Honey, Please Grab My Wiggy

We left Alexandria Bay on Wednesday with Moonstruck close behind.  Doug was having some problems with the new chip he had purchased for his chart plotter for Canadian waters, but thought he and Judy could figure it out under way.  Moonstruck wanted to top off on fuel so I sat drifting off the Clayton fuel dock as Potest Fieri and Aloha Friday were pulling out.  Danny on Potest Fieri saw me drifting and swung by to make sure all was well.  I told him our new Jello plans and he gave me a thumbs up as he headed for Montreal.  Aloha Friday is doing what is known as the Downeast Loop (up the St. Lawrence and down the Nova Scotia and New England coast), so it is unlikely we will cross path with either boat again on our journey.  Too bad, because Carrie and I really liked both couples, as well as Roger and Karen from Karen Anne, who is travelling with them as well.  We wish them calm seas and great times.

An hour or so later we crossed into Canada.  It gave us our first chance to fly the Canadian courtesy flag that Algonquin had left in Carrie's birthday bag in Baltimore.  Sure hope we cross paths with those folks soon.  I need a Hop Sing fix.

Customs check in for foreign boats (like us) can be handled over the phone in Canada, but it has to be on a land line.  We stopped at a little marina called Collins Bay and Doug and I phoned in.  Doug's went without a hitch.  When I gave Canadian customs my father-in- laws name, his system crashed and I had to start the process all over again, boat certificate number, address, my name and birthday, Carrie's, etc., etc.  The second time around, his system crashed again, exactly as he was inputing Dad's name...again.  As I was on hold the marina manager said we would probably be told to stay put while customs came out.  Oh, great.  But, the third time was a charm and they didn't come and cart Dad off.

We decided to continue on, even though we knew we were chancing the weather.  Sure enough, we got rained on for an hour or so, but as we pulled into Tip of the Bay Marina, in Picton Ontario, on the Bay of Quinte, the sun was smiling on us once more.  And the forecast is for four or five nice days ahead.

Tip of the Bay is a fairly small marina, and it is a good thing there was little wind as I inched my way into my designated spot along a dock wall where they said they had power for me.   Turned out they did not.  Which brings us to the title of this post.  As I was on the dock, struggling to get the power connected under the watchful eye of the lady marina manager, I called out to my first mate in the boat, "Honey, please grab my wiggy".  Now, I know all you dirty minds out there were thinking, well, dirty, but there are enough electricians reading this to know that a "wiggy" is nickname the old timer's who tought me the trade had for a simple voltage tester.  Not the fancy kind with the dials and meters, just one that buzzes in your hand at 115 volts and buzzes harder at 240 volt.  Well, the marina manager must have had a dirty mind as well.  She took a few steps away from me and seemed very relieved when my first mate emerged from the boat with only my voltage tester in her hand!  It still took me a few minutes after that to convince her that in a previous life I actually did work as an electrician, and get her to allow me to swap a few breakers around in one of the sub panels to make things work and get the proper power to my boat.  Carrie had to promise not to sue her if I got killed in her sub panel!

The object of my electrical handiwork

After getting power to the boat, I glanced around and saw what a pretty little spot we had picked.  I took a couple of shots of the marina, and of course, of Once Around. 

Tip of the Bay Marina, from the deck of Once Around



Then I took a candid shot of my galley slave from just outside the door of the galley and she muttered, "Don't do that without warning me so I can suck in my belly".  I swear, ten seconds later I took a shot of Dad and he said, "Give a guy a warning so he can suck it up, will ya?".  Think those two are related?

My gally slave...

...and her dad and Dee strolling the docks

Tired after a long cruise, we then settled down to some serious margaritas.  Turns out Dee, who usually politely says no to most liquor has a soft spot for a good margarita, and boy did she like the ones I made.  We had elaborate plans for dinner but all we could manage after cocktail hour was a grilled chicken salad, which we devoured.  Everyone slept real well that night!

Thursday we left Tip of the Bay early under gloriously sunny skies.  I was still being shadowed by Moonstruck, who by now was getting real concerned about their chart plotter problem, which they had not been able to solve after pouring over the manuals.  We decided to try and stop at Trenton (37 miles away), which is the entrance of the Trent-Severn waterway and see if we could find an electronics guy to help them out.  We could not find a spot for both of us, so Moonstruck pulled in and Once Around started through the locks.  We ran through six locks that afternoon.  The Admiral whipped her dad into a pretty fair deck hand, so Dee and I just kept quiet and stayed on the fly bridge as they handled the lines in the locks.  Doug called while we were under way.  He had been sold the wrong chip for his plotter from some twit at West Marine, but was having the correct one overnighted to Trenton and he hoped to see us up the river in a few days.

Dad, tending the stern line and inspecting the marine life on the inside of the lock wall

Dee, hanging out on the flybridge and enjoying the locking experience

We were all pretty tired when we reached Lock #6 at Frankford, Ontario.  Nevertheless, as our passengers napped, the Admiral and I went into town and bought much needed provisions.  Although the "two minute away" town turned out to be about a half of a mile, it was compact once we got there;  a grocery store, liquor store, pharmacy and hardware store within a half a block of one another.  Very efficient.  If there had been a West Marine it would have been a boater's YAHTZEE!!!  Here is the Admiral looking more like a homeless person as she pushed the shopping cart she had stolen from the grocery store back to the boat.  Ever seen a homeless person with designer boat bags before?
Despite re-provisioning, we didn't feel like cooking.  We learned that there were two restaurants that would deliver to the boat, and we had grabbed menus as we passed them.  They both seemed a to have a bit of an identity crisis.  The Chinese place billed itself as, roast beef, crab legs, and great Chinese buffet.  The other was a pizza place that also had burgers, fish and chips, Greek gyros and a whole array of other stuff.  We opted to try the Chinese.  This is the first time I have ever had food delivered to a boat tied to a lock wall.  It was awesome!

More locks ahead.  I'm going for the pizza next time!

Blogger's Note:  Anyone who knows my bride knows that she is the rule follower of all rule followers.  She would never actually steal a grocery cart (I might...OK, have).  She actually asked them if she could borrow the cart, and she ran it back after we unloaded at the boat.  The lockmaster gave her hell when he found out she had returned it herself.  Evidently he tells the boaters to leave them at the lock and he loads them up in his pickup and returns them.  If there is a "Nice School" for Canadian lockmasters (and I think there must be), this guy must be their poster boy!

Once Around tied for the night on the wall outside Lock #6, Frankford, Ontario

Friday we went throough another six locks and another 30 miles or so of gorgeous Canadian countryside.  The last lock was a double-lock, a new experience for us.  It was no more difficult, just two locks adjacent so you went from one directly into the next.  But the result was cool, lifting us up 48 feet.  I believe it was there that we met a guy named Gary who approached us in and introduced himself as a "Harbor Host" of the AGLCA Club we Loopers belong to.  Harbor Hosts are club members not currently looping who live in the local area and are willing to help with a car ride, local info or whatever a looper needs.  He just wanted to offer any assistance he could, and to talk about the loop.  Carrie and I recognized him right away as what she dubbed a "wanna-be-looper".  No disrespect intended Gary, she made up that name about a year and a half ago in describing us and the other "planning to do the loop" attendees at an AGLCA Rondezvous in Myrtle Beach.   Besides, being recovering wanna-bees (hello, our name is Frank and Carrie and we have been looping for 2 months, 5 days, six hours...), we recognized the telltale signs in Gary.  Our kids and friends back home know them well; that glazed look in your eyes as you gaze up river; the unfettered smile as you tell us, "We're beginning the loop in 346 days"; your inability to focus on your job, or much of anything else unrelated to the loop!  To any loopers who may need help in this area of the loop, please call Gary.  He's more than willing to help, and...he's one of us.



The imposing view from inside the lower of the double lock at lock #11 & #12

That's me, hamming it up at the top of a lock

On the Trent Severn system...somewhere...

...and somewhere else.

Dad, in the Trent Severn canal, strolling the deck of Once Around

We arrived in Campbellford, Ontario early afternoon and made a trek to Duke's Bait and Tackle to buy our Canadian fishing licenses.  This was another locally described, "short walk" that turned out to be about a mile or so each way.  Of course, the little shop out behind someone's house was locked when we got there, despite it being an hour before the closing time posted on the front door.  We turned to walk away just as a local fisherman and his wife turned into the driveway in their pickup.  They had the local knowledge to knock on the back door of the house to raise the shop owners.  So, shortly after that we left with our licenses, some bait, tackle and, of course, a pint of their home made maple syrup.  I love this place!

After a great meal on the boat of barbeque pork loin, mango, potatoes and broccoli, Dad and I snuck out in the dinghy for an hour or so of fishing just before dark.  Now, I'm not going to brag about who caught three and who caught only one small mouth bass, but...

It is now 7 AM Saturday.  There is an awesome bakery about two blocks away, so I am off there while the rest of my crew sleeps in.  Then there is supposed to be a great farmer's market litterally on the lawn outside the boat so we can stock up on fresh vegies and local products.  Then off for more locks!

Life is Good, Boating is Fun, but, Wifi is rare up here.  So, I'll get back to you when I can.  Meanwhile, remember, click on the "Find Us" link on this blog page to get our updated location daily.

Miss you all.

New York: A-Rod to A-Bay

Our New York experience started a few weeks back in New York City with a Yankees game and Alex Rodriguez, aka "A-Rod".  It is ending with a visit to one of the coolest boating destinations imaginable, Alexandria Bay, or "A-Bay" as they refer to it around here.

Last Friday we cruised only a short distance from Sackets Harbor up to Clayton, NY.  The reason for the stop at Clayton was that we had been told that the antique wooden boat museum was a must.  We were not disappointed.  The museum was packed full of restored wooden boats from an era gone by.  This area of the St. Lawrence is known as The Thousand Islands, and (once the ice clears each year) it is a boating paradise.  So, the rich and famous of the early 20th century came here in the summer to play...and to boat!  Dad, Dee, Carrie and I, along with Doug and Judy from Moonstruck spent several hours looking at beautifully restored watercraft of all kinds, from canoes and skiffs to yachts and race boats.

Doug, me and Dad inspecting a classic



Dad bones up on the details

 This style boat will look familiar to some of my oldest friends!

The marina we were at Friday was booked for the rest of the weekend, so we had to move several miles up to another little town called Fishers Landing, where an understanding marina owner put us up on a little used dock with no power.  We were happy to have it and enjoyed a nice salmon dinner on the flybridge and a beautiful sunset as some local families made the docks their swimming pool.



Dad digs in

Dee relaxes after the dinner

Locals having a blast on a holiday weekend

Life is good!

The next day we took the long way around (through Canadian waters for a time) to get up river to the Thousand Island Club in Alexandria Bay.  If I led you to believe the homes along the Chessapeake were amazing, I have run out of adjectives to describe the island retreats here in the Thousand Islands.  Likewise, the Thousand Island Club Marina is one of the nicest facilities we have stayed at on this trip, complete with a swimming pool and "Joey's" a first class restaurant on site.  Not only that, but our Georgia buddies, Ron and Jan from Jolly Tolly showed up and they are always fun and good for a chuckle or two! 



The islands are dotted with houses like these

and who knows what this is?  Admiral?

View of the Thousand Island Club from Once Around...

and a view of Once Around from the club!  She's the pretty blue one ya know!

We visited the town of Alexandria Bay for a few hours the afternoon of the 4th of July.  Unbelieveably, Mrs. Howell, or maybe it was Ginger, found an enterprizing nail salon owner whose shop was open and Dad and I dropped in to a local bar for a cold one.  It turned out to be a biker bar sort of place, but I managed to keep Dad out of trouble.

That evening the crew of Once Around (yeah, they're crew now, that "first-class passenger" stuff only lasted one day, then the Admiral put 'em to work!) had a great dinner at Joey's with the folks from Moonstruck.

 

Doug and Judy

After dinner we went dockside for a great view of the huge fireworks show put on here in A-Bay.  Coincidentally they happened to be shot so that from where we sat they exploded high in the air behind a huge American Flag on the marina property.  The effect could not have been more spectacular watching "the rocket's red glare" over the stars and stripes.  It reminded me of our visit to Baltimore harbor where our National Anthem was written.  It also gave me pause to think how lucky we are to live in this wonderful Country of ours.  Depite our problems, the USA is still the best place on earth to live, raise a family and enjoy freedom. God Bless America on her birthday and keep her safe from harm.

Today we visited Boldt Castle which is on Heart Island maybe a mile away by dinghy.  It was built in the early 1900's by George Boldt who, among other ventures, built and ran the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NY City.  He built the castle for the love of his life, his wife Louise, who unfortunately did not live long enough to see it completed.  She died at age 42 and George stopped the hundreds of workers right in their tracks, after spending some two and a half million dollars constructing it.  His heirs sold it to Mr. Noble, the owner of Life-Savers Candy, but he never completed it either.  The state of New York finally bought it and has been re-constructing it over the last few decades.  It is remarkable.  Boy, he must have really loved that lady!  Carrie asked me why I never built her a castle.  I told her I loved her too much to see her die before it was completed.  Anyway, here are a few photos of this amazing building:



No, not the main house, this is the power house!

No, not the main house, this is the boat house!  The tallest berth will take a sailboat with a sixty foot mast!

Ok, part of the main house in the background, well house in foreground.

Some of the detail of the main house roof.

Dining Room

Who knows which room?

Dad and Dee on the main staircase.

Dick, Dee, Carrie and me (and my favorite flower?)!

After returning to the boat from the castle tour,we had grilled hot dogs served on the fly bridge for lunch.  My crew must have been over-worked.  Here is how they spent most of the early afternoon while I slaved away on boat chores (least that's what I told them).

Dad on the fly bridge...out...

Dee in the salon...out...

The Admiral in her quarters...out!



What a crew!  Later, apparently fully rested, Dad finally got in a couple of hours of fishing late in the afternoon with my first mate as his guide.  Good thing we had reservations at Caballario's in A-Bay for dinner or we would have starved!



Where's the fish???

I think I mentioned once before how my good friends John and Linda on Poseidon always say, "A boater's plans are firmly made in Jello".  Well, our Jello sort of ran the hell all over the table today.  After agonizing about time, distance, weather, etc., we have decided NOT to go to Montreal and Ottowa after all.  We (and the folks from Moonstruck agreed) felt we would be hustling through this part of the journey and forcing time constraints on our time in the Trent Severen and Georgian Bay.  So, tomorrow we plan to run back towards Lake Ontario to Kingston, or Trenton, or some Jello pile in between.  Stay tuned for details as they develop! 

See ya in Canada, eh?

First Class Passengers

We have been trying to figure out the timing to get Carrie's dad and his lady friend, Dee, out here.  Originally they were to come after Jackie's wedding in Portland, but as luck would have it, Dad's house was supposed to close on June 28th, so they were in "moving mode".  After they boxed up everything and were one day away from the mover's showing up, the buyer's loan company said they were too backed up with business and the closing would be delayed till July 15. 

I, being the eternal optismist, figured it was a sign!  Dad and Dee agreed, and less than 48 hours later (Thursday) they came aboard Once Around in Oswego, NY.  They haven't said yet whether they are electing the 8 day-7 night cruise, or the 12 day-11 night.  We do know they need to be back in Fresno, CA by the 13th.  We are thrilled to have them along for whatever stretch they can make.  We showed them to their "First Class" accomodations, explaining that they were the same as the 2nd and 3rd class ones, but much more expensive.

Carrie and I had made the Oswego Canal run from Brewerton on Wednesday in a small gale.  OK, maybe it was only 25-30 mph wind, but...we didn't think it would affect us much in the canal and locks.  Wow, we couldn't have been more wrong!  The last few locks opened right into the teeth of the wind and we were blown around something bad in the lock.  As we left the last lock we could see waves crashing over the breakwater wall between Lake Ontario and Oswego Harbor!  Docking in that wind was quite a thrill, too!  Doug from Moonstruck not only helped on the dock with the lines, but had martinis mixed and ready.  He said he had a feeling we might need one when we arrived as he had made the trip a few hours ahead of us.  Godspeed pulled in next to us a few hours later, so it was old home week for tired loopers.

This morning (very early) we left Oswego to cross Lake Ontario for Sackets Harbor, NY.  We had maybe 10 knot winds and 1 foot seas.  What a difference a couple of days makes.  The four of us had a nice walk around Sackets Harbor, which is rich in War of 1812 history.  We had a fabulous lunch at a place called "Tin Pan Galley" and an ice cream cone on the stroll back.  Then the four of us spread out into different parts of the boat for a 2 hour nap! 

Life is Good! 

Here are a few photos of Sackets Harbor, and one of our first class passengers.

Our First Class Passengers!