to my fantasy would be for me to get my pilot’s license…and I just might do that!

Buckhorn to Bobcaygeon

Our day today was relatively short. It was either go a short distance and rest or go a longer distance and then rest an entire day. So we decided on a very short day of travel with medium rest. The weather is not as hot has it has been but it is warm and since Captain Mark really needed to get some rest, we opted for staying at the Gordon marina in Bobcaygeon for the electricity and the air conditioning. Shower and restroom facilities were newly remodeled and staff attentive and very friendly.

Again we saw gorgeous homes along the way and we had no locks or bridges to be opened for us. We were in Bobcaygeon before we knew it. Bobcaygeon is a lovely small town with thriving main street merchants. It reminded both of us of New Buffalo, Michigan.



Hours on the water: 2.25
Nautical miles traveled: 15
Number of bridges to be opened: 0
Time spent waiting at bridge: 0
Number of locks: 0
Next Destination: Kirfield Lock Wall
What we are listening to: Envy the Night by Michael Koryta
Lesson for the day: Taking it easy is a good thing
Obligatory knitting report: Socks for me

Buckhorn Ontario

We arrived in Buckhorn to find it quite the party place. Immediately upon exiting Lock 31 we were astounded to find the lock walls completely full. As we passed a larger boat they told us that they were leaving and that we could have their space. So Captain Mark adeptly turned us around and we had the primo docking space. Of course, with the primo docking location comes the myriad of questions about the Lolligag and Chicago which is fine as we always enjoy meeting new people.

Check out this canoe with an addition - who would have ever thought of something like this?



We were docked almost in front of the Main Street Landing so we, of course, had to have dinner there. Food was good – they have the most wonderful French Fries up here but they call them Fresh Cut Fries. They are homemade French Fries made from fresh potatoes. While Captain Mark is boring and prefers ketchup, I prefer malt vinegar on mine.



Dottie is such a perfect dog but she does go rather crazy around horses. She can hear a horse coming toward our house in Indiana when it is more than a half mile away. Since she has not found any horses here in Canada, she decided to bark furiously at this elk statue.



Since we were on the lock wall and consequently had no electricity, once again we were asleep by dark.

Lakefield to Buckhorn

It was refreshing to discover that it had cooled of slightly overnight when we awoke early Sunday morning. We wanted to get an early start as it is always crazy to travel/boat on the weekends. Of course this is prime vacation time as well so we knew that the locks and waterway would be very crowded. This was evidenced by how we were all jammed into Lock 31.



As we travelled through Stony Lake we began to see our first true glimpses of what is known as “God’s Country” to the Canadians. The lake is influenced both by the rugged granite of the Canadian Shield to the north and by the more heavily forested Great Lakes region to the south. The name is evident by the island and shoals everywhere which were created during and after the last North American Ice Age. As we begin to see the gorgeous pink granite rocks, they are a constant reminder of how important it is to stay within our channel of navigation. What we see above the water is only but the tip of the iceberg as the saying goes…



The region has been inhabited for thousands of years. Early First Nations settlement is evidenced by a remarkable collection of prehistoric rock carvings to be seen at the east end of Stony Lake at the significant Petroglyphs. On-going historic research argues convincingly that Samuel De Champlain traveled the area lakes, rivers and overland portages in the 1600s. I have always wanted to own my own island and there are certainly plenty of them available. It was just one spectacular home after another…




As we approached one of the locks and secured on the blue line, the lockmaster asked us to tie at the location as far back from the lock door as possible. Inside the lock and ready to exit was a 100 foot cruise boat that needed all the room available to maneuver coming out of the lock. Note how the bow of the cruise boat folds upward to enable it to fit within the lock.





Hours on the water: 5
Nautical miles traveled: 19.5
Number of bridges to be opened: 0
Time spent waiting at bridge: 0
Number of locks: 4
Next Destination: Bobcaygeon
What we are listening to: Envy the Night by Michael Koryta
Lesson for the day: Do you wonder if the people who live in the above glass house throw stones?
Obligatory knitting report: Socks for me

Peterborough to Lakefield

The day was gorgeous but hot as we left Peterborough. We are really excited about our travels today because we will have the first of two Lift Locks on the Trent-Severn Waterway.
This will be Peterborough Lift Lock and will be our second lock in a series of seven locks total for today. As we entered our first lock of the day a huge cruise boat pulled in behind us and travelled with us through the Peterborough Lift Lock.



Just beyond the Peterborough Lift Lock we came to the first of two swing bridges that will need to be opened for us.



Then just a little further along we passed through the campus of Trent University. We were totally taken by the outstanding and futuristic architecture of the campus buildings.

Then just a little further, cows as far as we could see.




We only travelled 9.7 nautical miles but it took us a whopping five hours to go the distance. I know that we lolligag, but 2 nautical miles an hour is slow even for us. It did rain for about ten minutes when we were in the last lock just before Lakefield but after the rain stopped the heat and humidity were intensified. We reached Lakefield and decided to spend the evening at the Lakefield City marina so that we could sleep with air conditioning. This marina was wonderful and had extremely clean restroom suites with relaxing showers. Even though it was not our longest day on the water..we were exhausted, so it was early to bed just as the sun set.

Hours on the water: 5
Nautical miles traveled: 9.7
Number of bridges to be opened: 2
Time spent waiting at bridge: 0
Number of locks: 7
Next Destination: Buckhorn Ontario
What we are listening to: Envy the Night by Michael Koryta
Lesson for the day: We loved the Peterborough Lift Lock!!
Obligatory knitting report: Socks for me