Day 39 – Sat. July 18, 2009Today brought a few surprises! We left Montebello (on left) in a light rain which turned heavy for a short period then turned very windy. We did experience a little blue sky on and off during the afternoon. If you don’t like the weather here just wait a few minutes and it will change!
Just before we arrived in Ottawa we received a phone call from Russ and Mary that they were about 150 miles away and would meet us at the marina later in the day. They arrived a day sooner than expected which is great!
By the time we fueled the boat and arrived at our marina and got the boat squared away they arrived and we had a grand reunion. Later in the day we crossed over to Ottawa from Gatineau via their car and had dinner then turned in early. Russ and Mary checked into a hotel for the night and will join us in the morning prior to moving the boat into the Rideau Canal via the flight of eight locks. Once you enter the first lock there is no turning back – you must continue moving forward in our case up until you have passed through all eight locks. When we get to the top we will be next to the Parliament building in Ottawa.
The Rideau Canal is 177 years old and is still operated by hand using the same original equipment. No motors, pumps or hydraulic controls – strictly hand operated levers and cranks!
