Ottawa, ON Day2

Miles Traveled 1

Total Miles Traveled 5025

Day 294

Boats started to arrive at 5 a.m. this morning for the first lock through, and at 9:30 we entered Lock 1 with 3 other boats.

The locks are narrow and the sides are tapered at the bottom, the manually operated doors leak a considerable amount of water which makes navigating two large boats side by side a little tricky.  A fifty foot Sea Ray cruiser went in first, and then we had to squeeze between their boat and the wall.

One more lock to go………..

Tied to the wall of the Rideau Canal ready for Canada Day tomorrow.

We walked around town this afternoon, this sidewalk artist was just getting started.

This is Pogo Fred, he is in the Guinness Book of World Records for multiple back flips on a Pogo Stick, and he was very impressive.

Hull, QC to Ottawa, ON

Miles Traveled 0.4

Total Miles Traveled 5024

Day 293

Today was the North American Summit held in Ottawa, and it pretty much shut down the waterway and major roads around the downtown area.  We kept getting conflicting reports of when we could cross the Ottawa River and tie up to the lock wall to enter the canal tomorrow.  One report said after 8 p.m. and another said 11:59 p.m., I flagged down a patrol boat this morning and they said all times are subject to change, but the 8 p.m. time would probably be correct.  There were patrol boats and helicopters in the area all day.

At 7:40 p.m. there were several patrol boats between us and the lock so we decided to move the boat to the pump out station at the marina to empty our holding tank before entering the canal.   We did not have to cross the orange restricted zone markers to get to the station.  After our pump out it was 8 p.m. and decided to wait about 10 minutes to see if the patrol boats started to move.  One of them came toward the marina and I asked them if we could proceed to the lock wall.  They gave me thumbs up so I called “Gypsea” on the radio and we crossed the restricted zone markers without a patrol boat speeding toward us.  Canada Day, which is the same as our Independence Day, is this Friday July 1^st.   The canal through Ottawa will be full of boats and we want to stay on the downtown lock wall during the celebration.  By being at the lock tonight gives us a better chance of locking through in the morning before all of the spaces are taken downtown.

Approaching Ottawa……..

The “Flight of 8”, eight consecutive locks raising us about 79 feet, then we pass under a bridge to downtown Ottawa.

We are the first boat at the wall, and should be the first boat into lock #1 in the morning.  We could sit here a few hours tomorrow though, if the lock master decides to lock the boats waiting at the top to come down first.

It was a very busy day waiting to cross the river, I washed the boat, and it was laundry day for Moni.  I think we’re ready for a few days of fun.

Hull, QC Day 2

Miles Traveled 0

Total Miles Traveled 5023

Day 292

We left early this morning to catch the water taxi to Ottawa so we could watch the changing of the guard on Parliament Hill.  We arrived on Parliament Hill only to find the ceremony had been canceled due to the North American Summit.  The three Amigo’s have disrupted the entire city just prior to a holiday weekend.  The locks,canal, and part of the Ottawa River, will be closed tomorrow along with many streets and bridges.  As we walked around town today, there were police and security everywhere.

This was the Mexican entourage, they must have been traveling 50 mph with about 10 police motorcycles ahead of them.

East Block on Parliament Hill

Center Block, the stage is being set up for Canada Day, July 1^st.

The Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica is a Roman Catholic basilica in Ottawa, these churches are amazing to visit.

We visited the Canadian Mint…………

……………and walked past the US Embassy on the way.

They even have big spiders here Nikki.

Ottawa streets…………

Montebello, QC to Hull, QC

Miles Traveled 42.2

Total Miles Traveled 5023

Day 291

We woke up this morning with the sound of raindrops landing on the boat, what a great day to sleep in…….but the rain was supposed to stop around 9, partial clearing around noon, then thunderstorms late afternoon.  We planned to make it to Ottawa before the storms, so we only had a window of opportunity if we left early. 

We encountered another ferry crossing, this was a busy one, there were several ferries and three of them were constantly moving across the water.  They were also cable ferries, which makes me nervous running over the cable after they pass.

Some of the homeowners have planes in front of their houses instead of boats.

We arrived at Hull, Quebec this afternoon before any storms, but the wind was an issue getting into the dock.  We were lucky to have “Gypsea” arrive before us and help with the lines.  Hull is located across the river from Ottawa, ON. 

We learned that the North American Summit, attended by the Presidents of the United States, Mexico, and Canada,  will be held in Ottawa on Wednesday and the waterway will be shut down tomorrow and Wednesday for security reasons.

We took a water taxi across the river to visit Ottawa this afternoon.  This is the “Flight of Eight” locks, eight consecutive locks raising boats 79 feet from the Ottawa River to the Rideau Canal in downtown Ottawa. 

When we continue our adventure Thursday, we will leave the Ottawa River and enter the Rideau Canal through the locks.  The route the Rideau Canal follows has been in use since the beginning of recorded history.  The Indians used this route to get from the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario, even before Champlain traced the route in 1615.  Construction of the Rideau Canal began in 1827 and it was finished in 1832.  Most of the locks are still operated manually today.

When we arrived at the locks from the water taxi, we saw looper “Livin the Dream” locking through.  The lock attendant is hand cranking the lock gate closed after “Livin the Dream” leaves lock 8.

Ottawa Ontario

St Andrews East, QC to Montebello, QC

Miles Traveled 29.8

Total Miles Traveled 4981

Day 290

We had a good weather forecast for staying on the exposed lock wall last night.  If a strong wind is blowing from the west, the waves are so high they break over the wall.

A great morning though, we don’t see this large an area of open water this calm very often.

Our friends on “Gypsea” made it through the lock first thing this morning heading up the Ottawa River.

We slowed down for another cable ferry today….I gave them plenty of room, I would hate to wrap their cable around our prop.

The highlight of our day was the Chateau Montebello Hotel located on 65,000 acres on the shore of the Ottawa River.  Built in 1930, and enlarged over the years, it is advertised as the largest log structure in the world.