| The Great American Loop #20 |
 Dave Bernheisel  Click on the link above for more information. Basically, Dave says, they're boating up the coast to NY, then up the Hudson to Troy, across the Erie Canal, through the Great Lakes, by Chicago, down the Mississippi, around Florida and home. No small journey, eh?
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Dave and I were in the American Military Dependent's School back in 1948 in Wiesbaden, Germany. Our fathers were with the US occupation forces. I haven't seen him since 1951 but, through the wonders of e-mail, we re-connected a while back. Actually, I got together with his older brother, Frank, for a few hours last summer in Hyde Park, Vermont, where his youngest son lived. Shrinking world these days...Dave files e-mailed reports and we'll post them regularly so you can follow the adventures of Going There.
Posted 07.13.02
Leaving of the Rideau Canal aboard the Going There
Hi John,
(7.09)We finished the Rideau Canal (Ottawa to Kingston). The high part was beautiful. We went through lakes with islands, rocky outcroppings, narrow passages, neat houses, and nearly fifty locks. We didn't do it justice as we hustled to get to Kingston.
This segment only took three days, a week would have been much better. The hustle was to get to Kingston to pick up a new crew member; Wann Gays (old school friend) was joining us for a week or two.
Kingston was affected by forest fires that they had farther north in Quebec. The air didn't smell bad but the sky was an even shade of grey, not marbled like it often is with clouds. The sun was trying to get through this and was just a bright orange circle in the grey.
It almost looked like a bright moon on a night that wasn't very dark...I had never seen a sky like this before. Interesting, but, I guess, not good...still interesting.
The fridge problem (reported last time) did turn out to be the fuse. The fuse looked good and it passed a little current through, but it was bad -- a new fuse and we are past that one.
We hope that we are at the end of the port fuel tank problem. After removing a check valve in the line, Big Blue ran fine all day on port tank only. Now I am hoping that removing the check valve doesn't bite me later, like Big Blue refusing to start because of air in the line.
No time for worrying about things like that.
Today, we ran over to Trenton, which is the gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway. This was retracing a route that we took a month ago when we were headed toward Montreal -- still very pretty. We intend to start up the TS in the morning. This will be one of the highlights of the trip. I have wanted to do this trip for at least fifteen years, and now I'm on the doorstep.
(7.10) This morning bright & early we started up the Trent-Severn Waterway. Like all of the waterways in Canada, this is quite picturesque. As we get farther into the TS it will probably get better but, so far, it is not in the same league as the high portion of the Rideau Canal. We did come through twelve locks which may be a record for us -- I'm not sure and I'm too lazy to check right now.
Home for the night is Campbellford. It's a little town thirty miles up the TS and it has put its self out and is profiting well from the boaters. We're tied to a canal wall, but this one is in a park setting with services like water, electric, showers, and a warm welcome. For this, they charge but one feels that it is money well spent. In fact, the hard day today, a nice stop and a need to do some things to the boat, we will probably be here an extra day.
More later.
Dave & Mary
Dave |
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