"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in
its net of wonder forever."—Jacques Cousteau

July 29 – Perth, ON

The Prettiest Town in Ontario
Tay Canal Lock 34 Wall

Today we locked up one more lock to the highest point on the Rideau Canal. The Upper Rideau Lake, at 408’ above sea level, is the highest water body on the Rideau Canal system. From the Narrows Lock on, we will be lowered 274’ to the Ottawa River, which is 134’ above sea level. We went through the Narrows Lock and then went up two locks in the Tay Canal so we could visit Perth. We docked on the upper lock wall and took our dinghy about five miles into town. Most of the Tay River reminded us of home, some trees, but mostly marshland. We saw Blue Herons and quite a few Loons on our way. Perth is a very pretty town, the river spilts and runs through town in several places, and the downtown area is made up of century old buildings full of shops and restaurants.

We stopped at Coutts & Co. for coffee and free wifi. I had a chance to update the blog, email a few people and even make a few calls to family. Being without our internet and phones is hard to get used to…at least for me! After getting my internet fix, we walked through Stewart Park, a beautiful park in the heart of town. We sat by the river and had fun watching the kids play in the water.

We were the only boat on the upper wall, so it was very peaceful. We cooked on the grill and sat at the picnic table right outside the boat for dinner. It just doesn’t get much better.

It is just so pretty here!
More narrow passages today
Perth
Stewart Park
The Tay River
The Pearl on the wall at lock 34
Lock Master House

1 comment:

  1. Hi!

    I was out for a walk along the canal in Ottawa this evening and saw your home. I do have internet:-), so I googled "The Pearl Port Lavaca" and here you were.

    I enjoyed reading of your travels, and though my family home is in Kingston (I am an Cdn Army officer working in Ottawa), and I have a 17 1/2' fishing boat, I have only been on the Rideau Canal around Cranberry Lake when out bass fishing. I have been at many of the locks, including Chaffey's. I will have to get out more just to take in the scenery and take some photos.

    Glad to see you so obviously enjoying retirement (next year for me). There is no way I could get my wife out on big water regardless of the size of the boat/ship. She wasn't too impressed taking a BC Ferry from Vancouver to Nanaimo and back....so we bought a house on the St Mary's River and will enjoy our boat:-) Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip and have felt welcome here in Canada!

    Mike McH2Os

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