Second Wind on the Great Loop and Beyond

Friday, June 22. We had just commented that the day had been a bit boring – cool, rainy, pastoral but not noteworthy scenery, and a long, long run up the Ottawa River. Then we came to the Ottawa Staircase Locks around 2:30 p.m! This flight of eight locks with a 79-foot vertical lift is sometimes called the Giant’s Staircase. Because of some earlier mechanical problems with the lock, we had a three-hour wait before we could even enter the lock system. Once you enter, you must go up all of the locks, which takes a minimum of 90 minutes. We shared each lock with Loopers Greg and Susan Han on their really large boat Allegria. The first lock was a white-knuckle event because of the tight fit of our two wide boats in the relatively small chamber, but we did just fine. The rest of the locks were pretty easy after we figured out the entering and exiting sequence and the placement of our boats. Towering above us were the stately Parliament Buildings of Ottawa, looking very old and European. Below us was the river.

At each level we talked to tourists who were fascinated by the process. In fact, a crowd standing at the top on the Wellington Street Bridge watched us make our way through the entire Ottawa Lock system. Unfortunately, after we made it to the eighth and last lock, we still needed to go under an 8-foot lift bridge to get to our marina where we were to meet brother Jim and Martha. The bridge closed at 7 p.m., and it was now 7:13, so we missed it! Jim and Martha eventually managed to find us tied to a city wall, and we went out to a late dinner together. What a joy to be with home folks again! They are also great traveling companions, so we are looking forward to this next leg of the journey.