OTTAWA, ONTARIO TO KARS, ONTARIO

Monday, June 29th, 2015

Day 329

Miles Traveled: 26

Total Miles Traveled: 4907

  We started our journey on the Rideau Canal.  The first five miles was on an entirely man-made canal.  Much of the canal is on the Rideau River.  This section was created to bypass the falls of the Rideau which we saw as we approached Ottawa.

  As mentioned in previous post, all the locks on the Rideau Canal are hand operated.  It takes at least two individuals to crank the doors opened and closed.  Sometimes, there are four involved (two on each crank for each door).

lock hands opening the starboard (right) gate by hand crank

  Today's locking endeavor was much better than the first day of locking on the Rideau Canal.  The prior day's experience taught us how best to handle our boat in the Rideau Canal locks.  Although, still quite a bit of work, it was a much better day in the seven locks we tackled today (except for the rain showers).  Our Frog Togs (brand of rain gear) kept us nice and dry.    

  After leaving one of the locks, we ran into a maze of floating buoys.  Dan asked the lockmaster "What are we supposed to do with that?".  He was advised to just keep them on our port (left) side and explained that they were marking an obstacle course for dragon boats.  It was a relief to know that we didn't have to try and weave our way through all of them.

dragon boat obstacle course

  The scenery today reminded us a lot of the Kanawha River, a tributary of the Ohio River that goes to Charleston, WV.  The scenery was a mix of tree and grass lined banks and areas with nice homes along the shoreline.  It was not very wide from bank to bank, but not as narrow as some rivers we have encountered.

Rideau Canal on Rideau River

  Our final destination for the day was at Hurst Marina where we hoped to get our generator running again.  Almost immediately after getting docked and tied up, they had a mechanic aboard trouble shooting the problem.  He discovered a short in the circuit board of the control unit (probably due to the age of the unit).  This caused the circuit breaker to trip and also become inoperable.  He planned to order the part the next day and have an estimated date of its arrival.

  After meeting with the mechanic, we went over to the next dock to say hello to "Dollinger"'s crew - owners Brad & Mary and guests John & Bonnie.  We have met up with them at several different locations since New York.  We went to dinner at the nearby Irish pub restaurant.  The theme of the night was fish and chips, which we all ordered except John who ordered the shepherd's pie.  Afterwards, we took a quick dip in the "hot" tub.  Notice that the word hot is in quotations.  A more appropriate name would have been "luke warm tub".  We had fun anyway.  To warm up after getting in the "luke warm tub", we had a fire in the nice fire pit area next to the pool.

Bonfire Fun

     

OTTAWA, ONTARIO - BYTOWN MUSEUM AND RAIN

Sunday, June 28th, 2015

Day 328

Miles Traveled: 0

Total Miles Traveled: 4881

  We had some luck happen this morning!  Another boat left a spot with power available.  We quickly untied the lines and docked in the new space.  We were grateful we had power, not just to charge the batteries, but for we would also have heat.  An unusual front was coming through the area bringing rain and unseasonably cold temperatures.  It was not predicted to get into the 60's for the entire day.  Another bonus for Dan was that he could make coffee for the first time in three days.  Angie was glad to have hot water available for her shower that evening.     

  We decided to try and find things to do indoors.  There was a mall nearby with a Starbucks which meant free WiFi.  We ordered coffee and hot chocolate and went to work on publishing the blog posts, reviewing email, and catching up on Facebook.  It took so long that we ended up eating lunch there as well. 

  Afterwards, we visited the Bytown Museum located right next to the locks.  The museum is filled with information about the building of the Rideau Canal and the history of Ottawa.  The museum is housed in the old Commissariat building.  Built in 1827, it is the oldest existing stone building in Ottawa and the first permanent structure built on the Rideau Canal.  Initially, the building was used for the storage of supplies, tools, and goods needed to build the canal.  After the canal was built, it was used as a support building for canal operations.  In 1951, it was renovated to become this museum.

Bytown Museum

   Some of the history of the start of the Rideau Canal was given in the previous blog.  We learned even more about its history on our exploration of the museum.  The canal was built under the supervision of Lieutenant-Colonel John By.  The trunk used to transport his family's belongings from Britain to Canada was on display.  The trunk dates back to the early 1800's.  Angie thought the trunk was in very good condition given its age.

Lt.-Colonel By's trunk

  The canal was mainly built by hand with shovels, pick axes, pulleys, and wheelbarrows.  French Canadians, great lumbermen, and Irish immigrants, skilled stoneworkers, were the main work force.  It would have been nice if they had made the walls a little smoother and the locks a little wider.  Over 1000 workers lost their lives building this canal - mainly due to malaria.  

  The city of Ottawa's history begins just before the start of the construction of the canal.  Originally called Bytown, it was founded in 1826.  Bytown had a reputation as being the most violent place in British North America.  In 1855, Bytown became an incorporated city.  The name was changed to Ottawa to try and put the bad reputation behind it.  Things continued to improve and Ottawa later became the capitol of Canada and the wonderful city that it is today.   

ISLE DUBE, QUEBEC TO OTTAWA, ONTARIO

Saturday, June 27th, 2015

Day 327

Miles Traveled: 31

Total Miles Traveled: 4881

  We had a very peaceful night at the anchorage.  Our final destination for the day was Ottawa, Ontario.  We wanted to try and arrive as early as possible, so, we left about 6:00 am and headed up the Ottawa River.  The morning view as we left the anchorage was very beautiful.

leaving Isle Dube anchorage on Ottawa River

  We passed by several cable ferries taking people from towns in Quebec to towns in Ottawa across the river.  There was one ferry service that was difficult to navigate around.  Between Cumberland, Ontario and Masson, Quebec, there are five cable ferries that run all at the same time.  You have to time your crossing between them just right so as not to run over them, their cables; or, get run over yourself.

Two of the five ferries running back and forth at the same location across the Ottawa River 

  As we approached Ottawa, we saw the Rideau Falls.  Rideau means curtain in French.  A local told us that the Rideau River got its name because its falls looked like curtains.

Rideau Falls near Ottawa

approaching Ottawa, Ontario

  At Ottawa, our journey on the Ottawa River came to an end and we began our travels on the Rideau Canal.  This canal, stretching about 126 nautical miles (155 statute miles), connects Ottawa on the Ottawa River with Kingston on Lake Ontario.  The British, who feared that during a war with the United States they would not be able to ship supplies or reinforcements to or from Kingston to Quebec (which is on the Ottawa River), built the canal to remedy this problem.  The Rideau Canal began in 1827 and was finished in 1832.  Although the canal was never needed by the military, it still was an immediate economic success being used by the commercial shipping industry.  Like many other canals, its use declined when the railroads came into operation.  Currently, this canal is part of the Canadian Heritage Canals and used by pleasure boaters. 

  There are 44 locks that will have to be traversed to complete the Rideau Canal.  The first eight locks are right in downtown Ottawa, Ontario.  They are called the Ottawa Staircase Locks and lift the boat 79 feet.  The locks are literally one right after the other.  As you leave one, you immediately enter the next one.

Ottawa Staircase Locks - Rideau Canal Locks 1-8 - looking up from the bottom

  These locks were quite challenging.  Upon entering each lock, there was a lot of turbulence from water spilling over from the next one.  We had to get a bow (front) and stern (back) line around a cable hanging down along the wall.  There were four other boats locking through along with us, so, we had to be in just the right location for us all to fit.  And, to top it all off, there were a lot of spectators watching "the show".

water spilling over lock gate from upper chamber into lower chamber

crowd of spectators watching and learning about the locking process

  Our reward for getting to the top was being able to tie off along a wall in downtown Ottawa.  Unfortunately, after all our hard work, when we arrived at the top, all of the spots along the wall with power were taken.  Since, the generator was not working, we had hoped to be able to get a spot with power to help keep the batteries charged.  We decided to go ahead and tie up without power and just run the engine if needed to charge the batteries.

Ottawa Staircase Locks - Rideau Canal Locks 1-8 - looking down the locks

boats docked at wall above Lock 8 in downtown Ottawa, Ontario
look closely - Seahorse is the last boat way in the back

  Not sure if we would be staying another day (without power), we took a walk around the city to see some of the sites.  Ottawa is the capitol of Canada.  The impressive Parliament Building is located right downtown.  Off to its right and left are the East and West buildings that house offices.

Parliament Building

Parliament East Building offices

Parliament West Building offices

  Right across the street is the National War Memorial Moment, a tribute to the unknown soldier.  There are military guards stationed at the monument during the day.  We missed the "changing of the guard", but did get to see them marching away with a bagpiper playing.

National War Memorial Monument

  We then went to Byward Market.  It is like a "farmers market" that is open every day.  Most of the vendors where closed by the time we arrived.  Along the streets are many cafes and restaurants.  We picked one out and had some dinner.  Tired from the day, we went to bed early hoping that the next day a boat would leave so we could dock at a spot with power.

SAINT ANNE, QUEBEC TO ISLE DUBE, QUEBEC

Friday, June 26th, 2015

Day 326

Miles Traveled: 66

Total Miles Traveled: 4850

  We left Saint Anne just past daybreak to make the first lockage of Carillon Lock, 26 miles away, at 9:30 am.  This lock can be very busy and we hoped to beat the crowd and have to wait.  Carillon Lock is another of Canada's Heritage Canal Locks and part of Parks Canada.  This lock has one striking difference compared to the others.  Its lower gate is a lift gate and not a gate that opens out.  The gate is lifted and you drive your boat underneath.  We were lifted 65 feet in this lock on a floating dock within the lock.

Carillon Lock with gate closed

Carillon Lock with gate almost completely up

   We were not the only boat locking through this early.  There were 3 other boats that joined us on the floating dock.  All were Canadian, and one was a Gold Looper.  Dan got to talking with the other captains about our generator problem and was given advice about which marina would have the best mechanics.  As luck would have it, we already had reservations at this marina during the next week.  We were planning on stopping at the next available marina with service just past the lock, but, after talking with the "locals", we changed our minds and will proceed on and make our way to that marina.  In the meantime, we will make due without the generator.

  The travel day along the Ottawa River was beautiful with sunny skies and fluffy clouds.

Ottawa River

  During our cruise, we passed by Le Chateau Montebello, known as the largest log structure in the world.  The Log Chateau was built in 1930, and, since then, several other structures have been added.  It is a resort/hotel and does have a marina to stay at if you are willing to pay the price.  We choose to continue on up the river.

Le Chateau Montebello
behind the trees, there is more to this structure on the left and right not easily visible from the water

  We found a peaceful and quiet anchorage behind Isle Dube and settled in for the evening.  Fortunately, there was a nice breeze and it was not to terribly hot.  This was a blessing, since we have no air conditioning without the generator.  We grilled some burgers and had a pleasant relaxing evening.

Isle Dube anchorage

MONTREAL, QUEBEC TO SAINT ANNE, QUEBEC

Thursday, June 25th, 2015

Day 325

Miles Traveled: 39

Total Miles Traveled: 4784

  Our journey leaving Montreal was a little different than we arrived.  This time the strong current was on our stern (back of the boat).  At one point, we were going over 13mph (if you remember from a previous post we usually go about 8mph without current).  Once we turned into the Canal de la Rive Sud (South Shore Channel), the current abated.  This canal, about 22 miles long, takes the Saint Lawrence Seaway around the Rapides de Lachine (Lachine Rapids) near Montreal.  

Canal de la Rive Sud

 

  Along this canal are two federal locks, Saint Lambert and Saint Catherine, which are not part of the National Canadian Park System and associated Canal System Locks.

Saint Catherine Lock

  This canal and its locks are frequented by large ocean going vessels using the St. Lawrence Seaway for commerce.  We met a small one between the two locks.

tow and large barge on canal

  After leaving the protection of the Canal de la Rive Sud, we entered Lake Saint Louis.  Although it looks like a very large body of water, most of it is shallow.  We had to follow the marker buoys for the channel very close.  There are several other channels that come off of the main channel and it was important to sort out which were the ones we were to follow and which ones were not.

Lake Saint Louis

  At the northwest end of Lake Saint Louis is the Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue Lock.  This lock is a part of the Canadian National Park System and has places to dock along a wall both above and below the lock.  There is a small town adjacent to the lock with shops and restaurants nearby.  We decided to go through the lock and tie up on the other side so in the morning we would not have to wait for the lock to open to begin our days travels.  The locks of Park Canada do not open until after 9:00 am.  Like the Saint Ours lock on the Richelieu River, this lock had a floating dock within the lock to tie off to while the water level was adjusted.  This is the easiest type of locking we have experience so far.  Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue Lock raised us a "whopping" 3 feet.

  After getting tied up at the lock wall mooring (docking) area, we took a walk about town.  There were mostly restaurants on the main street.  We walked about 3 blocks away from the main street and found a small grocery store and picked up a few items.  We had leftovers aboard from our eating frenzy in Montreal, so, "leftovers it was" for dinner.

  When Angie tried to start the generator to reheat the leftovers, the day went from good to bad.  The generator tried to start but immediately died.  After that, it wouldn't even try to start.  Dan tried to determine the cause of the problem, but, he was unable to do so.  This upcoming part of the trip was supposed to be about anchoring and staying at free locks walls.  This would require a generator that worked.  We did some research (as best as we could without internet) and found a few marinas on the Ottawa river that listed repairs as a service.  Hopefully, one of them will be able to fix our broken generator.  Life isn't always roses on The Loop.   

  Of note, today was Angie's birthday.  Her birthday present will be getting the generator fixed.  Until then, the candles are not glowing on her cake.     

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - NOTRE DAME BASILICA AND MORE

Wednesday, June 24th, 2015

Day 324

Miles Traveled: 0

Total Miles Traveled: 4745

  Today was a Quebec holiday, Saint John Baptiste Day.  Always celebrated on June 24th, it is a national holiday celebrating the birth of St. John the Baptist, a prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah.  It is still celebrated as religious feast day in several countries.

  Given the day, it was very appropriate that our itinerary this day was to tour the Notre-Dame Basilica.  The parish started about the time Montreal was founded.  The initial congregation worshiped in a modest wooden chapel.  As the congregation grew in size, so did the churches.  In 1824 construction for the Notre-Dame Basilica was started.  James O'Donnell, an Irish protestant living in New York, was hired as the architect.  He later moved to Montreal and converted to Catholicism.  The basilica was completed in 1829, but, towers were added in the early 1840's.

Notre Dame Basilica

  The building's existing interior decor was done in the late 1870's.  However, the stained glass on the ground floor was done in 1929 for its centenary celebration.  The scenes depict Montreal's social and religious history.

Inside the Notre Dame Basilica looking towards the front

  The altarpiece sculptures around the crucifix represent Melchisedech offering bread and wine, Moses placing an urn of manna in the Ark, Abraham sacrificing his son, and Aaron sacrificing a lamb.  Above the crucifix, Mary is being crowned by her Son.  Six surrounding statues represent Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  The Last Supper is seen on the front of the altar-tomb.

Altar of Notre Dame Basilica

  The pulpit was very ornate and built between 1883-1885.

Pulpit of Notre Dame Basilica

  The organ in the balcony at the back of the basilica was built in 1891.  After several modifications, it now has 4 keyboards and approximately 7,000 pipes.  On the tour today, we were not able to proceed to the balcony.  We were able to admire all the pipes from the ground level of the sanctuary.

back of sanctuary of Notre Dame Basilica - with pipe organ in balcony

  In 1888, an additional chapel, called Chapel of Notre-Dame du Sacre-Couer, was built in the back of the basilica.  Unfortunately, in December of 1978, a fire occurred and almost entirely destroyed the chapel.  It was rebuilt and completed in 1982.  At its front is an impressive bronze sculpture made up of 32 bronze panels which were cast in England.  The sculpture symbolizes the march of humankind towards the Holy Trinity.

Chapel of Notre-Dame due acre-Couer with bronze sculpture at altar

 For more about the Notre-Dame Basilica go to:

:http://www.basiliquenddm.org/en/basilica/history.aspx

  After completing our tour of the Notre-Dame Basilica and stopping for lunch, we continued to stroll around Montreal admiring the old architectural buildings.  A few are shown below.

Bank of Montreal - Museum

Centre d'histoire de Montreal museum (Montreal Center of History)
used to be an old firehouse

Montreal City Hall

  We checked out some of the shops at The Marche Bonsecours (Bonsecours Market).  In 1849, the building was used as the parliament of the United Canada.  From 1852-1878, it was used as Montreal's City Hall.  And, after that, for a century was the city's main public market.  The building has been fully restored and modernized and now used as a home for boutiques, cafes, and event halls.

Bonsecour Market

  We ended our walk along Place Jacques-Cartier.  In the 19th century, it was a public open air market place.  Today, it continues with that tradition.  Many vendors have booths along the street with food, art, jewelry, etc., and, often, there are performers providing entertainment.  We enjoyed the music of an instrumental group.

Place Jacques-Cartier

Instrumental street performers at Place Jacques-Cartier

  We really enjoyed our visit to Montreal and only scratched the surface of all there is to see and do.  Both Old Montreal and the entire city have a lot to offer visitors.

For Old Montreal:

http://www.vieux.montreal.qc.ca/tour/eng/0cartea.htm
http://gocanada.about.com/od/montreal/tp/Old_Montreal.htm
For entire Montreal:
http://www.tourisme-montreal.org/What-To-Do/Attractions#&&/wEXAwUGU29ydEJ5BQROYW1lBQpTZWFyY2hQYWdlBQExBQ5SZXN1bHRzUGVyUGFnZQUCMTA=
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attractions-g155032-Activities-Montreal_Quebec.html

MONTREAL, QUEBEC - MUSEUM AND BUS TOUR

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2015

Day 323

Miles Traveled: 0

Total Miles Traveled: 4745

  Tuesday we spent exploring Montreal, Canada's second largest city.  It is the second largest French speaking city in the world, after Paris.  English is taught as a second language in all the schools, so most everyone also speaks some English.  So far, all the French Quebec people we have met have been very hospitable.

  After the morning rains cleared, we began by visiting the Chateau Ramezay Museum of Montreal.  Chateau Ramezay was built in 1705 by Governor Claude de Ramezay.  The manor was transformed into a museum in 1895 to present the history of Montreal to its visitors.

Chateau Ramezay - Museum of Montreal

One thing we learned was Montreal was not the first name of the city.  The Iroquois Indians called the area Hochelaga meaning "beaver dam" or "beaver lake".  In 1642, the French settlers took over the area and named it Ville-Marie.  Later, in 1705, the name was officially changed to Montreal.  Initially, the basis for survival and development of Ville-Marie was trading in beaver fur.  Later, it expanded to other forms of trade, and, the shipping industry both by water and rail expanded significantly making Montreal one of the busiest ports in New France.

  One room that was particularly beautiful was called Salle (Room) de Nantes.  The mahogany paneling on its walls were hand carved in France in 1725.  Initially in a private mansion in the city of Nantes, they were transported to Montreal for display at the 1967 World's Fair.  The museum later acquired them and placed them in the room.

Salle de Nantes - detailed hand-carved mahogany paneling

  In addition to the history of the city, a section of the museum dealt with life in 18th century Montreal.  Like today, the kitchen was the focal point of the home.  The hearth (fireplace) provided heat for the home and for cooking.  Often the beds were placed nearby, so the family members could be warmer during the night.  It was were meals were prepared, family gatherings occurred, and rest was obtained.

18th Century Montreal kitchen

 Notice the wheel in the right upper corner of the wall.  This was a cage for a dog powered turnspit.  A small dog was placed in the cage, and, while the animal ran, the wheel turned which turned the roasting spit over the fireplace.  Thus, helping to cook whatever was on the spit.  Not sure the animal rights activists would approve of this apparatus today.

dog powered turnspit cage in right side ceiling

To see more about the museum go to:http://www.chateauramezay.qc.ca/en/

 

  After completing our visit to the museum, we grabbed a quick lunch and then boarded our London style double decker bus for a narrated tour of Montreal.  This was a great way to see parts of the city that would be difficult to get to on foot.  Most of what was seen was great architectural buildings, some with historic significance.  Below are a few of the highlights.

  Angie found the glass blown tree sculpture at the Museum of Fine Arts to be quite interesting.

Montreal Museum of Fine Art with glass blown tree sculpture in front

   Most of the residential buildings in Montreal have balconies.  One nickname for Montreal is "The City of Balconies".  These balconies are particularly interesting because they are wood and very decorative against a stone facade.

beautiful decorative wood balconies

  Many of the historic buildings and sites are religion based, particularly the Catholic faith.  Part of the founding of New France was to bring Catholicism to the local native Indians.

  Saint Joseph's Oratory is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and National Shrine.  The building started in 1924 and was completed in 1964.  The basilica, located on Mount Royal, is dedicated to Saint Joseph who is the patron saint of Montreal.

Saint Joseph's Oratory

  Also on Mount Royal is the Mount Royal Cross.  The first cross was erected in 1643 by Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, the cities founder, to fulfill a vow to end a disastrous flood.  Later replaced with one made of steel, it stands 103 feet tall.  Every evening, the cross is illuminated.  Apparently, there is a law in Montreal that no building can be taller than the cross.

Mount Royal Cross

  Montreal has many parks scattered throughout the city.  The largest is actually a cemetery.  The Catholic cemetery, called Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, is 343 acres.  When created, officials did not want it to just be a place of morning.  In addition, they wanted it to be a place to be enjoyed.  The area was landscaped to also be a nice park.  The Protestant  and Jewish cemeteries are the same.  Thus, all three cemeteries put together make up a park larger than Central Park in New York City.

gates to Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery

  For dinner we went to Montreal Poutine and ordered (you guessed it) poutine.  This time with smoked beef added.  By the time we leave Quebec we may be poutine experts.