Day 112: Portage Lock to Orillia, Ontario
Day 112: Friday, August 5th: Yes, we did have thunderstorms last night, and much other rain. We were happy we were tied to the lock wall. We locked down the first lock today with the first group. Ruth spotted this fellow and took his portrait. These guys are fairly common in the locks and docks; Bill calls them "dock spiders". They are about the size of a man's palm:
We got stymied at the next lock, Thorah, and had to wait. Sorry for the bad focus:
We are now in the rural area of Ontario. The shoreline is mostly farmland, and prosperous farms at that. This is typical:
Next lock was Gamebridge, Number 41. There are only 44 numbered on the Trent-Severn:
Once out of Gamebridge, we traveled a little more of the Trent Canal and then into Lake Simcoe, the sixth largest lake in Ontario (including the Great Lakes). The weather behind the cold front was good for cool temperatures and strong winds from the northwest, the direction we wanted to go.
So we beat into a 20 to 30 knot headwind for about 15 miles to the north end of the lake. Seas built to 6-8 feet and were very steep. Integrity handled it all in stride. We saw several boats turn back. NOT US! We were, uh, tough!
We arrived at the north end of Lake Simcoe and encountered this big tour boat in a channel about 80 feet wide:
We arrived at the Port of Orillia Marina a little after 2:00pm. "Fire Escape" who we had met in Peterborough, was moored across from us. Sad that Integrity still has her moustache:
We walked into town for a delightful late lunch at Weber's Restaurant. It was delicious, and they had a new beer; of course, we sampled it.
Later, we (Ruth) took in the sights. This is the local clock tower. The building is old but no cornerstones to tell how old:
A couple of signs on shops in town were very creative. There was the watch shop:
..and a strange sign outside a furniture store:
The big annual boat show was going on in Orillia at the marina. This strange boat was also a vendor, selling artworks and pictures of the boat. Ruth got one for free:
There was quite a set of vendors set up along the harbor wall. Ruth actually bought some "Crocs" shoes:
We had happy hour aboard Pollyanna, a houseboat, who had crossed the lake with us. Nice night in the marina.
Locks so far: 110
Position tonight: N44 36.780 W079 24.698
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