We puttered off the lock wall about 10AM heading north through a river full of geese and their babies. We all swam along at No Wake Speed until we got out of the canal and into the river. Leaving the geese behind we headed off to our first few locks. They went pretty well, even with some wind we did pretty well in Locks 7 and 8. We picked up another boat at Lock 9, they would lead us through the next 4 locks.

The next two went well, and then it was time for Locks 11 and 12, a double lock. When you pull into the lower level, the top of the next lock door is 55 feet above you. They close the doors behind you and lift you up the first 25 feet. The water from the upper chamber is used to fill the lower one. Then the front door is opened and you pull into the next chamber. It fills and in the space of about 45 minutes we’ve been lifted 48 feet up the river. I felt very very small in the lower chamber looking up to the upper lock.

We wanted to dock on the east side of the river, but after checking it out, found out that there wasn’t any wi-fi. So we spun the boat around and went to the other side if the river. We got settled in pretty quickly once we figured out where power was on the wall.

We checked in and got a recommendation to a tiny pub called the Stinking Rose Pub. It’s a tiny place with 4 seats at the bar and 5 more tables. I had the Red Pail Ale (named for the firefighters) and it was very good. Susan has one of the local Pinot Grigio’s. We sat and drank, and read dead tree papers! I hadn’t sat and read a paper in years, it brought back good memories.

One of their regular customers comes in selling freshly picked asparagus and rhubarb. So we got some of each. The bar owner is also the brewmaster of Church Key Brewery, he made arrangements for a ride to take us out to the Brewery.

We went out and got a tour of the plant, it’s built inside an old church. The high ceilings in the altar area made it perfect for the huge tanks needed. The second story Choir loft was the brewmasters office. At the other end, the narthex make a great selling area for the beer and shirts. We tried a few that we had not had a the Stinking Rose and ended up with 2 sixpacks and a growler and of course a cool shirt!

We got a ride back to the boat and stashed our treasures and went to the Bridge Restaurant for a small dinner. After dinner it was off to the store to get ice to keep my new treasures cold.

On Thursday, Susan made asparagus soup and cleaned the remaining stalks for dinner. She then made a rhubarb crumble for dessert.

After lunch we took a taxi back down to the lock to get pictures. Still pretty scary and I was on the outside this time.

We walked home. First across the suspension bridge designed to get you across the river and into the park. We then took the river trail, walking along the river to the two sets of falls. There are some great pictures in the Campbellford gallery.

Once exiting the park we walked to the local candy factory to see what they have. Turns out they make the chocolate covered cherries I get every year. Never thought that they were made in Canada.

We went to the post office to mail post cards and a very small package. It cost $11.80 to send it about 15 miles. So I need to quit complaining about the cost of the US Postal Service.

We then stopped at The Stinking Rose for a Small beer. It’s a beer that is the second cycle of the cooking process, they add water and let it cook some more. The ABV is only about 3% compared to the 5.5% of the first batch. It’s a light ale, but has pretty decent flavor profiles. And of course we read the paper again!

Susan made steak, fried mushrooms, and slightly steamed asparagus. The crumble for dessert was really nice.

We picked a good day to stay, it was grey outside and a little chilly. Friday and Saturday are much better weather days and should make for nice traveling.